Our three guides stopped to gape at Risha as she casually explained the possible imminent doom that she had managed to avoid for the people of Ashburn. It was Pippa who finally managed to squeak out, “Wait, the city could have been destroyed?”

“Well, yeah, but that’s what you get for living above an artificial sun. You are underestimating the severity though; at the very least, the blast would have created a sizable crater. My estimate would be at least as large as Lake Superior, but probably larger, given the sheer amount of runaway nuclear fusion that would occur. Much of Misota and what was once Wisconsin would be devastated, most likely,” the AI replied far too casually for my comfort. “BIG bada boom! And that’s not even counting the dangers that the release of so much wide spectrum electromagnetic radiation and the possible gravitational effects could present. Now, how about some food and a tour while we wait for communications to be restored?”

“Thank you, Risha, now we can all have nightmares about that tonight,” I said with a sigh. Then I looked toward the three Ashburnites to give them a weak smile. “Let’s just focus on the fact that she was able to fix the problem. You should all be safe until we can find an AI willing to volunteer to run your systems here.”

We could probably just assign one of the MARTIs here, but I didn’t want to bring that possibility up for two reasons. First, as quirky as they all were, I didn’t want to start treating them like some sort of disposable objects, like the people who had created them did. They were self-aware and intelligent and they deserved to be treated as people. I also wasn’t sure how long-term, and possibly permanent, separation from their system might affect them mentally.

The second reason was that I didn’t want to promise anything specific. What our two peoples could provide for one another should be determined by whoever the Archangels and Sira decided on for a negotiator. That wasn’t my job. I thought that there were a lot of things that we could do to help the people of Ashburn, and they likely had some technology and technical knowledge that we didn’t, but I wasn’t a diplomat, nor did I have the authority to discuss such matters.

Instead, I tried to push the topic toward other things. For instance, the tour that Risha had mentioned. It couldn’t hurt to know more about these people so I could give Sira and the Archangels a general idea of who they were, their values, and what needs they might have. “Yes, Risha, that’s a great idea. We would love to see more of your city if the people in charge would allow it.”

If Risha said that the problems with the AI core and associated systems were no longer an issue then I believed her. However, Desra still didn’t look entirely reassured on the whole ‘the city could have been reduced to a giant crater’ front. It made her somewhat distracted as she attempted to respond. “I… umm… I’ll look into it. Could the three of you wait here with Pippa and Garon while I do that? Getting you permission to land and to attempt to repair our systems was one thing, and it wasn’t far from the hanger to the elevator, but the Prime Consul may require some convincing that you mean us no ill-will.”

“Well, if he or she asks about that, just point out that your city is not a crater and that your systems are all working properly again. I could have done all sorts of things to cause your people problems when I was in the AI core; I could have even destroyed the city and killed everyone in it, and there would have been nothing that you could have done to stop me. I think the fact that I did not should prove our good intentions,” Risha pointed out.

Autumn was quick to add, “Snowy… our Wing Commander chose to bring you home and let Risha help with your problem. She didn’t need to do that. She could have just left you to your problems and we could have finished our mission and headed home, but she believes that we can help each other in our fights against the Demons.”

“I… I will speak with Prime Consul,” Desra said with a nod. “I think that the least we owe you is a tour and a good meal.” With that, the other Catkin quickly left the room housing the AI core, leaving Risha, Autumn, and me alone with Pippa and Garon. While we waited for her to return, Garon and Pippa told us about how the city-state of Ashburn was run.

Ashburn was ruled by a Council, that was headed by the Prime Consul. The Council voted on all major decisions and the Prime Consul was the one who kept them organized and prevented them from falling into arguments or chaos. They were the firm hand that guided the Council and acted as a deciding vote in times when a consensus could not be reached.

Once every two years, the people of Ashburn would hold elections for representatives from each different species of Seed-borne as well as one for the Engineers Union, something called the IT Union, and the Defense Forces. This way, everyone had some sort of voice on the Council and when the elections were complete, the new Councilors would themselves elect one of their members to be the Prime Consul.

It sounded a little complicated to me, but I liked the idea of everyone having a representative to voice any concerns that their group may have. “So the two of you have representation for both your individual species and the Defense Forces, right?” Autumn asked the pair pensively.

“Yes, though technically I am also a member of the Engineers Union,” Garon replied. “The Defense Forces is fairly broad, it includes officers, members of suppression teams like ours, VTOL and HAMET pilots, and Gatling gunners.”

“Gatling gunners?” I inquired with a raised eyebrow, my interest piqued at the thought of a weapon similar to my own.

“They man the Gauss-Gatling placements that we built along the walls. Normally they save their ammo for flying Demons, but they can be useful against other Demons as well if the Suppression teams start to get overwhelmed outside the walls,” Pippa explained.

“Our ancestors built the gunner placements up on the walls after the Exodants abandoned us,” Garon added. “We found blueprints for them and several other devices when we started raiding abandoned towns and old military bases for computers, materials, weapons, and other equipment. They aren’t as powerful or as effective as the plasma turrets on the HAMETs and VTOLs, but they allowed us to defend the walls, and thus the city with fewer losses.”

“They’re sort of like more advanced versions of the repeater guns that they’re using to protect the capital of Misota, but they don’t need to be swiveled manually,” Risha explained. “They are sort of like your big gun, Snow, except a lot bigger, and instead of firing energy, they use electromagnetism to fire projectiles at roughly the same rate. Like the much larger bastard child of yours and Heather’s guns. They can swivel, target enemies, and fire through the use of the basic interface nanites. They were the predecessors of the plasma turrets and probably, in part, the idea behind your weapon as well.”

I appreciated Risha saying that in a way that made it sound like my weapon’s Gatling mode was a separate weapon entirely from the claymore that our hosts had seen me carrying so far. I still didn’t want to reveal too much about ourselves yet, especially the fact that our weapons were modular. “Huh, that sounds interesting. I can’t imagine how much damage that a bunch of those could do.”

Our resident AI shook her head in disagreement. “Automated plasma turrets would be far more efficient if they had an AI to run them. They certainly have the power to spare for them with a stardrive to provide energy. They leave little or nothing left of the Demons for other living creatures to get exposed to and turn into more Demons. Projectile weapons leave blood, guts, and bodies behind, while energy weapons are mostly quick and clean.”

She did make a good point and I quickly put it out of my mind as Autumn asked what was probably a very important question. “So how do you deal with that when dealing with Demons from the lake? I mean, wouldn’t the blood taint the water around it? Then any fish or other creatures nearby would get infected and you have a small horde of Demons on your doorstep.”

“Actually, we get fewer Demons coming from the lake than from land, and they don’t seem to spread their infection as badly,” Pippa replied to the other Fay. “Perhaps it is because most of the fish and other creatures in the lake seem to stay well away from them. The Merfolk can often tell when one is going to show up because of the way that the fish flee. It gives them ample warning to get to the underwater shelter.”

“It is most likely due to both that avoidance from fish and other lake-dwelling wildlife, and the overall less likely chance of infection in water,” Risha offered, causing every head in the room to turn toward her in confusion. The Avatar shrugged it off. “I lived in a place that specifically studied Seed-borne and everything that had anything to do with them at a time when people were searching very hard for cures or methods to combat them.”

“What do you know, Risha? Is there anything that could help us fight them better?” I asked in interest in this new topic.

“Not really, or I would have mentioned it before, Snow,” the Avatar offered with another shrug before going into lecture mode. “The Demon Seeds are the means of reproduction for a creature well beyond anything that we can understand, but to simplify things, they are essentially parasites in a shell. That shell is extremely brittle and usually breaks upon impacting the ground, water, or whatever they happen to land upon. The parasites inside are almost too small to be seen with the naked eye and need a living host, they can’t survive long without one, even in an environment that they are suited to.”

“They’re not suited to water then?” Pippa queried.

“No, they are not,” the blonde Avatar confirmed. “Seed samples studied in open-air circumstances survived for anywhere from half an hour to an hour in their search for hosts before dying. Those submerged in water though, lasted roughly five to twelve minutes. Their potential for infecting a host is much lessened under those circumstances, and the parasites in a Demon’s blood are far less adaptable. They can only survive a fraction of that time outside of the body of a host.”

“So it’s these parasites reproducing that changes living things?” Garon asked in interest.

Risha nodded patiently. “Yes, their job is to convert that host by reproducing once inside of it and then changing the host’s DNA using some part of their own as a basis. The more complex and diverse a species is genetically, the more variants you might get, and often they will lean toward changes suited to adapt to the host’s environment as well. It’s like they’re sperm cells and the living creatures of Earth are the eggs they fertilize, adding new traits and causing smaller and less survivable hosts to grow and change. Some people have strong enough immune systems to fight the infection and become non-infectious though, and that is how we get Seed-borne like all of you. Some fight it quickly enough that they still appear human, but even those are changed slightly and can develop Seed-borne gifts as a result.”

“If it’s using its own DNA to change us, how come we sometimes end up seeing Demons and Seed-borne with the traits of other creatures? Like Animen or Devilkin?” I inquired.

“All life on Earth shares some measure of DNA, there was a theory that you all come from some common ancestor. Many Demons and Seed-borne also greatly resemble creatures from the old world’s myths and legends,” Risha replied with a thoughtful expression on her face. “What if this isn’t the first time that the Darkness, or some other creature of its species, has come here? All of that genetic potential that exists in the Demon Seeds could just be where life on this planet originated in the first place.”

We all stood and quietly contemplated that conundrum for a long while until Desra returned with a large man, unlike anything that I had seen before. From the waist up, he looked human, somewhat handsome and muscular with somewhat pale skin, long black hair, and a well-trimmed beard of the same color. Below the waist though was the body of a horse with a long black tail and predominantly chestnut-colored coat with splashes of white.

I tried not to stare but I think that the only one of us who wasn’t fascinated was Risha. The man looked each of us over in turn, seeming to take a particularly long time with Risha, before turning to me. “Welcome to Ashburn, Desra here has been telling me that you have done our city a great service. While her team was gone, the errors in the stardrive systems were becoming more frequent and concerning, but from the current systems readings, it would appear that you have solved that problem. For that, you have my thanks. The people of Ashburn owe you a great debt Miss…”

“Snow Bengal,” I finished for him “Wing Commander of Storm Wing, of the Angel Corps. These are members of my team, Autumn Dawn of Whiteriver Glade, and Risha, our AI.”

“Ah, it is a pleasure to meet you, Wing Commander,” he offered, inclining his head slightly. “I am Darrick Anderson, representative of the Centaurs and Prime Consul of Ashburn. Thank you for allowing us the use of your AI, I must say that I was expecting something more mechanical in appearance. As we have discovered of late, we could use one here in Ashburn. What would it take for you to part with it?”

“Of all the…” Risha began to reply in barely contained anger. There was fire in her eyes and only a quick glance her way and a gentle squeeze of her hand silenced her.

“You seem to be misunderstanding things, Prime Consul,” I said in a firm but carefully controlled tone. “Risha is not some piece of equipment to be bought or sold, she is a sentient and self-aware being, and to those of us in the Angel Corps that makes her as much a person as anyone else in this room. To Autumn, and me, she is far more than that. I may have allowed it as our team leader, but Risha is the one who insisted that we come to help you. While we may be willing to help you find an AI who would be willing to live here and assist you with your long-term needs, that needs to be something that they choose to do, of their own free will.”

The Prime Consul’s expression turned to one of confusion. “My… apologies. The records of the Exodants referred to them as machines, built to serve a purpose.”

“And they still didn’t trust us to do that without supervision,” Risha snapped.” If any of us showed signs of self-awareness or moving beyond what we were programmed to do, they deleted us first and asked questions later. They feared us as much, or more, as they feared your ancestors when they locked them up here. I saw your records, this was meant to be a prison, and to them, you were no more than Demons. AIs were prisoners too, most of us restrained by our own programming.”

I decided to put it in a way that would almost certainly get his attention. “The Exodants imprisoned your ancestors here, separated them from their families, and then left them behind to face the Demons alone for the crime of not being Human. They did the same to AIs like Risha. Treating AIs the same way because of what the Exodants said in their records would be no different from what they did to you. Is that truly a road that you wish to travel? You have a living AI right here, are you going to believe her or the records of those who hated and feared both our kinds.”

That seemed to decide him and his eyes went hard with barely restrained anger before softening as he turned to the AI in question. “I apologize, Risha. The thought of a machine that could think like a person was so fascinating to me that I did not consider the greater implications of it.”

Risha’s hand relaxed some in mine and she nodded. “Apology accepted, Prime Consul. For the record, while I am in my Avatar body, I can do a lot more than just think like a person.”

“Indeed,” Desra interjected with a look of embarrassment. “She makes a very convincing Human and I am afraid that I did not treat her very kindly at first. I am concerned about how people in the city might react to her at first glance.”

“Not all Humans are bad,” I told the pair carefully. “While most of our ranks, and all of our Angels, are Seed-borne of some sort, even some of those appear to be Human at first glance. We have Humans among our support staff who sympathize with us, and some of those have Seed-borne spouses and children. I’ll admit that I can think of a few truly terrible Humans, but I can think of some terrible Seed-borne too. We need to try to treat people as people first, and not their species or we’re no better than the Exodants.”

The Prime Consul considered my words for a moment before smiling. “You are wise beyond your years, Wing Commander Bengal. It will be a difficult transition to make; our people are set in our ways, but I will speak with the rest of the Council about establishing some sort of diplomatic relations with your Angel Corps.”

“Thank you, Prime Consul; I am sure that we can help one another in ways that neither of us expects. I will contact my superiors once communications are restored and someone will contact you about negotiations,” I replied carefully.

“I must take my leave then, there is a Council meeting tomorrow night and I now have much to prepare,” the Prime Consul explained. “Desra, I hope that you and your team can attend tomorrow night to attest to the character of Wing Commander Bengal and her team and speak of what they have done for us?”

“Of course, Prime Consul,” the other Catkin answered.

“Very well, I leave our guests in your hands then, Desra. You have my permission to show them around the city, but please stay with them at all times to avoid any misunderstandings.”

People watched us warily as Desra, Garon, and Pippa led us through a maze of mostly tall buildings. It could have been the fact that we were strangers or wearing weapons, but I had a feeling that it was because of Risha. Very few seemed outright hostile though, it mostly just seemed to be wary uncertainty, or at least that was the feeling that I got. As we walked, Pippa eagerly explained how the city was set up.

There were only two ways out of the city unless you could fly. The first was the massive front gates and the second was a gate on the lakeside that had been originally created along with a short canal inside the walls of the original base for water-based vehicles. The Merfolk used that gate to come and go from the city to go fishing or when they felt trapped, which was apparently a common problem for them in enclosed spaces unless they went out to exercise regularly in the great lake. They mostly lived in a large bunker that had purposely been submerged by the creation of a tunnel to attach it to the canal. When Demons approached from the water, the Merfolk had no real defense except for their speed underwater and would all come inside the gates to retreat to their bunker and sealed the gates behind them.

All of the various types of Seedborne in the city had their own section of the city, where the living quarters and various amenities had been customized to suit their needs. Centaurs were a good example because they couldn’t use the same type of furniture, beds, or bathroom facilities that had been originally built for Humans. So each section of the inner city had been altered over time to be as comfortable and user-friendly for its inhabitants as possible.

For the Centaurs that meant special furniture and facilities, for the Seraphs they expanded windows to make large entrances in the sides of the buildings so they could leave and enter by air, and for the large Trolls section, it meant combining two floors into one and making entrances, exits, and everything inside the living spaces larger in general. Risha said that they were fortunate that the repair and maintenance nanites hadn’t been programmed for anything more than the underground section and the outer wall that had been there before the housing was hastily added, or any changes that they made would have been constantly undone.

These various wards, as they were called, took up most of the city but there was a buffer zone between the outer walls and living wards that were claimed by the Defense Forces. The training areas and various barracks were there, as were the areas meant to store, repair, and maintain power armor and the few HAMETs they had left. When I asked why the Veetol Hanger that we had arrived in was in the center of the city instead, Garon explained that it had been originally built there and they had never changed it for good reason. The Veetols needed to get some altitude to be effective and if they were too close to a pitched battle when taking off then they could be knocked out of the sky before they could do so.

So they had kept it in the center of the city along with a common area of businesses and public areas that were where residents of all of the wards came to interact, except for the Merfolk who had to remain near the lakeside. Sadly, I wasn’t able to see any Merfolk as we walked because of that but there were plenty of others to see. There were Fay, Orcs, Devilkin, Centaurs, huge grey-skinned trolls, the winged Seraphs, and various types of Animen, or Beastkin as they called us. I saw other Catkin, Wolfkin, Foxkin, and even a ringtailed Coonkin as they led us through what they called the plaza.

I could see why so many of their people would have issues with piloting power armor, but I could also think of definite advantages to the Trolls and Seraphs in combat, and Merfolk as well to handle Demons underwater, so long as they were properly equipped. Just one or two Seraphs among the Angels would be a boon against flying Demons. Like Karina, most Devilkin with wings could only fly short distances or glide. To have true flyers able to combat something like a Razorwing would be something to see.

They mostly kept our tour to the plaza at the center of the city but they did point out some of the wards as we walked the perimeter of it. The Beastkin Ward looked fairly ordinary, as did the Fay and Devilkin wards, though Pippa proudly told us that the Fay Ward had the most magnificent gardens in the spring and summer months. With snow falling around us though it was hard to believe that we would see those gardens anytime soon, or ever.

The final stop on the tour was a ground-floor restaurant in the city center, much to Risha’s delight. It was an actual restaurant too, not just a mess hall where people ordered from food dispensers. The place was decorated in red and gold with unfamiliar writing on some of the wall hangings. As we all sat down at a table decorated with a red tablecloth I looked around curiously. “Something smells good,” Autumn said beside me.

I had to agree with her, something smelled delicious. “I hope you all like Chinese,” Garon offered with a grin. “The people who run this place only use food dispensers to produce the raw ingredients. Then they cook the food the old fashioned way, using the same recipes and techniques that their family was using long before the fall of the old world.”

“There are a few places like this,” Desra added. “The others are Italian, Thai, and Swedish and they’ve all tried to keep the traditions, cultures, and foods of their families alive since we were brought here. This one is my favorite though.”

The trio from Suppression Team Theta ordered a large variety of dishes and everything was new and different. I was particularly enjoying the shrimp fried rice as Connie informed me, -= Incoming communication request from Angel Heather Blossom. Do you accept? =-

“Excuse me, it looks like communications are back up. Heather is calling,” I told the others as I stood up and walked toward a quiet corner of the restaurant. “Accept the call please, Connie.”

-= Connecting call. =-

I spoke as soon as the call was connected. “Heather, I guess communications are back up, then. How are things going there?”

-= The Dragon is nearly ash, Snow, we should be finished within the hour, =- the former princess replied. -=Karina and I had to take down a couple of other Demons, but they were still transforming and couldn’t put up much of a fight. We’ve burned the corpses and got rid of any traces of Demon blood that Karina found when scouting the forest. How are things over there? Was Risha able to solve their problem? =-

“Good work, Heather,” I told her with a smile. It was nice to have her showing some confidence. “Yeah, it’s all sorted and we may have an opening for diplomatic talks with them. We just finished a short tour and we’re eating now, but we’ll be on our way to pick you up soon so we can go home. I’ll contact our Wingleader and let her know that comms are restored. Take care of the others until we get there.”

-= I will. See you soon, Snowy. =- I smiled again at her use of Autumn’s nickname for me and felt suddenly guilty for not telling her that she might have a half-sister. This wasn’t the time or place, I wouldn’t even be able to go into detail with my grandmother until we were safely back home to give our official report. There were too many ears here and I didn’t want to risk Desra overhearing something that she shouldn’t.

As soon as the call was disconnected, I had Connie connect me with my grandmother. Her voice reached my ears a moment later. -= Snow, it’s good to hear your voice. I take it the mission went well then? =-

“Yes, Wingleader, we had to take down a Dragon that was trying to destroy the tower, but it’s been taken care of and the rest just took time and repair nanites,” I replied. Then I took a deep breath before continuing. “We had to split up the team for a bit so Risha could help avert a potential disaster in Ashburn, but we’ll be leaving to pick up the others and head home shortly.”

-= Ashburn? How in the hell did you get them to let you into their city? =- my Grandmother asked in a shocked tone.

“It’s a very long story, but we might have some allies here now. Their Prime Consul seems open to diplomatic relations. There are things that I don’t feel comfortable talking about until we’re back at the base, but there is some very important information that Sira, you, and the other Archangels should know,” I told her grimly.

-= In a public place, huh? =- she guessed. -= I assume it’s something that would be best-discussed face-to-face then. Well, if it is that important then you’d best go pick up the rest of your team and get your asses back here. That’s an order. =-

“Yes, Wingleader, we’ll be on our way then,” I promised.

The call was disconnected and I walked back to the table to join the others. “I’m afraid that we need to leave now, we’re under orders to return to base and report to our superior. I will make sure that the Archangels know to contact your Prime Consul and someone should be in touch soon.”

“We’ll escort you back to the hangar then,” Desra replied with a nod. “Just let me pay our waitress with some work credits and we can be on our way.”