The Equinox, Part 3/3

Janeway followed me back to the Fae Dragon for a couple of drinks and then stayed for dinner as the rest of my group joined us shortly after we arrived. The conversation was light due to none of us being in a great mood. Janeway was still upset about Ransom while I was disgusted by the weight of his actions. The rest of the group knew about the situation, but were more affected by my attitude than the problem with the Equinox.

Thankfully, after Janeway left, my group decided to skip their normal training, and we all found another way to exercise before sleeping, taking full advantage of Katye's time bending magic. Many hours later and a couple of exhausted lovers, my troubles from the day before were long forgotten. I was just happily laying on my back with Raven laying her head on my shoulder and Katye on top of me with Echo and L'Naan passed out to the side and cuddled together.

"We may need to get a bigger bed if Seven actually joins us," I remarked.

"We've still got plenty of time before I foresee her joining our bed," Katye chuckled.

"Probably for the best," I replied while running my fingers through Raven's cool, metallic hair. "I wonder if Tori will let us join Naruto long enough for us to learn a couple of cloning techniques; I feel like I'm running out of hands."

"Greedy Dragon," Raven laughed.

"Only you would want a clone technique for the bedroom," Katye chuckled.

"I'd also use it to bully Echo and L'Naan in our sparring matches... and maybe a few harmless pranks," I retorted.

::Captain Janeway and Ransom are approaching the ship.::

"I thought you were altering Time," I complained.

"I am, but like I told you, the twenty-five crystals would only last for eight hours in the real world at a third of the speed outside," Katye retorted.

"Ugh," I groaned dramatically. "Fine, I'll start stocking up on mana crystals, but I want the chance to pull you all into bed more often, and not just when I'm in a bitchy mood and you want to get rid of it."

"Such a fussy Dragon," Katye teased before giving me a kiss and getting up.

Raven, not wearing her illusion ring, gave me a kiss as well, but before she could get up, I pulled her back into my embrace and kissed her again while I traced a finger along one of her long, pointed elf-ears. A moan escaped her lips, as her elf-ears were her weakness much like my horns were mine, but that just frustrated her, so she sat up quickly and playfully shoved me down, while she jumped out of bed. I chuckled, not mad at all, then sat up and climbed out of bed as well.

The three of us got dressed and headed to the main room, leaving Echo and L'Naan behind to sleep. Filigree was up with Nyka eating breakfast while she was working on a large data pad that Katye traditionally used for her homework. 

"How are your lessons going?" Katye asked as she walked over to the table.

"Good, but these math problems are giving me trouble," Filigree replied happily.

"Well, let's look them over together and see what we can figure out," Katye said gently.

Whie those two talked, Raven and I headed over to the kitchen and watched them. If you ignored the fact that they were both fairies, they almost looked like a mother and daughter. For a moment, we were just a normal family, but then it passed as Nyka jumped up on the other end of the table, closest to Raven and me, and yapped demandingly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get you some more food," I said to Nyka, knowing what she wanted by habit rather than true understanding. "Fae, tuna steak for Nyka and two coffees, one black and the other with cream and extra sugar."

The items that I requested materialized in the replicator. I gave Raven one last peck on the cheek, then grabbed the two coffees and hurried off the ship. Janeway and Ransom were waiting at the end of the ramp of the Fae Dragon with Tuvok standing near the door, no doubt acting as the security officer watching Ransom. With a yawn, I walked down and offered Janeway the cup of black coffee.

"You, um... have a mark on your neck," Janeway commented as she took her drink.

"Damnit, neither Katye nor Raven mentioned anything," I complained, placing my hand on my neck and channeling my healing spell into it. "They're probably having a good laugh about it now."

Janeway just shook her head with a hint of a smile on her face and took a sip of her coffee. Ransom looked a little confused, but I barely cared about his presence, let alone his emotional state.

"Are you ready to begin?" Janeway asked.

"Yeah, let's get this over with," I replied before taking a sip of my own drink.

"Janeway to the Bridge. Lower the shields around the Shuttle Bay," Janeway instructed, tapping her badge.

It did not take long for the eerie whirring whine to start, and with it, the wave of their emotions. I had been on Cloud Nine before, but that threw me straight to hell as the emotions caused some of my worst memories to flash through my mind. Thankfully, I was ready for it this time, and I was barely affected.

The first interspatial fissures began to open. Just randomly in the air, a white dot appeared which grew rapidly to a meter wide circle. The outside edge was white while the center was different shades of blue that rippled between the colors. When the opening stopped growing, the first Jaculus exited the portal as another one started to open. It looked around and screeched upon seeing Ransom. As tempting as it was to let it kill him, I teleported in front of him and released my aura.

"I have captured the ones responsible for killing your kind. You will not kill him in my presence!" I ordered.

[True Dragon!] the creature screeched in my mind, sounding neither male nor female.

[Kiono is dead!] a new one cried telepathically.

[Give us the killer!] a third demanded.

"Fucking hell... No wonder they want to kill you all so badly! You killed their queen; without another, the colony will die anyways similar to how bee colonies need a queen to reproduce," I explained. "Why did you even let your Kiono leave your realm?"

[Ankari serve Kiono for generations!]

[Loyal and generous!]

[They faked their call!]

[Kiono excited for a new place but trapped instead!]

As the various Jaculus talked telepathically, they cycled through the different portals, not one staying longer than fifteen seconds. A bit disconcerting at first, but I adapted quickly as their 'mental voices' sounded similar enough; it was just the rhythm that was a little strange.

"It seems that the very first Jaculus you called was their queen which explains why this got so out of hand... Seriously, you've got some shit luck, Ransom," I said, rubbing the base of my horn with annoyance.

While he grimaced ugly, Janeway asked, "What can we do to stop the attacks on the Equinox and the crew?"

"You heard her question. What do you want in exchange for leaving the Equinox alone?" I repeated since I knew they could understand our words.

[Bring Kiono back!]

[Bring Kiono back!]

[Bring Kiono back!]

"All they want is their queen back, their Kiono," I translated for them.

Both Janeway and Ransom did not know what to say. In a sense, they were kids begging for their mother to come back, but there was no way to bring any of them back. I placed my cup of coffee down with a bit of telekinesis as I walked closer to the Jaculus and conjured a few wisps of my Chaos Storm Clouds to test a theory. 

Immediately, the four in our world rushed towards me, specifically the hand I was releasing the spell from. It was almost comical to watch them slurp up the wisps of gray with excitement, but then I noticed that they were frozen in Time. I turned around and found Sancu standing between Janeway and Ransom, who were also feeling the effects of the universal pause button.

"Quite clever. What gave away the surprissse?" Sancu asked.

"The traces of their attacks. One of Dystina's memories was of her hunting with one of her sons, Orrocos, and his Jaculus used the same type of attack, but it's a unique mutation attack due to his Fae Dragon bloodline," I answered with a smile. "I didn't put the pieces together until I looked up a Jaculus, though."

"They are actually a gift from Orrocos, should you ever bond with a Shard of Chaos. These were bred while he patrolled the Chaos Border near his region of planets and are designed to feed off Chaos Corruption. They should be able to clean up any accidental corruption you leave behind while also training your Soul," Sancu explained.

"By eating pieces of it, asshole. That knowledge is from the memory rather than Fae's databanks," I complained.

"No one is forcing you to sign a contract with them, but they can be very useful, especially in your next world... with handling the dead cut by that blade in a large-scale battle... to prevent any new Chaotic plague or natural disaster that could spring up in a world rich with magic," Sancu said dryly, giving me a deadpan stare. "And telling you only pushed it back eight months to ten years, outliners aside."

I chuckled as he answered my question before I could ask. While I could argue that I would be extra careful with using my weapon, I knew my tendencies if they set up a grueling battle for me. I would get sloppy; that was exactly what they were teaching me to do through these worlds.

"So, what are the real dangers, aside from the Soul eating bit everyone was happy to leave out?" I asked.

"They feed on Chaos Corruption, so eventually, they could turn on you. Their bodies are also known to mutate the more that they eat, so they can suddenly go out of control in a battle, attacking you or alliesss," he explained with a sly smile.

"Yet more things to add to the helpful and harmful list that is my life and powers," I mocked. "Fine, I get that I will need help with this in the future. How do I do this without having them bore directly into my Soul, because I'm not agreeing to that?"

Sancu tossed me a crystalized shell and said, "Fill it with your blood and infuse your mana into it while you mentalize your contract then offer it to them. If they accept, they will take it back to their realm for power and to act as your anchor to them. The nautilus shell can work like a battery, so you can fill it occasionally when you have extra mana."

I looked over the crystal shell which sparkled beautifully as the light refracted through it. While I looked it over, Sancu vanished in a flash of white light. He gave me enough time to turn back around before he unfroze Time, and the Jaculus finished sucking up the last of the wisps of my Chaos Storm Clouds.

"We can't bring back your Kiono, but I can support your colony," I said.

[More!]

[Feed us more!]

[Now!]

The Jaculus demanded more of my Chaos mana, but that did not surprise me after what Sancu told me about them. While they were intelligent, their instincts still drove ninety-nine percent of their actions, so like an addict who got a taste of their favorite drug, their thoughts were consumed. Since I would not get a proper answer right now, I cut my palm and let my black blood drip into the inner chamber. The clear crystal shell allowed me to see how the blood seeped into the grooves, almost looking like a network of veins, but I only gave it a passing glance before I started channeling my mana into it, dying the shell stormy gray. As Sancu instructed, I mentalized the contract as I worked, remembering Katye's lessons since she had taught all of us how to bond with elemental creatures after Filigree joined.

 "You will only get more by working for me. Do you accept?" I asked, holding the shell up towards them.

One of the Jaculus moved closer and placed a hand on the shell. It kept it there for a few moments then greedily snatched it out of my hand. Before I could say anything, the other Jaculus rushed the one with the shell as they tried to steal it away. The one with the shell sped in the opposite direction while channeling its mana to create a new portal, but just as it started to form, the other Jaculus disrupted the opening.

"Enough fighting! You will all get equal portions within your realm. It's only when I call you that you have a chance for more," I said annoyed.

Even though the bond was not complete, the Jaculus obeyed my order and allowed the one with the shell to leave. The rest did not wait long and immediately rushed back to their realm. As soon as they were gone, I felt the contract lock into place and a gnawing sensation at my Soul. The drainage of my Soul Power was negligible, but I was stuck with a phantom itch that I could not scratch, annoying, but hardly life-threatening.

"The shit I deal with," I grumbled as I shifted uncomfortably, trying to get used to the feeling.

"Rebecca?" Janeway called.

I turned back around to face them and walked over to them as I healed my hand. "The Jaculus won't be a problem anymore."

"What did you do?" Janeway asked.

"I bonded with the Soul-eating space wyrms," I replied honestly. "Similar to the relationship between Katye and Filigree, but one of the few working Dragon versions. Thankfully, they are more than happy to stay in their pocket dimension because my ship is crowded enough."

"That's just a colorful metaphor, right?" Janeway questioned.

"Sadly, no. They're parasitic to Dragons, needing both mana and Soul Power, but they have their uses... humane uses. I feed them a mana crystal's worth of mana occasionally, and put up with this annoying 'itch', and they will handle simple tasks for me, maybe even teach me a few tricks," I explained. "I used an artificial connection, so I can break the connection safely if they become a danger to me, but they will die shortly afterwards without another form of support. When we make it back to the Alpha Quadrant, I might be able to find one of my kind that breeds them who will take them off my hands."

"For what it's worth, thank you," Ransom said.

"Go float yourself. If it wasn't for Kathryn and the danger that they pose to Voyager, I'd leave you to the leeches. You spat on everything it means to be a Starfleet Captain the moment you traded for that summoning device. You were so desperate and greedy that you slaughtered an innocent, intelligent creature on the 'chance' that you might gain something from it," I said coldly.

"Rebecca," Janeway chided weakly.

"It's fine, Captain. Captain Cox is only speaking the truth," Ransom stated with a firm jaw.

I picked up my cup with my telekinesis and started walking towards the door as I said, "I'll leave the punishment to you, Kathryn; my methods aren't exactly Starfleet approved."

"Let me guess, a beating? An execution?" Ransom mocked.

I stopped and looked over my shoulder with a threatening smile to say, "Nothing so crude. I'd merely shove the memories of every dying Jaculus in your mind, so you can feel exactly what the entire colony felt over and over, but sadly, that would likely break your mind since you killed so many, and Kathryn would not appreciate that."

Whatever bravado that made him speak out was immediately killed by my statement. I scoffed, and then continued on my way out of the Shuttle Bay and to Aeroponics. At least I could relax on my duty shift, and do my best to put Ransom far out of my thoughts.