Witch-hunt! (cca. 10,124)

[Elisha Montague]

Elisha was high on adrenaline now, thoughts of dull council meetings and pouring over dusty ledgers a lifetime away. She was back in her element, her body twisting this way and that in the light and shadow of the corridor as she effortlessly dodged the smuggler's poorly timed attempts to strike her with his blade. What's more with expert micro-control over her muscles she made sure to use only the ones necessary and wasted almost no energy; she could keep this up for hours while already the first signs of fatigue were visible on the face of her very angry and very flustered adversary. Thrust-parry-thrust-turn, it was all still there even though she couldn't remember the last time she had been in a proper knife fight. She wondered if Lilith had finished off her own opponent yet and was perhaps watching now, and it was these thoughts rather than any skill on the part of her attacker which finally found a chink in her defences.

Over-confidence will kill faster than any blade.

That was a favorite saying of Mother Tokugawa, something the diminutive physical training instructor would ram home again and again every time she saw in a young adept's eyes that she was getting a bit too pleased with herself and her moves in the exercise hall. Tokugawa was not here to bark a warning now though and Elisha arrogantly allowed herself a second's pause, casting her eyes sideways to see if Lilith was observing her in action. That moment was all the smuggler needed to press home his attack and suddenly his blade met Elisha's with unexpected force, driving it from her grip and sending it skidding down the hallway. Elisha could have slapped herself, already hearing a dozen ranting Reverend Mothers in her mind berating her for letting pride get in the way of cool efficient combat. Now she was forced to back away from the grinning mercenary, frantically running over her knowledge of unarmed techniques useful against a knife-wielding opponent.

I can still do this. I have to.

And then suddenly there came a whistle, which Elisha instinctively recognised as a Sisterhood assistance signal. This time taking the merest fraction of her attention away from the leering man she quickly caught the blade Lilith had tossed in her direction. Now back in the fight she pressed the advantage mercilessly, no longer trying to show off or lengthen proceedings so as to prolong the rush. It took only a minute at most before her blade found the smuggler's throat and he crumpled to the floor coughing his dying breath through blood and foam.

"Why are you here, Elisha?" enquired Lilith in a firm but clearly surprised tone, at the same time proffering the Montague girl's fallen knife which she had retrieved from the floor.

This was the moment Elisha had been dreading. Amidst the excitement of sneaking down the corridors and exercising some long-disused fighting techniques she had almost forgotten the fact that she was not meant to be here, that this was far from being her fight and that Lilith would most likely not welcome her assistance. Of course they both owed the other a debt now, each girl's timely intervention having saved the other from serious injury or worse, but the awkward question remained. Still aware of the wailing alarm and the ever-growing prospect of more smugglers coming to investigate the fate of their comrades, she knew she could not take her time considering the best answer.

"I came because I saw you on the monitor" she replied, deciding it was useless to skate around the issue, "What are you thinking trying to break into this place alone? There must be at least thirty men on this site all told, if not more like fifty or a hundred. I think it's safe to say you needed some help, although then again so did I. I must be a little rusty with a blade".

Elisha surprised herself with the warmth in her voice and even smiled involuntarily at the final remark, seeming to forget that this new model Lilith would likely criticise her failure unlike the old friend with whom she had shared many a joke when something did not quite go according to plan.

"Seriously though, not even Mother Argent would try to take this place single-handed" she continued, invoking the famous mistress of infiltration whose techniques they had spent many hours studying as if to press her point, "Are you expecting backup? Is Miral Alechem about to charge in here with a crack squad of commando-sisters? Maybe I had better make myself scarce..."

Although she had taken a slightly jesting tone with the last comment Elisha was in fact rather worried now. Although Lilith had needed the help whether she wanted to admit it or not, there was still the matter of intruding into what was clearly secret Sisterhood business. Whatever the Bene Gesserit were doing involving themselves with Vlad's operation it would not be something they would want an outsider gaining knowledge of, and however natural the fighting skills had felt Elisha was still very much the outsider here.

[Mobius Turgenova]

Mobius, Tek and Yalara pressed themselves tightly into the storage closet at the bottom of the stairwell as yet another set of booted feet clattered up the steps. Disposing of the guard above had been easy, but now that the alarm had been raised more men from the compound's exterior and the other warehouses were coming in to reinforce the main block. Yalara had insisted that she heard sounds of fighting on the floor above and while Mobius head herd nothing himself he was not about to doubt her. The witches must have penetrated the administration building and this meant they were rapidly running out of options.

"We have to go now!" hissed Tek, "The longer we stay here the more chance that either Vlad's men will take the shuttles and flee or the witches will gain control of them".

Mobius agreed, it was now or never. Bursting from their hiding place they threw open the door at the bottom of the stairs, fully expecting to run right into more of Vlad's armed men. Luck was with them though and the door appeared to be unguarded. Darkness had well and truly settled outside however and that would limit how quickly they were able to slip across the yard to the waiting shuttles, which they could still make out in the distance. Darting one at a time across the gap between the two buildings the trio ended up hugging the wall of the warehouse closest to the administration block. Lights blazed all around the compound's perimeter and silhouettes could be made out against the fences, but there appeared to be no guards patrolling the warehouse walls. That was good, but Mobius was a little unnerved by the lack of fighting outside. If the witches were attacking en masse then surely one of their top priorities should be to secure the landing strip.

Maybe they're not here in as big a numbers as I'd assumed.

This was good in that it appeared there was no additional competition for the shuttles, but bad because it meant fewer of Vlad's men would be distracted. Nonetheless they were almost to the second warehouse and making as fast a progress as they could without advertising their presence. Suddenly though Yalara held out her arm for the others to stop, her keen senses obviously having detected something they had not. Peering into the gloom Mobius now saw it too: a guard outside the back door to the second warehouse, and no way for them to reach him before he had time to either shoot or scream. Mobius was about to suggest they try an alternative route, but he had forgotten about Tek's lasgun which the tall Ixian was now nonchalantly drawing. The proximity sensor glowed green; the man was not using a shield, and a second or two later he was not using his head either as Tek expertly decapitated him in a green arc of laser light. Yalara grinned wickedly but Mobius simply grunted his approval, still concerned about how close they had come to discovery and how little sign there was of a Bene Gesserit assault taking place.

"Well done" he hissed at last to Tek in grudging thanks, "But be careful with that thing. Someone could have seen the flash all the way across the strip. Let's move before they come to check it out!"

[Lilith Piacevole]

Events were precipitating. Lilith felt it in her racing pulse, smelled it in the damp air where the tangy reek of blood mingled with that of sweat and above it all in the ear-splitting wailing of the alarm, an ever present warning that she was far from safe. They were far from safe.

Dishevelled and panting, their faces streaming with sweat and in Lilith's case blood from the cut on he forehead, two old school comrades were sizing eachother up. The Bene Gesserit's mind raced, sampling all the likely and unlikely scenarios that could explain Elisha's presence there: had she been followed? What did she know, and what exactly was her affiliation with the men from the compound, because something had certainly brought her there. Making an educated guess, Lilith assumed the reasons were related to the place, and not her or the Kwisatz Mother trapped inside; otherwise, she wouldn't have been there, risking her life alongside hers, and the mercenaries had certainly been eager to dispose of her as well. It did not matter, what did matter was what she should do next.

"I came because I saw you on the monitor" Elisha revealed, more or less confirming Lilith's suspicions in the process. Her being there was a coincidence, after all. "What are you thinking trying to break into this place alone? There must be at least thirty men on this site all told, if not more like fifty or a hundred. I think it's safe to say you needed some help, although then again so did I. I must be a little rusty with a blade".

Those words, spoken in a tone of voice Lilith had never expected to hear again, combined with a passing smile that for a moment or two emerged on Elisha's lips, seemed to plumb the very depths of her consciousness, stirring memories of companionship and solidarity and threatening to pull at the strings of her heart. No matter how many years had passed since then, and the vastly different decisions that set them apart, that smile and those words felt instinctively familiar to Lilith. Just another adventure, with Elisha at her side, wouldn't that have been grand?

That side of Lilith however, though not entirely gone, was a mere shadow of what it had once been: her devil-may-care attitude, their rebellious friendship, thoughts of defying the Bene Gesserit and hell, the whole Universe if needed, just the two of them...all repressed memories, deeply buried underneath layers upon layers of training and discipline and mental conditioning. What Lilith beheld then was her failure. She had taken a risk beyond her abilities, and there was a high probability she would die that night. Her vanity had gotten the better of her, and here she stood, owing her life to a disgraced ex-Sister. Lilith smarted with shame at the thought, though resenting Elisha for it, she found herself unable to. Nor did she swell with gratitude: when it came down to it, a Sister survived by any means necessary. She didn't have time to dwell on how it made her feel.

"Seriously though, not even Mother Argent would try to take this place single-handed" Elisha continued to invoke relics of their shared past, "Are you expecting backup? Is Miral Alechem about to charge in here with a crack squad of commando-sisters? Maybe I had better make myself scarce..."

Lilith's lips, pursed to a thin, straight line, cracked no smile at these words: her gaze was fastened onto Elisha's, hard and unblinking and filled with a sense of foreboding urgency: she had no idea what she'd stepped into, and it would likely cost her her life if she lingered. Whatever their differences may be, Lilith did not want to be responsible for that; particularly since there was no squad of commando-sisters on its way, and while Miral Alechem would eventually realize what was going on, it would probably be too late for them. It wasn't a defeatist attitude, merely a pragmatic one; Lilith couldn't place her hopes in outside help, this was her mess to deal with. She was ready to fight until the bitter end, and if her sacrifice kept the Kwisatz Mother alive long enough to be rescued, it would be worth it.

“I'm alone”, she rasped, “No one's coming, and I'm running out of time. Listen to me, go back down that corridor” Lilith pointed a finger towards the opening at her right “then to the left and all the way to the third section; you'll see an open airvent above your head, that will take you outside. Most of them will be on their way here and the bunker so if you're lucky you won't have to fight too many of them.”

Lilith paused, automatically going through the sequence of a calming breathing technique that helped her steady herself; she couldn't afford to go in there with panic nipping at her heels, and most of all she couldn't afford to waste another minute. She froze suddenly, every fibre in her body tensed to the max; her acute senses had just become aware of the vaguest of vibrations underneath her feet, because the alarm still drowned most sounds. They were coming.

“I have to go now!” she yelled and turned her head sharply to one side, her eyes set on the doorway which would provide her with an escape route and lead down to the next level.

[Elisha Montague]

"I'm alone", Lilith said quietly, "No one's coming and I'm running out of time".

Elisha had suspected as much, but had not quite allowed herself to believe it. It was not in the manner of the Bene Gesserit to use violence, but when they did they invariably chose to act decisively and leave little scope for failure. Sending a lone acolyte into a well defended mercenary installation with orders to do anything other than retreat in the face of danger was not decisive, it was foolhardy. The further question remained though: had circumstances forced the Sisterhood into such a course of action, or was Lilith acting on her own initiative and perhaps in defiance of orders?

"Listen to me, go back down that corridor” Lilith continued before Elisha had a chance to enquire further, "then to the left and all the way to the third section; you'll see an open air vent above your head, that will take you outside. Most of them will be on their way here and the bunker so if you're lucky you won't have to fight too many of them".

And so the cold hand of reality began to claw its way back into the warm euphoria that Elisha had been enjoying since sighting side-by-side with her one time best friend again, reminding her that fundamental disagreements followed by years of separation could not be rolled back by one moment of camaraderie no matter how life-and-death it had been. Unlike in stories there were things in real life which were not so easily forgotten and could not be undone at the stroke of a pen. Yet still, Lilith had not out-and-out told her to leave. Giving someone directions to an exit was not the same as demanding they use it. Perhaps this was a test, but what kind of test? Did Lilith doubt her loyalty? That was possible, and Bene Gesserit were taught never to give away trust too freely, but what she now considered more likely was that Lilith doubted her abilities. That had to be it; her old friend with her five extra years of training thought Elisha couldn't cut it and would want a chance to beat a graceful retreat. She was about to open her mouth and protest that she was both willing and competent to continue when Lilith cut her off.

"I have to go now!"

So that was it, a make or break decision. Lilith was already turning to sprint down the corridor ahead of them, and if Elisha took more than a few seconds to make her mind up then she would be gone. In the end she did not need even that small time to decide, and both girls were soon running side-by-side down the long hallway.

"Thank you for the offer" breathed Elisha, the effort of running barely visible in her voice thanks to many long hours of training, "But we both know that I didn't come all the way in here only to back out at the first opportunity".

Lilith said nothing and instead seemed to be concentrating on their destination, likely using the memorisation and recall techniques they had all learned to peruse a mental map of the facility. The two had now reached the end of the hall and were faced with t-junction and an unmarked door where a solitary glowglobe hovered. Lilith pressed herself against it and then, after satisfying herself as far as was possible that the other side was unguarded, eased it open just enough to slip through. Elisha followed to find herself in a gloomy stairwell, with Lilith already heading downwards. Elisha though took a moment to brace the door with a nearby fire extinguisher; she too had sensed the footfalls behind them and figured that anything that might buy a little time could help.

"After all", she continued after easily catching up with Lilith on her descent, "There's only two reasons for you being here alone like this: either the situation is dire enough for the Sisterhood to send a lone acolyte deep into a hostile installation with orders to fight, or you're acting against someone's wishes. Either way I think having an extra set of hands and eyes along boosts the odds just a little, whether the odds of a successful mission or of you not getting chewed out so hard by Miral. Besides, I might learn a thing or two. Have to make up for those five years missing training somewhere".

Elisha knew that this new model Lilith would not respond to jokes and irreverent comments in the same way as the Lilith of old, but poking fun even in the most serious of situations had been one of her longest standing coping mechanisms at the Mother School. The suggestion was not entirely vacuous anyway; Elisha was genuinely curious about what Lilith had learned since they were parted. It probably didn't matter anyway at this point, since both girls had now reached the bottom of the stairwell and blocking their advance into the building's basement was a huge metal door, thicker and wider than the simple exits on the other floors. To the left of it shimmered the unmistakable glow of a palm-lock. They were not going any further this way, at least not short of subduing one of the smugglers and forcing his hand against the sensor. I wonder if we could go back upstairs and cut the hand off one of those dead guys. Palm-lock looks like a cheap Richessian one that probably doesn't differentiate between a living hand and a severed one... She was saved from taking that thought any further by the sudden notice of something just above the door and to the right: a ventilation shaft, just out of reach of one person but easily opened if one gave the other a boost.

[Lilith Piacevole]

Never before had Lilith Piacevole skirted so very close to the edge of despair. Enrolled into the Bene Gesserit at the age of five, her life had been one long string of challenges and hardships, growing more intense and dangerous with each step she took within the Sisterhood and culminating with the past six years spent as an Acolyte and newly-graduated Sister. Pain and deprivation she knew, being pushed within an inch of collapse was a given during a training session with Miral Alechem, and there had been times before when the thought of dying ever so briefly crossed her mind.

And yet, that hadn't stopped Lilith, who never seriously acknowledging such ideas; she'd never pictured giving up; it was part of what made her such an asset to the Bene Gesserit, her refusal to be broken. In that, she and Elisha were very similar, except that Lilith's ambitions had long replaced her rebellion. She always got the job done; always. Even then, in what was becoming a hopeless mission with danger pouring at her from every corner, she refused to give up, but if she dared glance within at that place she kept hidden underneath a lifetime of conditioning, panic leered back at her. Lilith may not have allowed herself to feel it, but genuine fear lurked in her heart, driving her thoughts down a dangerous path: little by little she saw herself reduced from the heroic saviour of the Kwisatz Mother to nothing more than a suicide agent, a weapon in human form that would cause as much damage as possible before going out with a bang.

For the first time, Lilith seriously considered her imminent mortality, which was the reason she gave Elisha the chance to leave. Not once did she consider joining her, however: such an option was simply not available to her.Lilith didn't actually wait for an answer, and was halfway through the door before Elisha would have had the time to utter a word; frankly she hoped she made the smart choice and saved her own skin, but when she heard the blonde's footsteps catch up with hers, she somehow wasn't all that surprised.

"Thank you for the offer" her former friend said in between breaths, "But we both know that I didn't come all the way in here only to back out at the first opportunity".

Lilith said nothing at this, eyes scanning ahead for the right junction, but couldn't deny the way her spirits lifted just a little. Perhaps due to months of operating solo across the Universe, or maybe thanks to some vestigial remnant of camaraderie, but there was something heartening about not having to go the rest of the way alone. Even hope was trickling back into her, bringing a new resolve and clarity to Lilith's purpose as she strove to remember the plans and schematics of the compound she'd poured over with Miral.

It was not the simplest of tasks even for someone with eidetic memory like her, for she could only approximate her exact position and plan their course from that. Eventually, Lilith sighted her goal: a T junction with the door in the correct place; sliding up to it, she flattened herself against its surface and listened intently: no sound came from the other side, just a low, mechanical hum. Having established that, Lilith bounded through the door and down the flight of bare concrete stairs which lead up to another door, set in a heavy metal frame and conspicuous by its lack of opening mechanism save for a shimmering palm lock on the side. She heard Elisha block the entrance behind them with a fire extinguisher, and spared a thought of appreciation for the fact.

"After all", the blonde resumed once she'd joined Lilith at the bottom of the stairs, "There's only two reasons for you being here alone like this: either the situation is dire enough for the Sisterhood to send a lone acolyte deep into a hostile installation with orders to fight, or you're acting against someone's wishes. Either way I think having an extra set of hands and eyes along boosts the odds just a little, whether the odds of a successful mission or of you not getting chewed out so hard by Miral. Besides, I might learn a thing or two. Have to make up for those five years missing training somewhere."

For a moment, Lilith experienced a flash of anger at Elisha's presumptuousness; how could she feel like cracking jokes when a squad of mercenaries was about to bust in there and kill them? That narrow corridor was a death trap if they caught up! And to assume she knew her reasons for being there, when she couldn't in her wildest dreams imagine the scale of what she'd stumbled into, and what an unique and precious woman was held captive there! Though oddly enough the words which lingered in her mind were “you're acting against someone's wishes”, promptly defusing her emerging annoyance. Lilith found herself smiling stupidly, though her back was turned to Elisha so she couldn't see. She was, of course, absolutely right: she'd not merely defied orders, but smashed them to a million pieces! There was an amusing irony in it, the thing which had reunited them was Lilith's first act of defiance ever since Miral caught her with the empty alcohol bottles all those years ago, and sent her on a near-suicidal trip across the frozen Wallachian landscape.

“Sister, actually”, Lilith corrected as she glanced over her shoulder at Elisha, a fragment of that smile tugging at one corner of her mouth. “Passed my initiation tests almost a standard year to this date.”

She was starting to feel like her old self again; determined and confident, ready to tackle whatever was ahead. I refuse to die in this shithole, Lilith steeled herself, summoning up all her strength and mental vigour. Having another set of hands and eyes made a difference indeed, and hadn't Miral considered infiltrating the compound with just the two of them? Of course, there was a big difference between a Reverend Mother of her calibre and Elisha, but at the moment Lilith was willing to work with what she had. Plus, she had to admit her fighting skills were still pretty sharp, for someone deprived of Bene Gesserit training for six years...

“There are certain...perks,” Lilith continued smoothly, in a tone distantly reminiscent of the banter she and Elisha had once traded regularly, her gaze following the same path as Elisha's towards metal grate of a airvent reaching into the wall above their heads.

“Observe...”She motioned Elisha to boost her up, which brought her shoulders on level with the vent; it was bolted in and the bolts polished off, but Lilith had the solution in her pocket. She extracted a sleek tubular device glowing blue at one end and, pressing a button on the side, held it against each of the metal bolts which secured the grate. One by one they slid out, dropping to the floor, and Lilith was able to remove the obstacle between them and the dark tunnel ahead. Keeping the device between her teeth as an improvised flashlight, she then hoisted herself up onto the metal edge, and climbed inside. The vent was wider than the one she'd first crawled through and extended into the wall, but they had to move fast.

She looked down at Elisha who was still waiting below, the voice of her training telling her to leave her there and go on, but Lilith promptly told it to shut up; they'd gone so far, she couldn't just leave there to be killed. Therefore, dropping flat on her belly, she extended her arms towards the blonde, grasping them tightly by the wrists, then the forearms and finally shoulders, gradually pulling her in.

“You're right though, I'm not supposed to be here”, Lilith said once she and Elisha were panting side by side in the ventilation shaft. “I was only meant to observe the place, but as I watched I saw the perimeter cameras go dark; it was an opportunity and I took it because...they have someone trapped in here, Elisha, someone unbelievably important, someone who must live, at any cost.”

It was the last thing Lilith said before moving on, but the ominously fixed look in her unblinking eyes would have sent a shiver down one's spine.

[Elisha Montague]

Elisha concealed a certain amount of awe as Lilith easily extracted the bolts from the ventilation grille using the small Bene Gesserit device pulled from her pocket. She has heard about such things during the final few months of her training on Wallach but had never had the chance to use one herself. They were the tools of a Commando Sister, one fully trained in the arts of espionage and covert operations. Elisha herself had once aspired to such a role, looking to the great Reverend Mother Danette Argent for her inspiration as she dreamed of forging a role for herself in the Sisterhood while refusing to submit to its dogma, but all that seemed like a lifetime ago now. Indeed the passage of time was only further emphasised by Lilith's revelation that she was an Acolyte no longer but a full Sister.

Has it really been so long?

Most of the Sisterhood skills she had learned still came to her like second nature, which was perhaps more a measure of the quality of her training than of her own innate ability, but it had still allowed her to kid herself that she remained Lilith's near equal. Now though the bare truth hit her in the face like chilly Wallach morning air. Had it not been for the need to support Lilith upon her shoulders while the grille was hoisted out of the way Elisha would have sighed. Joining her old friend on this adventure was proving to be more exhilarating than any Landsraad Council meeting, but the constant reminders that she had turned aside from what Lilith was now clearly excelling in were painful. Once again she bolstered her courage by fixing her thoughts upon that image of a pregnant Miral Alechem, the picture burned into her brain as a reminder of the Sisterhood's deceit. She pictured Magda Kovacha too, wearing always the look of an aging lady of the night no matter how far up the greasy pole of Bene Gesserit politics she climbed, and she pictured that dried up old hag Lydia Romus who had probably never had a day's fun in her whole perfectly ordered and dutiful life. A rogue’s gallery of hard-faced Reverend Mothers flashed before her eyes, and she took some comfort that she would not end up like any of them.

Which of those will Lilth become though?

Her musings were ended by the barely audible sound of the grille being carefully set against the vent wall and the need to boost Lilith up a little higher so she could climb inside. Elisha looked up at her old friend, now a Bene Gesserit Sister no less and on an important mission while she herself stood below as little more than an interloper trying to hang onto some of the glory of what might have been.

Why would she want me tagging along? I'm just a 'has been', or maybe worse than that a 'never was'.

Lilith would be well within her rights and probably even taking the sensible option of she left Elisha right where she was. Indeed perhaps this was the right time for the Montague daughter to think about her own safety and turn back. Any old debt of friendship she owed Lilith had surely been fulfilled by accompanying her this far, maybe now was the moment to sneak out of this place and go back to her real life on Kaitain. Now though Lilith was reaching down and motioning for Elisha to take her hands, and the lure of adventure again began to assert itself over feelings of doubt and regret. The choice was made; instinct took over and the blonde allowed herself to be pulled up, questing for any purchase she could get with her feet against the rough concrete wall, until both girls were inside the mouth of the ventilation shaft breathing heavily from the exertion.

"You're right though, I'm not supposed to be here", Lilith said between breaths, "I was only meant to observe the place, but as I watched I saw the perimeter cameras go dark; it was an opportunity and I took it because...they have someone trapped in here, Elisha, someone unbelievably important, someone who must live, at any cost"

Elisha thought on this as the two of them began to crawl briskly but stealthily down the shaft, eyes alert for any hidden traps or devices which would alert the smugglers to their presence. She knew of course that there were many important individuals within the Sisterhood, from Mother Superior downwards, but it was difficult to imagine anyone of such importance in the Sisterhood getting captured and subdued by smugglers and mercenaries. Perhaps it was more like someone unbelievably important to the Sisterhood, but Elisha couldn't imagine who that could be.The shaft was not wide enough for them to crawl side by side, so Lilith's face was unreadable, but the gradual downward slope of their route and the way Lilith paused every so often as if studying a large and complex map in her mind's eye suggested that they were entering more than just the basement of an office block. Either the alarm system from the building above did not extend down here or it had been deliberately silenced, for sometimes voices could be heard as they passed other ventilation grates. Elisha didn't hear much because of the need to match Lilith's pace rather than linger and listen, but she thought she at one point caught the words 'prisoner' and 'damned witch'. Could it be a Bene Gesserit they were searching for after all? Lilith finally stopped alongside one particular grate and put her ear to it. Elisha crawled up as close as the confined air duct would allow and listened intently too.

"Okay, okay!", the gruff voice had a faint metalic twang to it, as if that person were speaking through a radio or intercom, "Zoltan, you take Grüber and Travers and go help Boppo on the airstrip. That bastard won't get far, but even if he does we need to keep our focus on the main prize here. I want the rest of you guys to stay in that room and don't let the prisoner out of your sight until I give the all clear!"

"Yes, Vlad", this voice came from someone actually in the room and had a tone of authority about it, "Come on, let's get up there. You lot stay sharp! Remember we only have one intruder so far so let's not panic. If she comes down here, you paste her. We don't need another prisoner".

The sound of footsteps followed, presumably the three men mentioned leaving the room, and then some nervous shuffling and pacing could be heard. Elisha looked to Lilith, wondering if she could see enough peering through the grille to get a tactical appraisal of the situation, or whether the pair of them were about to jump into the complete unknown.

[Mobius Turgenova]

The mercenary screamed and doubled over, his remaining hand vainly clutching at the severed stump that had been his right arm before Tek's well placed lasgun shot had taken it clean off.

Serves the fool right for not using a shield.

Mobius allowed himself a very small chuckle as the shuttle came in for another pass, noting a couple of Vladimir's men below who Tek had ignored. Presumably these two were employing shields, so he tossed a grenade their way; they wouldn't really be harmed but that gas might serve as a distraction and at this moment causing as much confusion and chaos as possible was the order of the day. One of the other shuttles and a thopter were already burning wrecks, vivid flames lighting up the landing strip and billowing acrid smoke into the night sky, while the surviving mercenaries darted this way and that trying to stay out of the choking haze and get a clear line of sight to their attackers. The experience of getting some of their own back on Vlad was exhilarating but they all needed to remember that they were here to escape not to attack. Already his keen eyes had spotted three more men emerging from one of the warehouses carrying bigger weapons. This was their cue to leave, for their vessel was no more equipped to survive a heavy assault than the hapless targets they had already destroyed.

"Just that last shuttle, then step on it and get us out of here!" Mobius called out, ducking back inside the window to where Yalara was wrestling with the craft's controls.

Mobius would have preferred to fly the shuttle himself but he had taken a pellet to the shoulder as they crossed the runway. It was not a serious injury and would heal just fine, but it would make handling the shuttle difficult. Fortunately, for all her desert upbringing, the Fremen girl was a capable pilot. Thanks to her father's role as mechanic and maintenance man in the settlement she had left she had settled easily into the flight seat, and now she heaved the stolen shuttle around for one final pass, strafing the runway with its powerful lascannons before opening up on the remaining ship below and reducing it to boiling smoke and molten metal. The remaining men dived for cover as red hot wreckage sprayed out onto the hard concrete of the landing strip. There would now be no opportunity for pursuit.

"That'll do it!" shouted Mobius, "Now open up the throttle and let's blow this joint!"

The shuttle wheeled around again, lurching awkwardly for in spite of Yalara's skill it was a clumsy craft not really intended for such agile maneuvering, and finally they were on their way. A blast from one of the three newcomers' lasrifles just grazed one of the wingtips, but they were well out of range before he could fire again. They had made it, the fire and smoke from Vlad's compound soon receding into the darkness behind them, but Mobius knew they were far from out of the woods. The explosions and flames would soon draw the attention of local law enforcement, if not of the Sardaukar themselves, and since they had no takeoff clearance or valid flight plan it was imperative that they ditched stolen shuttle as soon as possible. Fortunately he knew the ideal place, a secluded lake in lush grounds of the Imperial Agriculture Ministry. The area was low-security and more importantly was barely a stone's throw from their Kaitain safe house. Once there they would be able to avail themselves of forged papers and Heighliner boarding passes, and hopefully be on their way back to Arrakis hopefully before anyone even realised they should be looking for them.

"Do you think the girl made it?" enquired Tek, as he and Mobius strapped themselves in for what was likely to be a rough landing.

Mobius thought back to the lone female figure scaling the wall who had afforded them their chance to escape. He had expected to see or perhaps at least hear more Bene Gesserit arriving as they made their way out of the compound, but none had come. He couldn't imagine one solitary agent, no matter how well trained by the witches, standing against all of Vladimir's men; if she really was alone then it was a suicide mission. Perhaps though their own escape had afforded enough of a distraction to buy her time in whatever she was doing there, perhaps in that way they had repaid their debt to her.

"I don't know" replied the smuggler leader with a wry smile, "but I'll certainly drink to her memory when we get back to Arrakeen and break open the spice beer".

[Miral Alechem]

The view of the Imperial Palace at night was a spectacular one: as the crowning jewel of Kaitain it lit up the skies above with its perennial light, and was of a size comparable to that of an entire city on other worlds. For all its dazzling beauty however, there was a place devoid of both brilliance and opulence in the vast expanse of the palace, a modest office stripped of all but the essential furniture, harsh and utilitarian to the extreme, and semi-submerged in darkness.

One lone glowglobe hovered dimly above the neatly-ordered working desk, casting its diffuse light over it, but the occupant remained shrouded in shadows, standing next to one of the windows. Such was Miral Alechem's preferred atmosphere to think, and as her narrowed gaze surveyed the landscape visible through the window pane, her mind scanned far ahead, all thought converging upon a distant point within the city, every detail burning in her memory as though she was gazing upon it. Though her expression remained unreadable, and indeed invisible in her current position, if one were to gaze into the Reverend Mother's eyes, they would have found them blackened to the deepest pitch, and filled with such cold menace that would cause the hardiest of Sardaukar to quail.

Miral Alechem was in a foul mood.

The meeting with the Guild official had been a pointless nuisance, the slippery little man having the gall to contest the annual orbit access tax imposed by the Emperor on Kaitain, claiming he had proof of an accounting error. Under Miral's careful scrutiny it was eventually revealed to be untrue, but the tedious search and subsequent debate took nearly two hours of her precious time, leaving her less than impressed with the Guild's poor performance. The “mistake” also seemed too convenient and carefully-placed to be coincidental, and though the Guild man wasn't lying when he claimed not to have any knowledge of it, Miral wasn't convinced his higher-ups were just as ignorant. Being already in a bad temper, the Reverend Mother's barely contained her scorn, and she proposed that the Guild extend their current contract for five more years without re-negotiations, to compensate for the Emperor's wasted time on Guild incompetence. The man had seemed a little too eager to agree.

The tedium of officialdom behind her, Miral stormed off in the direction of her chambers, expecting to find Lilith there as per her orders, but she was nowhere to be seen. The office Miral currently occupied had yielded the same conclusion, and her agents around the palace could not enlighten her either: Lilith simply hadn't returned. The Truthsayer was not given to boiling rages, and indeed few were the things that inspired genuine anger in her, but when anger did stir, it was withering like the iciest winds that swept across Wallach IX .

Such was her present disposition: brooding, unbroken frost. Two explanations for Lilith's behaviour stood out in her mind: she'd either been captured or otherwise detained, or she had taken the initiative herself. Since Lilith was too good a spy for the former, reasonable certainty emerged for the latter, along with a disturbing conclusion. Had that arrogant girl decided to play the hero? Miral had observed Lilith's performance as a full Sister both closely and from afar, noting how with every successful mission her confidence boomed, and the liberties she took grew bolder, though unable to contest her efficiency. Nonetheless, she had never gone against direct instructions before, and to think she would then, knowing what was at stake, caused Miral to feel livid with rage. A disaster was on its way to happening, if it hadn't happened already, which left her with a most delicate predicament: should she risk going in there alone to salvage what she may, or turn to the Palace forces for help, something she'd reserved as a very last, and desperate resort.

A tentative knock arrived suddenly at the door, to which Miral barked a curt "Yes?"

“A message for you, Reverend Mother,” came the muffled reply. “A Bene Gesserit shuttle has just requested clearance to land on the Palace grounds.”

Miral stiffened perceptibly, every fiber in her body suddenly tensed in anticipation: could it be...? Following the frustrating lack of communication with Chapterhouse, Miral had given orders to be informed immediately if a Sisterhood vessel approached the Imperial Palace, hopeful that it would contain the reinforcements needed to storm the smuggler compound and rescue the Kwisatz Mother. Given the state of things, every minute counted, and the courier's words were encouraging: if they wished to land there instead of the nearest spaceport, chances were they were the elite squad of fighters Miral had requested a week before.

Twenty minutes later, the Truthsayer was standing on the edge of the Palace landing strip, her long hair and robe rippling wildly in the downward gusts of wind generated by the approaching craft. A section of the Palace guard was also present to deal with the formalities, though Miral refused the customary escort.

“This is private Bene Gesserit business that does not concern you”, Miral stated in a tone that suffered no argument, then marched away at the front of the group, composed of seven grim-faced women.

“Is it as we heard?” asked one of them once they had the privacy of Miral's office at their disposal, the eldest who appeared to be in her late forties, but was likely much older thanks to a regular intake of spice.

“It is,” Miral admitted and proceeded to tell them everything she knew about the situation and those involved. “I have dispatched one of the Sisters assisting me here to survey the compound and report back to me, but she seems to have been...detained”, she ended with an unpleasant curl of her lips.

“She isn't the only one,” said one of the women, who then revealed how Sister Lusia, the lone survivor from RM Vortigern's party, was found dead aboard a heighliner with a neuropoison dart implanted in her neck, as for Miral's own messenger, her flight plan was switched with an almost identical one save for the final destination, which brought her to Lankiveil halfway across the universe, and to make things worse due to a misunderstanding she was held from departing again for days. When she was finally able to deliver the grievous news to the Sisterhood, the most capable fighters currently present on Chapterhouse were immediately dispatched to Kaitain under the strictest security the Guild had to offer.To Miral, this was the final confirmation: everything bespoke treason of the highest degree, with agents working both at the palace and, the unspoken implication hovered uncomfortably in the silence, possibly within the Sisterhood itself.

[Lilith Piacevole]

A sense of unrelenting purpose drove Lilith on her path through the maze of ventilation shafts that branched out at intervals, her mind bent on her goal and emptied of all distractions, even the sound of Elisha trudging along behind her. She lead them steadily downwards, pausing to think and listen whenever she wasn't certain, but it didn't occur often: the lower they descended into the bowels of the building, the more linear their path became.

With Bene Gesserit trained senses, Lilith scanned ahead, working every scrap of gathered information into her growing assessment of the situation, and her surroundings: by registering the tiniest of minutiae, such as air flow, the hum of various pieces of machinery, the distant buzz of suspensor lamps or lack thereof, she knew they'd passed a control outpost, empty, a couple of offices, a generator room and a few storage areas, as well as their approximate size, without even having to glance through the grates. She paused only when she heard voices, and from their curt, harried tone as well she knew the compound was on high alert, feeding the growing feeling of dissension that was brewing among the smugglers. Every now and then, a clear word confirmed it, though offered frustratingly few clues regarding the general plan they had. They were close; judging by the angle and their rate of descent Lilith knew they had to be nearing the lowest level of the building, where the Kwisatz Mother was being held, and sure enough before long the ventilation shaft began to level out, with one last grate in sight before it ended abruptly. Signalling Elisha to move as quietly as possible, Lilith used what grip her fingers could find where the segments of metal which composed the airvent connected to pull herself along, sliding down the tunnel with silent efficiency.

Lilith pulled herself into a crouching position at the grate and first peered through, before the sound of a voice prompted her to switch to listening instead:

"Okay, okay!", a voice crackled through a communication device, "Zoltan, you take Grüber and Travers and go help Boppo on the airstrip. That bastard won't get far, but even if he does we need to keep our focus on the main prize here. I want the rest of you guys to stay in that room and don't let the prisoner out of your sight until I give the all clear!"


Lilith chewed on this, wondering who the “bastard” was. An insider trying to escape...perhaps the very person who'd disabled the security feed? If so, he'd just granted them a second benefit: distracting the smugglers, and removing a couple of potential adversaries from the equation.

"Yes, Vlad", barked someone nearby, "Come on, let's get up there. You lot stay sharp! Remember we only have one intruder so far so let's not panic. If she comes down here, you paste her. We don't need another prisoner".

So, they weren't aware of Elisha yet; that was good, it gave them an element of surprise. From her position behind the grate, Lilith couldn't see the entire room, but she knew the entrance was somewhere towards the left, for she'd heard the three designated men leave through it. She could also see four more standing face to face, a pair right underneath her vantage point. Shuffling of feet and the more distant hum of shields also told Lilith there was at least one more currently out of sight. Of course, everyone had their body shields on maximum and projectile weapons ready, poised to react to any attack, and not knowing were exactly they held RM Vortigern... it was a dangerous gambit.

“Two under, two across, at least one more”, Lilith hissed in Elisha's ear. “Shields and projectile guns. We dispatch the nearest ones first, use them as our own shields to reach the rest. Watch out for the prisoner.”

It was their only chance: if they succeeded in penetrating the shields of the men standing right beneath them to kill them quickly, they could hide behind them as they advanced; otherwise, they'd be entirely exposed. Even so, they needed to press the attack immediately, and not give the rest a single chance to get behind them: if they managed that, all was lost.

“And Elisha...good luck.”

It was the last thing Lilith said before she burst through the grate, blade in hand, bracing herself for impact. As expected, the shield worn by the man directly under her repelled her, but thanks to the short distance between them and the wall, she was able to press her assault within a heartbeat, first getting an arm through, followed swiftly by her blade. In his bewilderment, the man bellowed and fired his weapon aimlessly, but Lilith's dagger had already claimed his jugular. She could hear a similar struggle taking place at her side, but didn't dare shift her attention to see if Elisha was the victor; more pressing was the matter of the remaining three mercenaries closing in on them.

“Okay, okay!” shouted a panicked voice. “I surrender! I surrender!”

It was the last guard, standing between the fallen bodies of his comrades, with a still working shield but no weapon, having lost it when Lilith's foot had shot out to trip him and he fell, losing grip of his gun in the process. It now rested safely in Elisha's care.

“Remove your shield,” Lilith commanded in a carefully adjusted voice pitch; he obeyed instantly. “Now, toss it over here. And your intercom.”

Once those items were in her possession and with Elisha standing guard, Lilith finally turned to the alcove at the end of the room where, behind a clear plaz window and tied to a chair was Reverend Mother Marcus Josephine Vortigern. The signs of fatigue and deprivation were obvious on her features but she still managed to sit up straight with an expression of calm on her patrician features.

“Reverend Mother,” began Lilith, “are you all right?”

The woman, who was in fact older than she'd first thought, nodded, and Lilith demanded the code that would open her prison from the captured guard. Reverend Mother Vortigern was somewhat uncertain of her footing for the first two steps, but by the time she neared her former captor, she moved with every bit the poise of a Bene Gesserit.

“How easy it was to subdue the Bene Gesserit,” she murmured as she gazed down at the man's frightened face. “All it took was treachery.”

Lilith's gaze hardened, and was glad the Reverend Mother wasn't looking at her: treachery? Surely not from within the Sisterhood? The Kwisatz Mother...though, wasn't that one of Alechem's suspicions? Her musings were abruptly interrupted by the shock of seeing the Reverend Mother's foot dart upwards with such speed and pinpoint accuracy that the eye barely registered the movement until the moment it lodged itself deeply into the captured guard's midriff and Lilith knew the force of it would crush his heart even before she heard the telltale gurgle and saw him tumble to the ground, face-first. In spite of all the blood she'd spilled that day, there was a calculated ruthlessness in the Reverend Mother's revenge that chilled her.

“I owe you my life,” the Kwisatz Mother said as she turned to Lilith and Elisha with a blasé expression that contrasted unpleasantly with what had just transpired in that room, “The Sisterhood will be forever grateful for your services.”

The nuances didn't escape Lilith, who noted how she referred to “The Sisterhood” and the formal tone of her comment: was that all she considered herself, a useful pawn in the service of the Sisterhood? And what of those who might not be glad to see her live, if there was any truth to those unspoken suspicions? This woman wasn't just any Reverend Mother, she was the unique, precious link to a centuries-old breeding program Lilith did not fully comprehend, which wasn't all that strange considering she wasn't even meant to know about it.

“We only did what we were intended to,” Lilith replied stoically, falling instinctively back onto her training:We exist only to serve. It did not include Elisha, not anymore, but this was not the time to make that distinction. “The others are bound to return, Reverend Mother. We need to leave now.”

“You are alone?”

She seemed surprised.

“For the moment.”

[Elisha Montague]

“Two under, two across, at least one more”, Lilith began in a low whisper, “Shields and projectile guns. We dispatch the nearest ones first, use them as our own shields to reach the rest. Watch out for the prisoner.”

Swiftly, as she had been taught, Elisha appraised the plan. It sounded good, though it was risky. They would have to disable the first two men very quickly otherwise they would be picked off easily by those on the far side of the room. Projectile weapons were not as instantly deadly as a lasgun but could still cripple or kill with a well-placed shot, and the enemy had strength in numbers. There was little alternative though; the ventilation grille was their only point of entry.

“And Elisha...good luck.” Lilith's final whisper was both an encouragement and a signal, and Elisha tensed herself.

A split second later Lilith kicked in the grille and leapt down into the room below and Elisha was only inches behind. Legs braced to cushion the impact she dropped down right behind one of the mercenaries and, not wanting to waste even the second it would take to straighten herself up, immediately wound her arms around his waist. Ignoring the angry buzzing and repelling charge of his shield she pulled the surprised man towards her, fingers questing for and finally finding purchase on his body. It was far from an elegant or honorable attack, and doubtless her old fencing teacher would have been horrified, but now was not the time to worry about style or sophistication. The man yelped as Elisha's left hand found his testicles but his cry was cut short a mere moment later as her right hand plunged a blade into his stomach. To her left Lilith had also subdued her opponent, and now the two women put the second part of the plan into action. Shots rang out as the other surprised men desperately tried to react, but they only succeeded in putting holes into the bodies of their former comrades. Holding the departed mercenaries against themselves in deathly embraces as they advanced it was a simple matter for Elisha and Lilith to get close enough to bring their superior infighting technique to bear on the remaining three. Soon only one remained.

“Okay, okay! I surrender! I surrender!” A well-placed kick by Lilith had already disarmed the final mercenary and, having seen the fate of his four friends, he was in no mood to test himself in unarmed combat against Bene Gesserit skills.

“Remove your shield,” ordered Lilith with that perfectly pitched use of the Voice which Elisha had always slightly envied of her, “Now, toss it over here. And your intercom.”

Elisha, at a nod from Lilith, moved to keep watch over the guard while the redhead sprinted swiftly to the far end of the room. In spite of needing to keep an eye on their captive Elisha couldn't help but cast a curious gaze towards their target. Bound, gagged and strapped into a chair behind a clearplaz barrier was an older woman. Someone unbelievably important Lilith had said, but Elisha did not recognise her.

“Reverend Mother,” called out Lilith, “are you all right?”

Elisha's heart nearly missed a beat.

Reverend Mother?!

So that was the reason for all the urgency and the secrecy. How in the world had Vladimir and his gang of toughs managed to capture a Reverend Mother, and more to the point why would they do so? Nobody moved against the Sisterhood, both because the Bene Gesserit themselves saw to it that they had no real foes and because of the terrible vengeance that would follow.

Something doesn't add up here. Either Vlad has a death-wish or the Sisterhood had made some enemies I don't know about. Interesting!

Lilith, having assertained that the Reverend Mother was unharmed, quickly demanded the code for her cell from the captured mercenary. Stepping out into the room proper the older woman swiftly advanced on the captive.

“How easy it was to subdue the Bene Gesserit,” she murmured in a low voice while looking down at the guard, who was absolutely petrified, “All it took was treachery.”

Elisha's heart very nearly skipped another beat. Treachery in the ranks of the Bene Gesserit? Such was unheard of. To be sure the Sisterhood was sometimes riven by intrigue and one could never quite be sure which competing group had Mother Superior's ear from one week to the next, but these were minor political squabbles and disagreements over resourcing and project focus. Nobody, well nobody except perhaps Elisha, questioned the Sisterhood's core agenda and goals and nobody would even consider betraying a fellow Sister. She could think no further on this shock revelation though before the Reverend Mother aimed a swift and deadly kick at the mercenary's midriff, delivering a killing blow to the man's heart and sending him slumping to the floor. Elisha stifled a gasp of shock at the ruthlessness of the woman, and also privately wondered whether such an act was wise when they still needed to escape this place. She had been expecting them to interrogate him regarding the fastest way out and what opposition they might face along the way. Thinking about it she supposed the man could never have been trusted, but still she would have been inclined to try a little careful application of the Voice and see what they could get out of him. Had the Reverend Mother simply given in to an act of cold-blooded revenge, or was there some even greater urgency about the situation now which left them without even time to question their prisoner?

“I owe you my life,” the Reverend Mother said as she at last turned to her rescuers, “The Sisterhood will be forever grateful for your services.”

Elisha said nothing, but felt instantly uncomfortable. Her crimson robe, so very different from Lilith's regulation black, could hardly have escaped the woman's notice. Did the Reverend Mother really believe her to be just another loyal Sister, or perhaps did she simply see that now was not the time for such questions? Elisha suspected the latter, but was now faced with the nagging worry that such questions were almost sure to come.

“We only did what we were intended to,” replied Lilith, apparently speaking for the both of them, and Elisha was not about to butt in, “The others are bound to return, Reverend Mother. We need to leave now.”

“You are alone?” enquired the older woman with hint of surprise in her tone.

“For the moment.” said Lilith, apparently unwilling at this point to reveal the disobedience which had lead her inside the compound when she was merely supposed to be observing it.

Well, that was Sisterhood business and Elisha was not about to drop Lilith in it. She had her own lack of permission to concern herself with.

"Very well" replied the Reverend Mother, "I have to admit I was expecting a larger rescue party, but now is not the time to discuss tactics. I trust you have memorised the layout of this place? I know nothing of it as I was blindfold while I was brought here".

Lilith nodded and with that the Reverend Mother gestured for her to lead the way. Elisha figured that their best option was to leave by a route different to that which had brought them here, for guards would surely have been posted at the bottom of the stairwell by now and might even have followed them into the ductwork. Lilith obviously thought so too and ignored the ventilation hatch which had been their entry into the room, instead heading for the main door. The exit was not locked and lead out into a wide corridor, dimly lit by a few lazily drifting glowglobes. It was very quiet, though if she listened intently Elisha thought she could hear shouting and gunfire a very long way away. Allowing Lilith and the older woman to set the pace, Elisha slipped back as if to guard the rear, for she was still feeling nervous in the presence of the newly rescued Reverend Mother and did not want to be peered at too closely. The exhilaration of assisting in the rescue was starting to wear off now, to be replaced with concern about the awkward questions which were sure to be asked when they reached safety. How was this woman likely to react to learning that one of her saviours was an expelled former Sister who really had no business being here at all? Any ordinary person would simply be grateful to have been rescued at all, but Elisha had seen the look on her face as she killed the guard and she did not like it one bit.

What have I gotten myself into?

[Miral Alechem]

Reverend Mother Miral Alechem was the first to emerge from the depths of the unmarked craft which had been resting for only a short while outside the massive bulk of a hangar which positively dwarfed the vehicle. Her long black hair, pulled back from her oval face, billowed in the wind along with the hems of her robe, creating the impression of a great black bat extending its wings. She leaped to the ground, crouched, then straightened herself, all in one swift, agile movement; seven other women followed in a similar fashion, as the rumble of the engines gave way to absolute silence.

The seldom-used hangar and its grounds, acting as a storage facility for local commercial aircraft, had been a deliberate choice: it was as close to the smuggler base as they could get without arousing attention, and it provided perfect camouflage: what was one more vehicle among the hundreds there? It was only a short walk to the compound, which the Bene Gesserit squad set upon with unwavering deliberation, moving like a single organism through the night, alert and elusive. No words were spoken, but every woman there was prepared for what lay ahead, and none more so than Miral Alechem, whose encyclopedic memory held every known detail about the compound. In mnemonic trance, she had relayed the general layout and features of the place to her companions, so none went there unprepared. Miral saw the orange glow lighting the night sky before its source was revealed and her sensitive nostrils flared with a hint of smoke, confirming its presence. An alarm signal, which her Sisters shared, flashed through her then, though in her case it also stirred something darker: a suspicion, heavy with ominous portent.

As they reached the smugglers' compound, their eyes could see what their other senses had already known: flames indeed engulfed the landing strip, its glow revealing the unmistakable human forms sprawled nearby, two already ablaze. Shouts could be overheard in the night air, followed by a commotion of trampling feet; exchanging one final glance, the eight Reverend Mothers set themselves in motion, shields armed. Though shields tended to limit the wide range of superb movements Bene Gesserit Adepts were capable of, they knew better than to invade hostile territory without them. Furthermore, the blazing fire and the agitation spoke of other elements already at work, minimizing their chance at a silent ambush. Time was more pressing than ever.

The jittery guards posted at the entrance were dispatched with a casual abruptness that extinguished their lives before they even had time to realize the source of their danger. Miral's foot darted first, shattering one of their windpipes with surgical precision while her companions silenced the others. Entrance gained, they turned their attention to the building ahead, though Miral continued to ponder the ease with which they'd overcome the guards: mediocre in every way and frightened, their skills below that of an Acolyte let alone a Reverend Mother...how was it, then, that they'd been able to overpower RM Vortigern and her entire party? It seemed only to confirm their darkest suspicions.

They found the rest of the compound in a similar state of unrest, evidence of bloody combat obvious as they delved deeper into its bowels, and all the while Miral's thoughts swirled around the cause: Lilith. It was obvious not only logically, but because she'd seen the specific post-mortem stiffness of Gom Jabbar poison in one of the fallen. A Bene Gesserit had done this for certain, but more worryingly still the distribution of bodies suggested a second attacker. Miral marshalled calm with trained ease, but her features remained frosted with contained outrage: had that girl taken leave of her senses?

Unlike their predecessors, Miral and her squad took as many live prisoners as they could, safely rendered unconscious by precise doses of narcotic, then bound. It proved less of a challenge than previously expected, partly due to their numbers having been already culled, partly because most of them were overcome by absolute panic at the sight of the onslaught they'd been dreading all along staring them in the face. This did not however abate Miral's resentment towards her former Acolyte: Lilith had risked an unthinkable price for the sake of her despicable egomania, and for that there would be consequences most dire. Miral would ensure it.

There was another problem; the fire outside was likely to attract unwanted attention very soon; it was only a matter of time before law enforcement arrived to investigate. Such things were done discreetly on Kaitain – how else could the Emperor continue to boast his Capital's virtually non-existent crime rates? - but they were done nonetheless. They had to move quickly and secure what they could before the local police, or even the Sardaukar themselves, intervened. Most of all, the Kwisatz Mother had to be located at all costs.

The two groups were brought face to face at an intersection, the shock momentarily rendering them immobile as they both registered the other's presence. Recovery took mere moments, but there was no denying the thick, tense silence that held the participants: Lilith Piacevole gazing at her handler with both eagerness and anxiety, met by Miral Alechem's incisive stare that sliced into her once, then turned away. She glanced at Elisha Montague just as briefly, cold remoteness concealing the inner workings of her mind; at the moment, she couldn't afford to dwell on what a disgraced former Sister was doing there with none other than her old friend from school. The two of them would be probed later, the Kwisatz Mother's safety was their priority then, and finding her relatively unharmed was a big relief for everyone.

Almost simultaneously, a group of armed men in Sardaukar uniforms swarmed through an adjacent door, lead by an officer Miral recognized: Korsak, an ambitious Levenbrech, who betrayed a hint of surprise at the sight of the Imperial Truthsayer.

“Reverend Mother”, he barked a military greeting, then noticed Miral's expectant look. He wasn't quite sure what to make of this new development. “We're here to investigate a reported hostile situation.”

“Then we have common interests, Levenbrech”, the Truthsayer said. “I have reason to believe this facility has been used as a front for illegal activities, and would like to join your investigations.”

When the Levenbrech hesitated, Miral pressed in a subtly cautioning tone:

“Would you prefer to see my Imperial credentials first?”

A curt nod signalled the officer's acceptance, but Miral sensed Korsak's resentment at being outranked and knew a more adequate explanation needed to follow. He was a soldier however, and an efficient one at that; duty came first.

“We've taken a couple of prisoners”, Miral continued as she signalled towards the corridor behind her. “See that they're removed quietly, Levenbrech. Sister Piacevole will go with your men, as will Ambassador Montague. I shall arrive shortly and I expect to find them available.”

It wasn't a request, a fact of which Miral's tone left no doubt. She turned towards Lilith and Elisha as she spoke, but her unfathomable gaze pointed over their shoulders, not once acknowledging them.

[Elisha Montague]

"Grenade!"

Elisha wasn't sure whether the voice belonged to Lilith or to the Reverend Mother, it was so quickly replaced by the telltale thump of a concussive charge. Instinct took over and she dived to the left, pinning herself up against the cold steel of the corridor wall and searching desperately for a handhold. The Reverend Mother appeared to catch the worst of the blast and reeled backwards, stunned, while Lilith staggered and fought desperately to keep her footing. Elisha, who had still been hanging back to guard the rear, heard only the loud crump sound and felt a gust of hot air rush past her. She then only had a second to slip into a combat stance before three mercenaries emerged from around the bend up ahead.

"Zoltan, you deal with the redhead. Amir, get the gag on the old witch as quick as you can. Blondie here is mine!"

There was no time to look to either Lilith or the Reverend Mother, to see whether they were in a position to defend themselves or not, for in a moment the leader was upon her. Pure adrenaline-fuelled instinct allowed Elisha to bring her blade up just in time to block his opening strike but he possessed a clear weight and height advantage and she quickly found herself forced up against the nearby wall again. Getting a clear look at him at last, as she fought desperately to keep his knife from her throat, she realised that this must be Vladimir Utoshski. Yes, in fact she recognised him now. The image of him in her mind was of a man dressed in fashionable business attire, grinning out at her from the front page of one of his catalogues in the lobby, but there was no doubting that this was him.

"You going somewhere, blondie?" he breathed sarcastically, trying to press the advantage with his blade again and giving her a face full of his foul tobacco-ridden breath at the same time, "I don't think so!"

Elisha did not respond, her training telling her not to allow herself to rise to him and get drawn into trading insults. Be silent, determined and deadly, Reverend Mother Tokugawa had always said. Instead she tried shifting her weight to one side, hoping to draw him off balance, but he moved with her and she only succeeded in sliding further down the corridor away from her companions. Vladimir's bulky frame blocked her view back down the hallway, but sounds of another scuffle told her that at least one of the others - Lilith probably - was fighting back.

"What's the matter, blondie? Cat got your tongue?" hissed Vladimir, "Or maybe it's time I called you Elisha".

The shock of hearing her name very nearly made Elisha lose her footing, and Vlad's bade came centimetre closer to her neck. How the hell did he know who she was?!

"Surprised? Don't be!" he growled, "I always make it my business to check up on my clients, just in case."

Elisha was horrified. She had gone to great lengths to create a false identity to use when purchasing her illegal narcotics, anxious that no word of her activities made it back to either her father or the Landsraad authorities, and now it seemed that Vlad had known who she was all the time. Why had he never made use of that information though?

"Oh I just keep the info for a rainy day of course" he continued, seemingly reading her mind, "Blackmail's too risky to be a long term career choice, but it's always worth having some dirt in case one of you punters has the bright idea of squealing to the law. So anyway, yeah I know who you are and I know too that you shouldn't be here".

"I don't know what you're talking about" she shot back, pressing home her superior skills at last and forcing the knife away from her face.

"Oh I think you do" replied Vlad, backing away only far enough to give himself space to launch another strike and still keeping himself between her and the struggle going on further down the hallway, "You're not one of the witches any more. Expelled from their fancy pants school weren't you? That must have hurt! So why are you helping them? You could be helping me".

"What?" she spat, now beginning to get angry with the bearded man for toying with her like this.

"Hey I know talent when I see it" he replied airily, even as he lashed out again with his knife, "You killed quite a few of my men today, but hey in this game it's survival of the fittest; you snooze and you lose. I could use someone like you, and I pay well. Better than whatever you're getting from the witches anyway, if you're even getting anything at all".

Elisha couldn't believe what she was hearing, and more worryingly she couldn't believe that deep inside she actually found the offer intriguing. She couldn't trust this man though, could she? Not when he was trying his level best to kill her. Nevertheless the idea of becoming a mercenary was not entirely unappealing. It would certainly be a change from her dull life at the Landsraad Assembly, and it would allow her to make use of her cherished fighting skills which frankly had been going to waste for years now.

"Think about it" whispered Vlad, in what was presumably the closest he could manage to an enticing tone, "But don't think too long. I'll gut you if I have to, make no mistake, but I'd much rather have you on my team. What do you think?"

And think about it she did, actually finding herself warming to the idea. What was she doing here helping the Bene Gesserit like this? They had only ever treated her like an outcast and a rebel. Did she owe them any loyalty? Of course not! She didn't even want the Reverend Mother to look her in the face in case she got more of the same harsh treatment she had received at the Mother School, and yet here she was playing escort like a good little Sister. Why? Maybe this it was time for Elisha Montague to take her destiny in her hands. Then, suddenly, as Vlad darted forward for one more strike she glimpsed over his shoulder a flash of red hair: Lilith. That was why she was here, fighting for a cause she didn't really believe in against and enemy she had no personal quarrel with. It was all about friendship, friendship which had been dimmed and diminished by years apart and different choices made, but a friendship she could never sacrifice on the altar of self-interest. She couldn't betray Lilith now!

"Here's your answer" she replied coolly, darting forward even as Vlad came at her for yet another strike, and plunging her own blade into his chest, a fact which must have already been somewhere in her subconscious suddenly registering itself in her cognisant mind: Vlad was not using a shield.

As the smuggler leader slumped to the floor, gurgling a curse with his dying breath, Elisha wondered if his offer to her had been genuine or just an attempt to wrong foot her and use temptation to distract her from his own vulnerability. She had been tempted too! However the sound of another body hitting the floor roused her from any further introspection, and she quickly looked up to check on the fate of the others. Lilith had overcome her first assailant and his corpse already lay prone on the ground in a manner which suggested a painful death. Now she had moved swiftly to dispatch the second mercenary who had been slipping a gag over the mouth of the Reverend Mother, who was just getting to her feet as the effects of the stun grenade wore off.

"Thank you" said the Reverend Mother dryly as she pulled off the gag and dropped it onto the body of the dead mercenary at her feet.

Elisha shot Lilith a glance which said without words "Are you hurt?" and the redhead shook her head; the intent of the charge had indeed been to knock out and disable rather than to kill. Elisha wondered just how much of the conversation with Vladimir had been heard by Lilith. The other woman had been several yards down the corridor, engaged in her own life and death struggle, yet still as Bene Gesserit they had been taught to pay attention to all their senses at all times. Well if Lilith had heard anything she wasn't mentioning it now and instead motioned for them to continue down the corridor. Although feeling a touch guilty for thinking so, Elisha decided it was fortunate that the Reverend Mother had been out cold and could not have picked up any of the exchange. Suddenly more footfalls were heard up ahead, and all three slipped into a battle stance once more. The footsteps did not this time belong to yet another group of enemies, but Elisha found herself fervently wishing that they had done. Instead, rounding the bend up ahead, came a group of Bene Gesserit. The shock of coming face-to-face with a squad of Sisterhood commandos was bad enough after the recent battle but it was as nothing to the almost physical stab of pain Elisha felt upon seeing who lead them: it was none other than Reverend Mother Miral Alechem.

Oh God! Not her! Why her?!

The answer was obvious really. As the Emperor's Truthsayer Miral was quite likely the highest ranking Bene Gesserit in the city and probably on the whole of Kaitain. Elisha cursed herself for getting so caught up in this adrenaline-fuelled adventure and not having thought about how it was likely to end with her face-to-face with her old nemesis from the Mother School once more. She had seen Miral from a distance many times of course, frequently hovering at the Emperor's side when he attended Landsraad Assembly sessions, but only once since arriving at the Capitol had she been forced to confront her up close. That had been at Elrood's coronation banquet and at the time she had resolved never to repeat the experience. If she had been concerned about some terrible confrontation though, some great "Elisha Montague! What the devil are you doing here?!" moment, it never came. Miral cut her the briefest and iciest of glances before turning her attention to her fellow Reverend Mother. Before Miral or indeed anyone else could speak however they were interrupted yet again by the arrival of a third group at the intersection: Imperial Sardaukar. What were they doing here? Elisha couldn't imagine the Sisterhood in general and Miral in particular willingly involving outsiders such as these in their business. Did that mean that the Bene Gesserit were not quite as in control here as they would like to be? A short exchange between the commanding officer and the intimidating form of Miral Alechem followed, and any false elation Elisha might have felt at the arrival of the Emperor's troops rapidly dissipated when it became apparent that the Reverend Mother was the one giving the orders, trading on her credentials as Truthsayer.

"Sister Piacevole will go with your men, as will Ambassador Montague. I shall arrive shortly and I expect to find them available."

Elisha's head snapped around sharply at the mention of her name. Miral had been talking to the Sardaukar squad's commander, a Levenbrech judging by the rank insignia on his arm, saying something about prisoners. She had assumed these to be surviving mercenaries, but suddenly it appeared that the list of those being detained had expanded to include both her and Lilith. She saw red; this was too much!

"What the hell?!" she shouted as one of the Sardaukar took her arm, "Get your hands off me!"

"Please remain calm, Ambassador" replied the solder in the clipped and formal tone of one brought up on a lifetime of military service, "Reverend Mother Alechem has merely asked us to escort you to..."

"I don't give a dam what she asked!" Elisha yelled back, losing all self-control as her fury at the situation mixed with pent up rage against the Sisterhood and left over adrenaline from the earlier fight to create a boiling torrent of anger , "I've done nothing wrong! If I hadn't been here Lilith and the Reverend Mother would likely be dead. By the Emperor! I save their lives and you repay me by trying to take me prisoner! Will you let go of me?!"

She began to twist the man's arm in a manner that would force him to release her if he didn't want it broken, but instantly heard six weapons being drawn and trained upon her as the Sardaukar's comrades sprang into life, and in a second realised that that the odds were stacked against her. Even martial arts skills honed for years under Sisterhood tutelage would not keep her from being cut down like a dog if she tried to take on a fully armed squad of the Emperor's finest. Slowly, and with palpable reluctance, Elisha released her grip. She was Miral Alechem's prisoner and there was nothing she could do about it. As the soldiers lead them away she shot one furious glance towards Miral, who had apparently paid no attention at all to the outburst and was already deep in conversation with the recently released Reverend Mother, and another at Lilith. The latter's face was unreadable, already a mask of resignation and Bene Gesserit trained calm. Why had Lilith not spoken up? Why had she not attempted to explain, said something to defend Elisha's presence there? They had mere minutes ago been fighting back-to-back in deadly combat and already her one time friend was freezing her out once more. Elisha's blood boiled; what a fool she had been!

The Sardaukar lead them up and out through the final stretch of underground corridor to the surface, and as they emerged into the night Elisha's eyes widened at what she saw and felt. Expecting the cool night air of Kaitain in the springtime her senses were instead assailed by smoke, glare and heat. The landing strip area of Vladimir's compound looked like a war zone, with numerous small fires burning and great streaks of blasted melted metal smearing the runway. Over to the right she could see what looked like the hulk of a shuttlecraft, still well alight, and there was no mistaking the smell of seared flesh mingling with the stench of melted plaz and durasteel. What had happened here? Had the Sardaukar stormed the place with the assistance of the Bene Gesserit? That was her first thought, but the body language of the soldiers said otherwise. These were not men who had just been in combat. In fact they gave the general impression of not having drawn a blade or fired a gun since arriving, so who had caused this terrible devastation? Her thoughts drifted back to the overheard conversation just before they rescued the Reverend Mother.

That bastard won't get far.

Had there been dissention in the ranks of the mercenaries then, or was there a third faction at play here which she knew nothing about? As they crossed the burned and ruined courtyard towards the waiting transport Elisha chewed on this mentally, realising now that her anger has subsided a little that it was in her best interests to take in and learn as much about the current situation as she could.

[Shalandra Corrino]

A solitary figure observed the Bene Gesserit entourage arrive back at the Imperial Palace, watching unseen from a high window which commanded an excellent view of the private side entrance used by Miral Alechem and her associates. How the lone watcher had known that the Sisterhood party would be arriving was a question perhaps not even Miral herself could answer, if she had been aware and interested in finding out; the watcher's eyes and ears inside the Palace were extensive and thanks to a potent mix of bribery and intimidation many came and reported what they had seen and what they knew. 

If the Bene Gesserit below had been aware they were being watched, and looked up high enough to see their observer, they would have become aware that the watcher cut quite a curious figure. A tight leather corset ,which would have over-emphasised the generous curves of the figure's upper body had it not been teamed with a generous black cape and long velvet gloves, lent the woman a curiously dark appeal; although the watcher was much too intimidating an individual for anyone to actually find her attractive. Wild dark hair was tinged with streaks of scarlet, surrounding a pale face where black painted lips were curled into an angry twisted snarl. Immaculately tended fingernails, painted with the very same black pigment, dug angrily into the antique Elacca wood of the window frame and a steady thump could be heard inside as heavy boots were kicked furiously against the interior wall. It was the eyes though which would have drawn the keenest notice, had someone been watching the watcher. Though wide and clear, framed with exquisite black eyeliner, they sparkled like two gems of absolute concentrated hatred. There was bitterness behind those eyes, pure and distilled loathing built up over a lifetime, loathing generally for the world and the shallow and stupid people who filled it but most particularly for the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. Given the ability and the opportunity, the watcher would quite happily have rent Miral and all those who followed her limb from limb and laughed while she did so. 

The plan had failed, that much was clear. Down there amongst the returning Sisters was Reverend Mother Josephine Vortigern, a woman who should be dead by now. The idiots hired to do the job had managed to mess it up, and they would be punished for that, oh they would wish they had never even seen the large case of spice they had been given as down payment for the job and which they still retained even though it had been such a manifest failure. Would that there was a way to make Alechem and Vortigern suffer too, but the witches were a cunning breed possessed of fearsome strength and unnatural powers. The watcher commanded no such abilities, and so was forced to rely on others to strike for her. Others who had failed! Indeed, as the last of the Sisterhood filed in through the high arched entrance her mind began to turn to the punishment of those who had let her down so grievously. They would regret it! 

But what was this? As she was about to turn away from the window the watcher's eyes caught something else, a final detail which had almost passed unnoticed. Trailing behind the larger Sisterhood group, surrounded by Imperial Sardaukar no less, were two other figures. Clad in the long flowing robes beloved of the Bene Gesserit they had the look of the witches about them to be sure, and yet they were under guard and their body language spoke loudly that they were not part of the larger group of Alechem's attendants. What was this? Strife in the ranks of the Sisterhood? Now that would be interesting, and the watcher almost forgot about the planned punishment of worthless failures as she filed away this new nugget of information in the vast but ramshackle storehouse of her memory. She would make it her business to find out who these two were, and what they had done to displease Alechem so. 

Then there was a second figure at the window, red-haired this time and wearing a simple brown dress which cut a strange contrast to the watcher's gothic ensemble. Gingerly, nervously, as though about to pet a dangerous wild animal the new arrival put out a hand and touched a black gloved arm. 

"Dinner is ready for Raphael and Fondil, majesty. Will you come and feed them now?" 

And in an instant the look of rage and near murderous hatred was gone, like the power of a storm being earthed by a lightning rod and then followed by the serene calm of a clearing sky. What had been seen though, that would not be forgotten. The enemy of my enemy is my friend? Perhaps, perhaps not, but it was always well worth knowing who someone's enemies were.

[Lilith Piacevole]

Lilth knew the moment she set eyes on Miral Alechem she would not be greeted as a hero. All the elation she felt, not only at having escaped with her life but the Kwisatz Mother's as well, and the frothy leftovers of her adrenaline rush drained out of her at the sight of those narrow indigo eyes, cutting into her with the sharpness of a knife. Then, when Miral turned her gaze away and not once acknowledged her again, that horrible sinking feeling in Lilith's stomach kept growing, poisoning her mind with fresh anxieties.

Covertly, Lilith glanced at Elisha, wanting to see how her partner in crime was taking this. Elisha, who had given her quite a scare not long ago during the heat of that final battle with the last of Vlad's men. Lilith had been swamped at the time, having not only to fend off her own attacker but to ensure the third man did not harm the unconscious Reverend Mother, reduced to a crumpled figure on the floor by the stun grenade. Seeing a chance opening in her adversary's defences, Lilith struck fast and hard, planting her blade in his abdomen then tearing it open, just about able to make out a couple of words coming from behind her. A male voice, gruff yet somehow enticing in quality:

"..but don't think too long. I'll gut you if I have to, make no mistake, but I'd much rather have you on my team. What do you think?"

The shock almost caused Lilith to forget that a third enemy was busy fitting a gag over the Reverend Mother's mouth: she could hardly believe her ears! A slippery one, this Vlad, yet her first reaction was to sneer privately at his intentions: if he really believed Elisha would betray them...! She expected her friend to echo those very thoughts any moment now, growing increasingly confused at Elisha's apparent silence: what was she doing?

Swivelling about, Lilith caught a glimpse of her face, flushed with exertion, and froze: was that doubt she was seeing there? No. She couldn't. She wouldn't! Just when Lilith was tensing up all over again, Elisha struck forward with her blade, driving it deep into Vlad's sternum.

"Here's your answer" she sneered, and Lilith relaxed. She had no time to dwell on Elisha's lapse, there was the remaining attacker left to contend with, who was done gagging the Reverend Mother and was turning on her, but Lilith had had enough. A swift kick that defied the senses collided with his temple, shattering it on impact.

Such had been the final stage in the long and convoluted rescue mission put together by Lilith and Elisha, but the young Sister almost wished herself back in the heat of it rather than face all the cold, scrutinizing stares she was given by the other Reverend Mothers, quite the contrast with Miral's avoidance. Lilith knew from painful experience this was a bad sign. She could only wait with Bene Gesserit patience until she had an opportunity to explain herself – she had no other choice but to try and tell her side of the story. They had to see the value of it, immense risk yes, but an equally impressive outcome!

To make matters worse, the compound was soon invaded by a squad of Imperial Sardaukar, Lilith experiencing a feeling of dismay at the sight of them: considering the delicate nature of this whole debacle, the Sisterhood would certainly not welcome intruders. As it turned out however, Miral's influence at the Palace carried considerable weight, and she succeeded in grasping the reins right of that young Levenbrech's hands. It was clear who commanded there.

Lilith made no attempt to protest when she was given into Sardaukar custody, knowing very well it would not serve any purpose except to make her position even more precarious. She had already disregarded orders that night, she was not about to do it again: she was a Sister and she obeyed. All she had to do was wait until she could see Miral in private, and explain everything...a comforting thought abruptly torn out of her by the sound of Elisha's angry voice rising above the surrounding noise:

"What the hell?! Get your hands off me!" , then immediately followed up by a mini-tirade that grated against Lilith's every instinct: how foolish, how pointless it was. With contained alarm, Lilith watched her friend react to the Sardaukar's attempt to gain hold of her, noticing the way her hand gripped the arm in that terrible vise that could break it in one movement. Her eyes sought hers out with a silent plea to stop struggling, for it was in vain, and conserve her energy for the cross-examination that would surely come. Lilith certainly was. She allowed herself to be guided by two burly Sardaukar on the way to transport, soon realizing what had brought them there in the first place: half of the compound grounds were ablaze, the stench of the smoke wafting in around them stinging her nostrils. Lilith could only assume what had happened there, but her best theory involved those Vlad's men had been sent to prevent from escaping. It only deepened the mystery of who they were and whether they'd had anything to do with the perimeter cameras switching off: probably.

The journey back to the palace was an uneventful one, Lilith propped between her Sardaukar chaperones in the back of a military grade 'thopter; Elisha was similarly positioned a row in front of her, but the two women did not attempt eye contact. Miral Alechem and her party followed behind. Once landed, Lilith and Elisha were hustled down a series of halls and corridors into one of the security outposts, and told to wait in identical, but separate rooms which were then ostensibly locked. Thanks to her reliable inner clock, Lilith knew that almost three hours had elapsed since their arrival, but the anxious waiting made it seem a lot longer before she was finally summoned into an adjourning office, where Miral Alechem sat behind a desk, the inscrutable oval of her face framed between raven tresses, a perfect match for her robe.

Lilith paused ever so briefly, feeling her pulse quicken as she took one of the two empty seats before the Reverend Mother's desk, aware of how much that brief hesitation revealed. Lilith waited, and yet Miral did not speak. Just when she was about to pluck up her courage and say something, the door opened once more and soon none other than Elisha lowered herself into the chair next to her own. Lilith concealed her surprise, resisting the impulse to glance at her, and instead kept her attention on the Reverend Mother, whose penetrating gaze had not wavered for a single moment. Still, she waited; she knew how this went: the Reverend Mother would speak first. And so she finally did:

“Explain”, she commanded.

Flat. Emotionless.Thus, Lilith launched a detailed account of her movements since leaving the Palace that evening, ensuring she emphasized the reason for her decision: how she had been observing the perimeter, noting that the cameras around it had been turned off, and coming to the conclusion that it was a precious opportunity to infiltrate quietly and gain the upper hand before the kidnappers has a chance to realize what was going on. She didn't leave out any part of the events that followed, hesitating only when time came to mention how Elisha had become involved. Lilith didn't know how to handle this without making things worse for her friend, but Miral was ahead of her, and made swift use of her momentary lapse:

“So, not only you decided to infiltrate unknown hostile territory on your own, when you were aware they had previously subdued a Reverend Mother and her Acolytes, but you had your old conspirator from school lend you a hand in playing the hero?” Miral Alechem accused icily. Her tactic, however, was not lost on Lilith: Miral had spoken those particular words for a reason. She even managed to ignore the immediate sting to focus on the underlying intentions. Oh, she was devious! Lilith saw what she was doing, she wanted to see whether she would attempt to shift some of the blame on Elisha! Lying would be useless of course, since Miral was a Truthsayer, but there were ways and ways of telling this particular story, where Lilith would either reject Elisha or admit to feelings of camaraderie. Both dangerous, and Miral would not be fooled, but Lilith found herself considering the lesser of the two evils: if she told how Elisha had arrived on the scene purely of her own accord, it would be the truth. As would be the fact that she had urged her to leave, which she'd refused, and Lilith herself had not had the time to argue...While it might not get her off the hook, it would at least establish her loyalties. Loyalties which had been doubted before.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Perhaps because of the fact that Elisha had openly shared her dangers that night, risking her life alongside hers when she had absolutely no reason to, overcoming even the smuggler's temptations when it could have been so easy to switch sides and save her skin, perhaps because she had genuinely revived something deep within Lilith, a remnant of the friendship they'd shared and which even five hard years at Miral's side had not been able to blot out completely...but she couldn't sell her out in such a cowardly manner. She had disobeyed orders and endangered much: she would have to bear the consequences: that was what she had been trained to do.

“No, Reverend Mother”, Lilith answered levelly, lifting her chin. “Elisha saw I was in need of assistance and she joined the fight at my side of her own accord. We have been very fortunate for her help and I know that without it I would probably be dead.”

It wasn't the correct answer and Lilith saw the light diminish in Miral's eyes, an ominous signal that her anger was stirring. Out of habit, the Litany Against Fear intruded in her awareness as she awaited the Reverend Mother's verdict.

“Fortune has nothing to do with it!” Miral snapped, not bothering to conceal her ire. “You survived because what you encountered in there was a disorganized band of toughs squabbling amongst themselves! The fuse had already been lit, or do you perhaps imagine those perimeter cameras were switched off for your benefit? Have you, even for one moment, considered you might have been seen? Or what would have happened if one of them panicked and decided to eliminate the Reverend Mother?”

Lilith said nothing, steeling herself against the lashing of Miral's accusation, knowing it to be true. She had considered it, but believed herself capable of getting to her first. In hindsight, it was pure bravado, but she had succeeded, damnit! Berate her all she might, Alechem could not change that!

“I see you have nothing to say”, the Reverend Mother said tartly, pausing briefly at the intrusion of an Acolyte bearing what looked like a holoprojector. This she placed on the desk at Miral's left side, but she ignored it for the time being, as she continued to ignore Elisha.“Very well then, I shall. You are to return to Wallach IX for Advanced Tactical and Situational Awareness training, for you clearly need it.”

Lilith almost visibly flinched, her head snapping upwards at the sound of those words: What?! Advanced Tactical and Situational Awareness? There was little in that course she didn't already know one way or another, or was likely to need in 99% of her assignments not to mention, the entire thing took months to complete! What a waste of valuable field time! It was generally regarded as an extra, something to occupy Sisters who had been grounded due to injury, or more commonly, pregnancy. As though reading straight into Lilith's mind, Miral added:

“When you get to Wallach, report to the Breeding Mistresses as well. It's about time you began fulfilling your reproductive duties to the Sisterhood, and since you won't be doing any offworld assignments for a year, this is an excellent opportunity.”

All colour draining out of her cheeks, Lilith gaped at her for a few breathless moments, devoid of all pretense of self-control. Disbelief, then helpless anger flashed in quick succession across her features but a lifetime of conditioning did not lag far behind. Within four heartbeats she recomposed herself, though she remained chilled to the core. She was not only to be stranded on Wallach with tedious courses but she was to be impregnated on command! Her mind reeled, searching desperately for a reasoning: Bene Gesserit punishments always carried a deeper meaning. Among the worst case scenarios Lilith had envisioned, she'd seen herself expelled from the Emissaria Espion, maybe even banished to Buzzell, the punishment planet, for some time, but this...first the Advanced Tactics course, which clearly meant she was not to be removed from her position, and...breeding duties!

Then, suddenly, it hit her. It was so obvious, only her personal aversion had kept her from seeing it immediately. Honing one's skill and contributing offspring to the Sisterhood was a Bene Gesserit's most basic duty. It was the sort of thing she had once rebelled against with Elisha, that soul-crushing uniformity, the absolute surrender of self, and part of the sacrifice Lilith had made in the end. She'd considered it to be different, of course: she was to become an elite secret agent, bound on dangerous and exciting missions on exotic worlds, and she'd already had a taste of it. It had been easy to forget she remained just another Bene Gesserit, bound by their strengths as well as their hardships. She had permitted herself to think she was different, superior, and that vanity spread and spread, culminating with her endangering the Sisterhood itself. Miral's lesson was crystal clear, and Lilith had no choice but to submit. “I am Bene Gesserit – I exist only to serve”. That simple maxim held so much truth, even for someone as her. None escaped it, not Miral, not Mother Superior herself.

“Yes, Reverend Mother.” she therefore replied, fully composed. “I shall book passage to Wallach next thing tomorrow. Please accept my apologies for tonight.”

Miral gave Lilith one final glance, intent in its appraisal, then waved her away:

“Very well. You are dismissed. Send a report in three months.”

Lilith rose fluidly, turning around to leave, and as she did, ventured a glance at Elisha; her frozen features were a mask of self-imposed calm, showing but hints of the undercurrents of her emotions: grim determination, a familiar fallback during difficult times: endure it all and ultimately emerge victorious, fed by a stubborn refusal to give up - that was Lilith's tactic.

When the sound of her footsteps and the soft hissing of the closing door faded away, Miral Alechem at last made Elisha Montague the focus of her attention:

“Ambassador Montague”, she began,“I hope I can expect your full discretion regarding this matter.”

[Elisha Montague]

This was like being back at the Mother School, waiting outside the Proctor's office. Had she indeed been there now, with Lilith at her side, Elisha would probably have felt rather more confident. In those days the two of them ran rings around the pompous blowhards of the school faculty and between them would have answers ready to ameliorate any amount of bad behaviour, limit any punishment, and ensure they always survived to see another semester. Miral Alechem though, she was orders of magnitude more intimidating than any of the other authority figures of Elisha's youth, and the redhead's earlier silence in the face of the Truthsayer and her commandos suggested that Lilith was now the last person she could rely on for support. Elisha mulled this over as she waited in the small, virtually featureless holding room within the Sardaukar security installation attached to the Palace. It was not quite a cell, but it bore far more resemblance to one than to the ostentatious staterooms and vaulted galleries of the Palace proper. Windowless, lit by a single dim glowglobe, and furnished only with a simple table and chair it provided an excellent environment for brooding contemplation. She didn't bother trying the door to see if it was locked; where would she go anyway?

The only realistic way she was leaving was by waiting out whatever game Miral was playing until she was released. The other option, involving shouting and screaming some more, pushing her Ambassadorial credentials as hard as she could until she got to speak to someone who outranked Miral, was much too risky. There would be too many awkward questions about what exactly a respected member of the Landsraad Assembly was doing wandering around an insalubrious part of the city late at night and getting caught up in secret Bene Gesserit activities. Her initial fury at being arrested had cooled since she was left alone, and frankly she didn't have the energy for that much lying.From a legalistic standpoint she doubted there was much Miral could really do to her anyway. Unlike Lilith she was no longer subject to the jurisdiction of the Sisterhood. She'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the Ambassador of a Great House was too high profile a figure to simply make 'disappear', probably. Logically the worst she had to fear was a tongue-lashing and lecture about poking her nose into Sisterhood affairs, before they would have to set her free. Then again this was Miral Alechem, and as first minutes then hours ticked by she thought back to that infamous lecture with the dagger and the naked youth, and couldn't escape a slight niggling worry that anything might be possible.The longer she remained confined the more of Elisha's remaining anger ceased to focus on Miral and instead became targeted at Lilith. She could not believe that her one time best friend had said nothing, absolutely nothing, in the face of Miral ordering the Sardaukar to arrest them both. Granted there might well not have been anything she could have said which would have made any difference at the time, but it was the principle of it which continued to fuel her annoyance. They had fought hard together, faced danger together, in a way they had not done since their days at the Mother School. Alright, you could not sweep away five years of divergence with one evening's adventure, but to have Lilith blank her again so completely afterwards was like a slap in the face, as though putting her life on the line had counted for nothing at all.

The more she thought about it the more she drew the conclusion that Lilith had said only what needed to be said, affected only as much camaraderie as was needed, to keep her on side until help arrived. Once the cavalry were there she had dropped Elisha like a dirty rag, deciding that she had outlived her usefulness. Elisha hated feeling so stupid and taken advantage of. Finally, after what felt like maybe two or three hours, a stern-faced Acolyte arrived to summon her. The woman did not speak, save to request that Elisha accompany her, and the daughter of House Montague was in no mood to attempt any small talk. Silently she allowed herself to be lead down a short corridor and ushered into another room, slightly larger and better furnished than the one she had just left, but still with the unmistakably harsh air of confinement about it. On one side of a plain wooden desk was seated Miral Alechem, looking every bit as haughty and imperious as Elisha remembered her from the Mother School, and already occupying one of the two chairs on the other side was Lilith. Elisha shot her an acid glance as she took her seat, but said nothing. It was obvious that Miral woukd speak first.

“Explain” came the simple one-word order at last, the question directed at Lilith.

In Elisha's student days such a command might have been delivered with the rolling undertones of the Voice, but here Miral spoke plainly and simply, clearly feeling that she had enough of a hold over Lilith that she would be obeyed instantly and to the letter with no need for such trickery. It appeared that she was correct in her expectation.

Here is where she'll sell me out, take all the glory for herself while laying the blame for anything that went wrong at the door of the interloper.

She was reminded of the times on Wallach when the likes of Helena de la Tour, Nylissit or Jennail Tricou, would betray her to the Proctors in exchange for a few crumbs of praise. Had Lilith really become one such as them? Elisha seethed as Lilith opened her mouth to speak, but initially she rendered only a dry tactical account of her infiltration and subsequent discovery. No mention was yet made of Elisha, or how they later worked together to penetrate further into the complex.

“So, not only you decided to infiltrate unknown hostile territory on your own, when you were aware they had previously subdued a Reverend Mother and her Acolytes” cut in Miral, “but you had your old conspirator from school lend you a hand in playing the hero?”

Elisha suspected that this would be the moment Lilith threw her to the wolves, the perfect opportunity to paint herself as having been about to leave the compound only for Elisha the trouble-maker to show up and urge her to further acts of disobedience.

“No, Reverend Mother”, replied Lilith, “Elisha saw I was in need of assistance and she joined the fight at my side of her own accord. We have been very fortunate for her help and I know that without it I would probably be dead.”

Elisha could have gasped in shock and surprise, in fact probably only the remains of her once total Bene Gesserit self-control saved her from doing so. Lilith had not sold her out, not tried to heap the blame for orders disobeyed and procedures not followed upon her shoulders, and had even found praise for her assistance. She couldn't believe it, so certain had she been that Lilith had rejected her once more. She felt instantly guilty for her lack of faith, and wished she could have turned to hug her friend and apologise for doubting her. Such a display would have been quite impossible in front of Miral though. Perhaps this would finally be the end of it. Lilith would receive a slap on the wrist for going against her orders, Elisha herself would be warned about the dangers of sticking her nose into Sisterhood business, and then they could call it a day. After all, didn't the ends justify the means? The Reverend Mother was safe and surely that was what mattered. Any such hopes that a line was about to be drawn under the night's activities evaporated with Miral's next words however.

“Fortune has nothing to do with it!” replied the Truthsayer, “You survived because what you encountered in there was a disorganized band of toughs squabbling amongst themselves! The fuse had already been lit, or do you perhaps imagine those perimeter cameras were switched off for your benefit? Have you, even for one moment, considered you might have been seen? Or what would have happened if one of them panicked and decided to eliminate the Reverend Mother?”

Lilith said nothing, but inwardly Elisha was outraged. How dare she sit there all high and mighty, criticising what had been a brave and difficult struggle against unfavourable odds. Suppose Lilith had waited until backup arrived? The Reverend Mother could equally have been dead before Miral deigned to show up with her goon squad. There was no such thing as a perfect rescue operation, she should know that. Sometimes you had to work with what you were given and take risks in the face of difficult circumstances.

“I see you have nothing to say”, continued Miral, staying her tongue momentarily as an Acolyte entered carrying a piece of equipment which Elisha paid no mind to at the time, but would later recognise as a holoprojector.

“Very well then, I shall" Miral continued again, once the Acolyte had departed, "You are to return to Wallach IX for Advanced Tactical and Situational Awareness training, for you clearly need it.”

Advanced Tactical and Situational Awareness? Elisha was not personally familiar with the course, it being above the level she was studying when she departed the Mother School, but it sounded like a bore. Still, if some time back on Wallach and a few extra lectures were to be the sum of Lilith's punishment, perhaps they were going to come out of this better than she had been starting to fear.

“When you get to Wallach, report to the Breeding Mistresses as well. It's about time you began fulfilling your reproductive duties to the Sisterhood, and since you won't be doing any offworld assignments for a year, this is an excellent opportunity.”

Elisha's control over her muscles failed at this point, and she jerked her head around to look at her friend, watching the colour drain from her face and suspecting that she herself was probably looking almost as shocked. The Breeding Mistresses! No! This had been what she'd feared, what had ultimately driven her to reject Miral's final offer of tutelage and turn her back on the Bene Gesserit forever. Many times since then she had imagined that it would be Lilith's fate, in some of her darker moments of resentment and envy she’d wished that it would be, and now here it was at last. How would Lilith react? Elisha knew she could not have endured such a burden, which was why she declined to become Miral's Acolyte and began down the path which ultimately saw her ejected from the Sisterhood. Had Lilith accepted that this day would come or had she been kidding herself that she was special and could somehow escape the responsibilities all Sisters ultimately had to share? The look on her face suggested the latter, and Elisha felt a twinge of empathy. She too had almost fallen into that trap.

“Yes, Reverend Mother", replied Lilith calmly, “I shall book passage to Wallach next thing tomorrow. Please accept my apologies for tonight.”

It was a gut-wrenching moment as Lilith meekly accepted her fate. Elisha supposed she had been expecting such, but still in her mind it marked the final death of the bond which had connected them all through their schooldays. They had sworn a pact together never to let their bodies be used thus, but now Lilith had cast that final article of their rebellion aside. Elisha did not think less of her for doing so though. She was a true part of the Sisterhood now, and had to surrender to all of its demands, but it was still a cruel and unwarranted punishment. Miral should have been commending Lilith on her bravery and here she was slapping her down as if she were an insubordinate student. It was not right! Lilith was quickly dismissed, though Elisha thought she caught the redhead stealing a swift and furtive glance her way. She wanted to look supportive, but somehow failed even to do that in the glowering presence of Miral Alechem. Damn that woman!

“Ambassador Montague”, began Miral, this time focusing on Elisha and using a drippingly arrogant tone, as if stating fact rather than truly asking, “I hope I can expect your full discretion regarding this matter.”

Elisha bristled immediately. On top of the unfair punishment heaped on Lilith this kind of suggestion was too much. Of course she had no intention of telling anyone about this nights events! Who would she tell? She could hardly turn up Balthazar Grimaldi's party and apologise for being tardy on account of having become involved in a secret rescue operation, could she? She spoke little of her past association with the Bene Gesserit to anyone on Kaitain, considering it to be a closed chapter of her life and not something she stood to gain by mentioning. She had always meant to keep Miral's secret regardless of what transpired in this meeting but now, her anger against the Sisterhood rekindled by the appalling treatment she had just seen handed to her oldest friend, Elisha did something rather rash. She answered back.

"My discretion?" she replied, her face assuming a hard contemptuous look, "Discretion in respect of what exactly, Miral?"

Elisha was certainly under no obligation to call her anything else, being neither student nor Sister any longer, but disregarding the most basic forms of protocol towards someone of Miral Alechem's standing and addressing them by their first name was more than a little provocative. Elisha didn't care though, she was in no mood to be polite.

"You are asking perhaps that I be discreet about how the Sisterhood allowed a Reverend Mother to be captured by, how did you put it, a disorganized band of toughs? Maybe about the fact that once she was there you couldn't get her out without the assistance of Elisha the failure, Elisha the embarrassment, is that it? It must annoy you to see that I haven't forgotten everything I learned and become the broken creature you'd imagined!"

Elisha paused for breath, a chill wind of realisation just beginning to blow through her mind about exactly what she was doing, but she was in too deep to stop now.

"Or maybe, are you asking for my discretion with regard to the disgusting punishment you just meted out to a brave young Sister who saved your precious Reverend Mother while you sat on your ass at the Palace! Lilith didn't deserve that, damn it! She did everything right, even trying to order me away when I turned up unannounced and uninvited. Maybe she disobeyed orders, but who hasn't had to make snap judgements in the face of a unexpected situation before? A Sister must respond to changing circumstances, be ever flexible and ever resourceful. Isn't that what you tried to beat into us for fifteen years at the Mother School? How about you practise what you preach for once? Lilith is a hero and you treat her like a virtual traitor!"

She glared at Miral now, old and recent anger mingling behind her clear blue eyes.

"What if I don't agree to keep your dirty little secrets, eh? What then?"