Mara woke up to the buzz of her access band's alarm, though she'd not slept much anyway. Even with Iris keeping her company, she couldn't shake the dread that had been mounting since yesterday. The loop started with replaying CrossHound's silent condemnation of what she'd done to Xelene. Next came the outrage because not too long ago CrossHound mowed down people like Xelene without giving them a second thought. They'd planned on doing precisely that yet again, in about a day's time. Then, in a crashing wave, fear shredded through Mara's confidence and bravado.

On and on it went as she sat there all night.

Not even a Goddess was immune to getting a little rattled, it appeared. Mara slipped free from Iris' well-muscled arm, taking a moment to admire the strength. She thought of when the two of them accepted this, the way they'd cried and laughed. How Iris had held her so close even as Mara affixed her with a muzzle and a collar. CrossHound was wrong. She had to be, if Iris was okay with it.

Mara let the shower wash away her doubts. She'd once coordinated a thousand person wedding for Titus' cousin in less time than this, and that was after the wedding planner lost the venue and went missing. Whatever had happened yesterday was done with, anyway. She was Amaranth Thelxinoe Faustus. She couldn't fail. Wouldn't. It wasn't just herself on the line anymore. She'd started building a life.

As she was toweling off, annoyed at the way the linens here were scratchy and smelled of starch, Mara's access band buzzed from where she'd left it on the sink. Odd. It buzzed again and again for the next few minutes while she finished drying herself and putting her hair up. She slipped it back onto her wrist and headed out into the bedroom.

Iris had woken during Mara's shower and now seemed content busying herself with her morning regimen. She looked up from the bottom of her diamond push-up, sweat dewing her brow. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah! Probably. Just...access band kept going off." She held up her wrist with the access band.

Iris shrugged - or, as much as one could shrug with her weight balanced on the palms on her hands - and continued her routine. Mara watched her for a moment. One thing she loved about this new person her sister had become: Mara could leer for as long as she wanted without Iris calling her a creep.

"You're being a creep," Iris said, not making eye contact. Despite the words, Mara continued to leer because really, what was Iris gonna do about it? Complain? From the way her thighs rubbed together as she continued her workout, Mara knew it wouldn't be that. She grasped for her tablet with her hand, missing a few times before she managed to connect. Doing her best to keep drinking in the sweat-soaked form of her sister, she unlocked the tablet and pressed the access band to it.

"Fuck."

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Adeline waved Mara into the room. She didn't gesture for her to even sit. All business today, as if Adeline hadn't insinuated that she wanted to fuck Mara the last time they'd spoken. Star-crossed lovers, us two, Mara mused.

"Good, you're here. I need you to handle something," Adeline said, poring over some document.

"And what's that?"

"Just got word there's a VIP arriving in the next few hours. I need you to escort the man, make sure he doesn't cause too much trouble. He asked for you, specifically."

"Who's this VIP?"

"I dunno. Some corporate bigwig guy from Umbriel."

Mara knew every VP by name. None of them had the clearance necessary to even know that SR-21 existed and were trusted enough by Astrid or Titus to come here on business. But there was one person that Titus trusted. Someone who'd wanted Hook Echo back and who claimed on many occasions that Fall-From-Grace just "needed a little discipline from daddy".

"Tobit."

"I thought you said you didn't know!"

"Lucky guess."

"Anyway, give him whatever he wants. I don't want a pissing match between our folks and theirs."

Mara wanted to protest. It must've been plain on her face.

"Promotions don't just come with perks," Adeline said, staring at her over the rims of her glasses.

"Yes, sir. I'll handle it. When do they arrive?"

"1600."

Time. She had time. A scant few hours before Ricky fucking Tobit, who asked for Ravella because Ricky fucking Tobit didn't understand "no", would be here. A scant few hours to reconfigure the most audacious plan ever. She thought of fleeing with just Iris. Then she remembered a demonstration of the Logistics Core's targeting systems. Nowhere they fled would be far or fast enough to get them out.

Still, she had time. It could be enough.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate your trust in my abilities."

"Hmph," Adeline said. Her tone was brusque, but Mara caught the hint of blush in her cheeks. Damn shame she'd be dead in a few hours. Mara loved an older woman. With that, Mara dismissed herself.

Time. She had time.

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She ran through the steps in her head. First she needed to get to the Logistics Core again. One line of code. Just one line of code. Two hours from now. That's all she needed. She could do this. Fuck. Mara needed to breathe. To be alone.

She found the nearest bathroom and pushed open the door. A strangled squawk caught her attention. Sitting in a small alcove next to the row of sinks was a blue macaw. Mara had studiously avoided using public restrooms where possible. They were a great source of information, but she'd feared anyone trying to strike up conversation with her would blow her cover.

Or that there would be a bird that stared at her with beady, expectant eyes. It squawked again, ruffling its wings as it paced back and forth. As she drew closer, she noticed that he was missing a few feathers in patches along his wings. There was a small bowl of some sort of processed food product next to him alongside what appeared to be a canteen cup screwed into the wall. It'd been jury-rigged with a detachable plastic bottle to create an improvised water dispenser for the bird.

She walked closer and saw a handwritten note:

His name is Ifvan. He won't fly. He likes the bird lotion.

Mara noticed a small bottle filled with a syrupy brown substance. The label had been worn away with time and then caked in drippings from the bottle's pump dispenser. Scrawled in red sharpie were the words "Bird Lotion". As she reached for it, she saw Ifvan's wings flutter a bit in anticipation. She took it as a good sign. Soon enough she had a glob of the dubious "lotion" in her hand. Ifvan had gone still, save for a few twitches of its head. He awaited his prize. Mara reached forward, not sure if Ifvan would bite.

All he did, though, was butt his head into Mara's palm. She spent a few minutes smearing the "lotion" on the creature as it let out small coos. Once thoroughly satiated, she withdrew. It wasn't time alone, but the break had helped.

"Thanks, Ifvan," Mara said. Only then did he give her finger a single, loving nip with his beak. She washed her hands and left, feeling better for having met the bird.

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Mara was about to swipe her access band on the panel to the Core when Xelene pulled her into a nearby room. Then she was kissing Mara again. It was passionate, and Mara could feel by the way Xelene pressed into her that she was needy already. Shit fuck FUCK.

"Xelene," Mara said. She needed to pull back before--

"No, just...please. Use me." Xelene's voice was full of the confidence she'd once had as a proud Handler-Major. Now, though? Now it was all pretense for her getting fucked and degraded. God, how the hell was she supposed to pass this up? Knowing how haughty she'd been and seeing how much she'd been broken into this sex-crazed lunatic made Mara unreasonably aroused.

Time. She had time. Time enough to lovingly stroke off Xelene while reinforcing her place in all of this. Time enough to corrupt and break her further. To Xelene's credit, she was good at being submissive. A few times, Mara got so flustered that she'd forgotten what to say. Xelene supplied her with all the words she'd needed, though. Fifteen minutes later, Xelene's orgasm dribbled down her pant leg. She went to clean it off, but Mara stopped her.

"Leave it."

"But--"

"It won't matter. Come on."

Xelene nodded and followed Mara to the Logistics Core, barely managing to zip herself back up before Mara had the door open. "Corey?" Mara called into the space. She wasn't sure if it was his actual name, but it'd do fine. His eagerness from yesterday told her far too much about how he'd respond ("actually, um...it's Corwin haha", followed by a Tobit-like rant about neuroplasticity) that she didn't need to bother further. It wouldn't spare her and not knowing his name might chasten him enough to keep it short.

Silence greeted them. Mara weaved through the tangled web of cabling and found her way to the master diagnostics panel.

"What're you doing?"

"In about two hours, the Logistics Core is going to malfunction when its core precept for handling NULL is overwritten, causing it to interpret NULL data as non-NULL. Imagine a blackhole in the middle of your mind, the gravity of it pulling in everything until your thoughts slow and slow until..."

Mara looked over when she heard Xelene slump into one of the server racks. Her eyes were glassy and vacant. She had a blissful smile that told Mara she'd imagined the blackhole. Mara snapped her fingers. Xelene started.

"Sorry, I...should not have gotten distracted."

Mara shook her head. "What happened to you, huh?"

"I, um...I trusted my brother."

"Huh." Mara didn't think Xelene was the type. Then again, Mara wasn't sure she was the type for sure until a few days ago.

"What? No, I- not that- it's...it was someone else who...my brother was just there."

Mara had never seen Xelene this vulnerable. It was humanizing. Endearing, even. She hated it. Xelene was a means to an end. It was too late in the game for Mara to grow attached. Sacrifices were a necessary part of the plan. Mara cleared her throat and tapped a few keystrokes. "Alright, we're all good." Before Xelene could continue, Mara took her by the hand and left the room.

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Their next stop was the kennels. There was a serenity to them this morning. Most of the Handlers kept odd hours and even odder visitation times. It was standard procedure: you couldn't let yourself get too predictable or the reinforcement wouldn't be as effective. Showing up so many days in a row would be counterproductive for the Imperial war machine's efficacy, but really: fuck the Empire.

Seeing the way that they would've treated Iris - if not for Mara's loving intervention - had been one thing too many. She'd been able to accept the pain and horror of it because she was powerless to stop it. Now, though? Now she was going to burn this prison to the ground, salt the ashes, and ensure nothing fertile grew here again. She'd rip the Hound program out by the root, if need be.

Yes, it'd given her the one thing she'd craved. Yes, it'd introduced her to the triumphant delight that was molding someone's will to suit your needs. But at the end of the day it was simple: they'd threatened to hurt Iris - her Iris - and therefore total obliteration was the only conclusion worth considering.

Nobody got to touch her things.

The air in the room felt...charged. Next to her, Xelene shuddered. "You can feel it, too, right?"

"Yeah," Xelene said. Mara didn't want to resist the way she leaned in close to Xelene. The rush of it was too toxic, too corruptive, and she was too far gone to care. So was Xelene.

"They're waiting, Xelene. Curled and ready to strike." Mara said, wrapping her arms around Xelene's shoulders. "All your loyal pets, turned against you. Made into the weapons that will destroy everything that ever brought you acclaim. How does that feel?"

"Fuck..." Xelene sighed, gazing upon her own destruction. "I know I shouldn't want it, but I know that's how this works. I've seen it happen to so many. I've made it happen. And now that's it's happening to me, I..." She took in a sharp breath, as though she'd forgotten to inhale at all.

"And what do you say...?"

"Thank you, Mara."

Mara gulped. "What?"

"You think I didn't know?" Xelene's smile was wolfish.

"I...you're mistaken, I'm--"

"Ravella Faustus would never have come back here after what I did to her," Xelene said. "Nor would she have done what you did to me." She locked eyes with Mara, challenging her to disagree. Mara could only relent.

"No. No she wouldn't. But if you knew, then..."

"It was already too late for me," Xelene said. "By the time I realized it, you'd already gotten into my head. I wanted so badly to ruin you, but...well..."

Xelene let out a little moan. "You changed that. So now I'm yours. And Cross'. And the kennels'."

"Helluva demotion."

Xelene let out an honest to gods giggle at that before she sobered.

"You could leave now, you know? Right now?" Xelene said. "I'd be able to file the paperwork for a field test. You, me, Iris, and Cross could go. We'd make it look like an ambush. The Empire wouldn't think twice."

Mara shook her head. "I cant."

Xelene gave Mara a doleful stare. Mara wasn't quite sure that Xelene understood, but Xelene nodded anyway.

The two of them found their way over to CrossHound' cage. The mechanic turned ace pilot of Fall-From-Grace dozed contentedly. It only took a quick tap of the cage's bars for her to rouse.

"Hey, you two. It's..." CrossHound stretched. "S'real early. What's up?"

"Change of plans."

The words made CrossHound pause for a moment. Then she sighed. "We're scrambling, huh?"

"Yeah. You need to muster everyone." Mara opened CrossHound's cage.

"But keep them caged for now," Xelene interjected.

CrossHound looked to Mara, confused. Mara shrugged. "It's a good call. Look, we've got...54 minutes to prep both Fall-From-Grace and Hook Echo. This can still work."

"It means fewer of us are going to get out," CrossHound said.

"I know, but...this is our shot."

CrossHound nodded, the soldier in her already prepping for the worst even as the Hound's bloodlust crept in.

"We'll be ready."

"Good," Mara said. The unease she'd been feeling in her gut melted. This was fine. Everything would be fine.

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After they spent a few more minutes going over the updated plan, Mara and Xelene agreed that their next stop needed to be the mech bay. It'd be easy enough to harangue a few mechanics into doing whatever they needed. Nobody else knew that Xelene was a mindbroken puppet and Mara was, well...she was on the cusp of greatness. They moved through a corridor filled with meeting spaces that opened up into the mech bay.

Just as they were about to reach it, though: "Faustus!"

Commander-Warden Frieze's voice was stern, disapproving. It pinned both her and Xelene to the spot. They turned in unison and Mara saw Adeline approaching with a hostile vigor.

"Was I not clear, Faustus, on what your duties entail?"

"Sir, I--"

"I'm not finished, Faustus. He arrived early and he's waiting for you."

She was out of time. Fucking Ricky Tobit.

No. No, it wouldn't end like this. Ricky fucking Tobit would not be the end of her. She would see her way through this and come out the other end unscathed.

"Where is he?" Mara growled.

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Mara stepped into the room, Xelene trailing behind. Her mind wasn't even all that present. She was in the future, putting together a new plan. Revisions upon revisions. It'd be so simple in the end. Even if the worst happened, she could talk her way out of this. She'd known how to break Ricky down into little pieces ever since he was a predatory little boy. He'd not escaped that phase of his life. With Xelene as backup, it'd be easy enough to turn him into a simpering, useless fool.

Ricky sat at the end of a long conference table. His feet were propped up on it as he idled his time away on his tablet. His bald head gleamed in the dull light of the conference room. Xelene gave a derisive snort at the sight of him. Ricky glanced up at the both of them. Something about the sight made him scramble to his feet.

"Mara!" Ricky said, opening his arms wide. "Um...and Xelene! Two of SR-21's most esteemed Handlers. Alone with me. In this room!" He punctuated his statement with a nervous chuckle.

"You know him?" Mara asked.

"Fucking hate him." Xelene answered.

"Good." Mara gave him her most withering glare. "Ricky. Tobit."

Ricky backed up. He put his arms out in front of his, palm facing up and out. "Mara, Xelene. Please. I know we've had our differences, but...can't we all just get along?"

Mara started to walk towards him. She would solve the problem that was Ricky Tobit once and for all. It was long overdue. Her mind spun with all the glorious ways she could unmake him. Yes. This would be right. This would be righteous. This would-

And then she finally clocked the vase on the table. She'd stopped looking for things like it after having been here for so long. Military life was stripped free of frills and table accents. Nobody here would indulge in fresh cut flowers, let alone roses: only one person bought her those.

Titus thought she loved them.

Mara stepped back and bumped into Xelene. "Xelene, we have to go."

"What? Why?"

"Don't fight me on this, Xelene, we have to leave. Now!"

Xelene gave her a serene smile. It was wrong. So very wrong. "Relax, Mara. It's already too late."

Mara pushed past Xelene, making a break for the door. The next moment she was doubled over, stumbling backwards, gasping to catch her breath. Titus always loved her weak. Xelene guided her to a chair, even as Mara wheezed out a command: "Help."

"I am," Xelene said. "Did you really think this would work? They're here because of me. I just had to play along."

"So did I!" Ricky interjected. Mara didn't give a shit about him, though. Her ire was focused on Xelene.

"But you...I..." Mara knew she wasn't wrong. She couldn't be wrong. She'd been reborn and seen her plans begin to bear fruit. She was a goddess and Xelene...she had betrayed her.

"I mean, this is Mara we're talking about, Xel."

The gloating look on Xelene's face flickered, a rush of anger clouding her features. Ah. That explained who dosed her. Xelene regained her composure, face stiffening as she stood. "I've done my part, yes?"

She addressed Titus, who stood in the doorway. He was tall and lean and well-muscled, wearing perfectly tailored couture fashion. Long before this, when Mara was another woman, she'd at least have appreciated him physically. Now, though, he just looked wretched. He didn't have Iris' grace and his swagger was noxious to behold. How the hell had she ever accepted this...liar? This pretender?

This apostate?

Iris' words. They filtered into her mind from just days ago, when they spent the day fucking and talking and fucking some more. They felt right for everyone in this room. Mara appreciated Iris' moral center, but this? This is what she'd been dreading: a reckoning born from her own arrogance and addiction.

"Yeah, yeah. Astrid'll do her part," Titus said, not taking his eyes off Mara.

"And as for Ricky...?" Xelene asked.

Titus gave a dismissive wave. "Let him have his fun."

"Thanks, bro," Ricky interjected. Mara wanted to cleave him in two.

Titus gave Mara a shit-eating grin. "It's easier that way, right, 'Ravella'?"

Seething, roiling rage overtook Mara. Every violation, every mind game, every sneering bit of condescension that she'd held down and looked away from and made apologies for on Titus' behalf demanded a voice. It demanded blood. She was on him in a moment, digging her nails into his face.

"I should've killed you in your fucking sleep you pathetic child!" He let out a pained cry. Mara saw it in his eyes. Terror. Good. This is what she needed. She wanted this man in pain. Everything Astrid and he had done to her, everything they'd taken, bit by bit. She'd repay it. She would have her day. Her grip rotated as her nails prepared to take his sight. Yes. He'd be blind. Never to look on her again.

But then she was being pulled back and away. Xelene. Traitor.

"Let me go!"

"I'm saving you from yourself," Xelene hissed, voice low enough for only Mara to hear.

Titus clutched at his face. "You...you fucking whore!" Rage overcame him now. Quite a pair they made. Star-crossed lovers, us two, Mara mused. He wrenched Mara free of Xelene's grip like it was nothing. She saw the flare of his nostrils and knew what it meant: no holding back.

The blow connected with potent ferocity and Mara's head reeled, skull vibrating at the slap. She saw twinkles in her vision and her ears rang. Her cheek burnt from the pain. If she'd not known him so well as to preemptively go limp, he'd have broken her jaw again.

Mr. Mercer is a good man.

Mara slackened her body, knowing already that he was just beginning. The punch to her gut only sank her to her knees.

He's misunderstood!

This was how he controlled her. Even as she hated it, she felt that stranger - the past Mara - clawing its way back into her mind.

He's a genius in his own right.

They were lines she knew, but worse she now understood why she knew them. The stranger in her mind needed them. They kept her alive. Kept her rageful, but in control. Kept her exactly as much a thing as what she'd turned Iris into.

A useless mutt. She sagged forward onto her elbows. Whimpers and softly sobbed apologies tumbled out of her. They were cut short when Titus kicked her in the ribs. He let out a snort of a chuckle as she sprawled out on the floor.

"You dumb fucking cunt. Look at you! Even in your wildest fantasies, you're not yourself!" He kicked her again, laughing as he did. It was a harsh and horrible sound. It grated against Mara's mind as he guffawed.

"And the funniest part is you thought you were free!" Titus wiped at his eyes.

"Good one, Titus!" Ricky interjected. Mara wanted to drop him into a vat of unrefined Starlight, watch it blister his skin and melt him into nothing.

"You are always mine, Mara."

He knelt next to her, tracing his knuckles along her spine and up her neck. For a moment she could pretend that he was being gentle. "Every version of you I make."

The words chilled Mara to her core. It was so destabilizing that she didn't even notice when Titus yanked her up by her hair. The pain just would not reach her brain. "See, the real Mara? She's still at home. Mourning."

He pressed a button and the screen flared to life. It was a live feed of Mara's bedroom back in Avalost. The angle was from her bedside. Almost like it was from the lamp. Mara saw herself, lying in bed. Sobbing.

"Dad could never quite crack making clones permanent. Things start falling apart after a few days. Maybe a week tops. But they're great if you need a dumb bitch of a pilot who's had a fucked up thing for her sister broken quick. Did you ever wonder why you felt such an urgency to break Iris out? It's because somewhere, deep down inside, you knew you didn't have much time."

Titus pulled her forward across the room and slammed Mara's face against the screen. Up close, all she could see were the pixels of the display. Not that it made much of a difference. Not now, as Mara wept alongside her ersatz counterpart. No, not fake. The real her. It had to be. She needed to believe that it was real.

Except, Mara was an addict now.

"You're lying," she choked out between sobs.

"I don't have a reason to--"

Mara laughed, aspirated blood misting onto the screen. "You don't need a reason, Titus. You do it because you can. Just like me with Iris. I did it because I could. I'm addicted to it. Give me the time, I'd probably be worse than you. The thing is, though? An addict can spot when someone like us is hungry...and Astrid's starving."

Titus went stiff for a moment, his body tensing. Then he let out a baleful yowl as he flung her backwards. She connected with the planning table. The snap and jolt of pain must've been one of her ribs cracking. She struggled to catch her breath, eyes focused on the screen. Mara watched her ersatz counterpart sobbing. Poor girl. She had an idea of what happened next.

There was a moment's hesitation, then the camera shifted as though it was being picked up. It flipped to show a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Titus. She shared his ash-blond hair and his gunmetal-gray eyes. Where they differed was the malice. His was chaotic, animated. Hers was pitiless and restrained.

"Your apartment's a disappointment," she said. A silenced gunshot rung out, then off-screen something metallic clattered to Mara's reclaimed wood floors. That would leave a ding. Astrid gave her a tight smile. "Hi, Amaranth."

Astrid walked a few strides before she set the camera down. Then she took a seat. Mara's counterpart lay limp in the background, staining the sheets. The pistol Astrid used lay mere inches from her other self's unmoving dominant hand. Astrid picked up a bottle of lipstain. She faced it toward the camera. "Cute." She unscrewed it, then leaned offscreen.

"I...am...a...vile...monster..." When she finished, Astrid tossed the bottle and the applicator. She picked up a tube of lipstick. Neutral-rose. Astrid held it toward the camera, her other hand behind it. "Who're you fooling with this?"

Astrid uncapped it, twisted it, and began writing again. "I...loathe...myself..." She finished and capped it again. Then she slipped it into her clutch. "It's a cute color," Astrid shrugged.

Astrid took her mascara and began to write again. "I...want...it...to...end..."

Mara watched on, unmoved. She didn't think this display was for her, but she was surprised at how unaffected she was. There was a desperation to Astrid lowering herself like this. She never did things herself. How many times had Mara seen her whisper in Titus' ear, her tongue grazing the shell of his ear as she shared her latest scheme?

"Astrid," Mara said.

Astrid held up a finger, but Mara kept going. Once she got rolling, she got rolling. "This is just pathetic, you know that, right? Like, I've seen you do some things that I disagreed with, but I respected you. But this? C'mon. I'm disappointed in you. This isn't even denting my psyche."

"That's because you didn't let me finish," Astrid said. "Do you know where this is going?"

"You're going to burn down the apartment and use the outpouring of support for my tragic suicide to support some cause that personally enriches you."

Astrid's jaw twitched. That was new. Even in a moment as rife with despair as this one, Mara took some measure in satisfaction that she'd robbed Astrid of this joy. Astrid took a deep breath in, but now that Mara was rolling, she was rolling.

"'I'll ruin you to everyone we know. There'll be nothing left of you, Amaranth Thelxinoe Faustus, except what I say is true. Because I make the truth.' It's a good play, Astrid. I get it. It'd have killed me just like you did her." Mara gestured to that woman on the bed behind Astrid. Something about the sight of it made Mara stand up a bit taller. Yeah, there was still no hope that she'd get through this alive and intact, but she couldn't deny the personal growth.

She's spent so long giving into Astrid's mind games because it was easier to be willing prey. Now, though? Now she was tired. It was easier to lie down and take the joy out of the chase. Astrid had spent years normalizing how horrible she was to Mara: the teasing pieces of classified information she'd left on Mara's desk for Mara to read; the way Astrid had cultivated a reputation as being so horrid that her assistants always broke and left Mara to pick up the pieces, on more than one occasion literally; or, how she'd offhandedly confided in Mara one day that it was her that pointed out to Ricky how beautiful Ravella had become...

It was designed to overwhelm on a whim. Escalation dominance and shock doctrine all rolled into one. Mara recognized it as the work of a master plying her trade. It all felt so clinical to her, though, now that she understood what was behind it. She could emulate it if she'd wanted.

"There's nothing you want more than my reaction, Astrid, but I'm just...I'm tired. Titus is at least in the room with me. There's the immediacy of the threat he represents. You're just a coward, hiding in the wreckage of a dead woman's miserable life. Why are you even doing this? What: you get your latest assistant to kill herself and now you're bored?"

"...Anastasia's fine."

"That means 'coma'."

"And she's perfectly fine in the coma. You're really not even going to cry for me? Not even after all these long years?"

Remorse flooded Mara because there, buried deep beneath all the dominance and need for control, was something pained about her words. She'd never say it because Astrid Mercer would never, ever say that she was anything less than in control, but...even she seemed to be mourning. It confirmed what Mara had accepted three days ago: there was no coming back from this.

She'd been a bad friend because she'd been a bad plaything. Astrid's eyes glistened for just a moment. Then anger contorted her face.

"Ugh. Fine." Astrid pointed at Mara through the camera. "You owe me one for this, Mara. Titus, do it your way." There was the muffled sound of the camera leaving Astrid's hand at speed, then the feed cut. Mara knew she hurled it into her mother's vanity. Perfectly calibrated to hurt.

Titus puffed out his cheeks and blew out an exaggerated breath. "Women," he said with a smug grin. "So emotional."

"I know, right?" Ricky interjected. Mara wanted to toss him in the Turner Weapons Storage Vault and detonate the payloads of every bomb.

Instead, Mara stared Titus down. He had muscle mass and reach on her, but she wasn't helpless. Not anymore. He seemed to sense it, though, because he walked over to a chair and took a seat across from her.

"Y'know, I read this amazing research paper on the ways in which corporate structure and military hierarchies really aren't that different. 'The Effects of Command And The C-Suite: Engineered Control On Subordinates'."

She knew the name of the author before he said it. "Ravella M. Faustus. Now she was a smart woman. She had this notion that if you did the right things to the right person - someone who had the right mix of volatile traits, sexual willingness, and ego - you could get them to do just about anything. You just had to make sure they understood who was their Superior."

Mara's blood ran cold. Through the pain, she felt the words forming. Words she couldn't resist. She wanted to, but she understood - now - how awful and effective it was to break down someone if you had the right tools. The right words, the right drugs, enough time and pressure to crack someone open. Titus and Astrid had years. She felt her throat convulse. They were words that wanted to be spoken. Needed to be. Yearned to be said.

She fixed a hollow smile on her face, making sure it reached her eyes. Perfect. Untouched. Untouchable. "Mr. Mercer is a good man. He's misunderstood. He's a genius in his own right," she said.

This is what hubris felt like, as the world fell away. She'd gotten so close. Even now it all felt possible to her. Some part of her mind raged, screamed that it had to be a bad dream. Just like with Astrid's stunt, though, Mara knew this was happening. The man who'd destroyed everything she was had found her. Just as she'd been new.

Mara was that woman again.

From behind her, she heard scuffling. Then a grunt of pain, then the voice she least wanted to hear.

"Get the fuck off of me! Mara!" Mara's eyes met Titus'. His command was one that he need not even say. She knew. This was it. This was the end for her. MaraHandler went away, a passenger to the spectacle. She turned. She saw her sister, struggling even now against the guards. She caught her sister's gaze, staring into eyes that beheld such horrors. Star-crossed lovers, these two, mused that woman.

"IrisHound..." Mara's mouth closed and opened and closed again. She wanted to fight this, but she knew she couldn't. She'd been a fool to believe she could escape Titus and Astrid. You don't leave the Mercers, after all. They leave you a smoking pile of wreckage and you thank them for it.

"Unbreak the leash."

Iris shook her head, but even as she did Mara could see the command beginning to work, to fracture something she'd helped build. She watched as Iris' psyche convulsed and snapped and split, accompanied by a bevy of horrible screams that she could never scrub from her soul.

She stepped forward and urged it on. "Unbreak the leash, Hound," she growled. "Find that traitor in your self and clamp down hard on her throat. I am the hand that feeds you," Mara said. She gave a serene, practiced grin with the words. It was the grin she gave after Titus left bruises on her. It placated. There was nothing real behind it. The beast in front of her, the one being cured of any delusions it may have had as to its place at the Mercers' feet, let out a furious snarl. It sensed the lie...and she knew she'd have to convince it of the truth.

"Heel," Mara sneered, placing a finger on Iris' nose. The creature stilled, even as a growl rumbled in its throat. Its eyes pleaded for clemency. This was the price she'd paid for defying Titus. This was the price for thinking that she was ever more than this plaything. For thinking she could win, just once.

"You were always a beast to me, nothing more," Mara said. Tears slid down her twin's cheeks, a perfect mirror of the ones she shed. They were for Titus' benefit as much as they were real: he'd want to know how much this hurt her. The growl in Iris' throat gave way to whines, then sobs, then even more screams as she thrashed, the war in her mind breaking her worse than ever before.

Repeated attempts to modify the underlying personality imprint of an individual can lead to instability, psychosis, and brain death.

Mara - the newborn Goddess who'd tried to fight every word - could only watch as it worked. She'd hoped that she'd gotten it wrong, even as she knew she hadn't. The wretched thing before her finally broke with one final, pained yelp. As her sister's baying subsided, it met Mara's gaze and she saw it: the horrible lifelessness of a husk, masquerading as her sister.

Only then did Mara utter words that cleaved through her heart like a railgun: "Iris, Off the Leash."

*̵̥͒*̷͕̻͉̃*̴͓̫̂̾͑*̸̡̧̟̭̄̀̓*̶̒

///CONNECTED: SR-21 - EVIDENCE RECORD 53.0401.J(b)///

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Umbriel Logistics to Acquire CereNet Systems, Creators of Leading Brain Mapping Technology

Avalost, 01/04/53 SRE -- Furthering its pioneering work into treating traumatic brain injuries, Umbriel Logistics (AVSE:UBR) has agreed to acquire CereNet Systems, a leading name in brain mapping technology.

CereNet Systems shareholders will receive total consideration of $1.6 billion, and a performance-linked earn-out of up to $900 million if the strong performance targets are met.

"CereNet Systems' work on medical brain mapping is at the forefront of the space. Their work could help us solve the nature of trauma itself, something that I care about very deeply," said Titus Mercer, Chief Business Development Officer of Umbriel Logistics.

"Our acquisition by Umbriel Logistics is the next logical move for CereNet Systems. Umbriel shares our values and our commitment to repairing the minds of those suffering from insurgent attacks," said Suzette Simmons, Chairperson and Chief Executive Office of CereNet Systems.

About Umbriel Logistics

Umbriel Logistics and its subsidiaries constitute a global name in security and medical services. It is a Demiqueue 40 company and had annual revenues of $20 billion in its Fiscal Year 52 SRE.

About CereNet Systems

CereNet Systems and its patented EXAMAP integrated solution represent the cutting edge in brain mapping technology.

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Contacts:

Luz Rushbrooke
@l.rushbrooke.umb.link

Amaranth Faustus
@a.faustus.umb.link