“Travelling like this is strange,” Anna said. “I’m used te, with anythied to Jason, but this is up there.”

  Their vehicle looked like a flying saucer, ft and round, with smooth lines and a sleek white exterior that tapered at the edges. ropelled it through the air, however, was not alien sce, magiagitech. Oop were a pair of recessed handles being gripped by Taika, currently in the form of a giant golden eagle. He shot smoothly through the air like a rocket, the vehicle gripped in his talons.

  The vehicle was desigo improve the mana efficy of Taika’s bird form and create adaptive pnes of force that improved aerodynamic performance. As a result, what should have been a burden didn’t impede his ability to fly, even enhang it under some circumstances.

  The interior was somethiween a hotel suite and a private pne, with one half of the saucer being a semicircur lounge area. The other half was divided between stowage, sleeping s and a bathroom. The passengers were Anna, Rufus and Gary Sharpton, a young leonid.

  “Is this not how people travel out in the regur world?” Gary asked.

  “In a UFO being carried by a giant bird?” Anna asked. “No, it’s not. I thought that would have been obvious, given that you desighis thing. I know you’ve spent most of your life in an astral space, but you’ve studied aircraft design, have you not?”

  “Surely people don’t still use aeropnes, right?” Gary asked. “Just adding some magic to them is way less effit than a ground-up redesign that incorporates magitech from the outset.”

  “You realise that we’re flying in what amounts to an over-eborate bucket,” Rufus pointed out.

  “Yeah, but that’s just me cheaping-out on propulsion,” Gary said. “The inal design was a dirigible, but repg it with a giant bird is the obvious choice. If you have one avaible.”

  “Yes, pletely obvious,” Rufus said. “Are you sure you should be tweaking the design after what happened with the first prototype?”

  “It’s going to be fine,” Gary said. “This prototype is much more reliable than that one.”

  “Given that the bottom fell off that one mid-flight,” Rufus said, “I would certainly hope so.”

  “Hey, that was a valuable result,” Gary said. “Because of that, we figured out the material degradation issue with the mana duits.”

  “By having the bottom fall off,” Rufus said.

  “It’s not like there was anyone in there. That’s why we test prototypes: to isote and correct errors. It’s going to be fihere’s zero ce of anything going wrong.”

  “Then why did you insist on being brought along in case something goes wrong?”

  “Because you wouldn’t have let me go, otherwise. Also, I lied about the zero pert thing. But it’s going to be firust me.”

  “After you just admitted to lying aion?” Anna asked.

  “Exactly. I admitted to it. I’m an ily ho person. It’s like when my mum told Rufus I could e on this trip. That was definitely her and not an illusioed by my friend Brian.”

  Anna threw a wide-eyed look at Rufus, who gestured for calm.

  “He’s messing with you, Anna. It was his real mother.”

  Gary fshed a toothy grin, showing off a mouthful of lioh.

  On the side table o her chair, Anna’s phone beeped a notification and she checked it.

  “We’re in Australian airspace,” she told them, then sighed. “I’m irely vihat just turning up is the best approach.”

  “It was your idea,” Rufus said. “You said that we o tain the information as best we . Deal with the onsite director personally.”

  “And that’s all true,” Anna said. “From what I know about Lenora an, she’ll py this objectively. Do what’s best for the situation, not any particur try roup. If we gh the process of entering the try legally aing permission to visit the site, we’ll be dragged into a s of i groups and political games before we get anywhere he director.”

  “Then what’s the issue?”

  “This approach doesn’t e naturally to me. I was brought in to ameliorate Jason’s bolder instincts, and this…”

  “Is exactly how Jason would do it,” Rufus finished. “I heard that Yumi argued against this approach.”

  “She did. But Jason hired me to work for him, not the . He was very specific about that. While my role is to present approaches he wouldn’t normally sider, he will ultimately do things his way. We had a less-than-ideal meeting, after which we sat down again and crified a lot of things. What he wants from me, and what I expect from him. Taking this approach, just showing up at the artefact site with n, is to demonstrate that we . Whes here, Jason intends to walk a line on which he aodates the authorities of Earth without being subject to them. What we’re doing here — the way we’re doing it — sets a tone.”

  “How do you anticipate the various powers of Earth responding to that?” Rufus asked.

  “Not well. The whole approach is predicated on Jason having the power to tell them to go jump, regardless of what they try. If he ’t make the world accept that he’s untouchable, it’s all going to g. And they won’t accept it, not pletely. Part of my role is to make it go the least degree we manage.”

  “Mr Asano is definitely going to vihem,” Gary said. “I ’t wait to meet him. I bet he’s crazy awesome, and I mean crazy. Mrs Tilden, have you heard all the stories about him?”

  “One or two,” Anna said.

  “Nigel’s story about him killing a city full of vampires with blood rain?”

  “Yes.”

  “And Rufus’ story about him killing two cultists with feminism? Rufus had a sword fight in that one where he had a trowel instead of a sword.”

  “That, I haven’t heard,” Anna said. “A trowel?”

  “It was an evil trowel!”

  “You’ve heard that one,” Rufus told her. “Gary frames it quite differently ielling. But yes, it was an evil trowel.”

  “And the time you did an air drop raid from flying ships on the secret base of an evil religious order. They stole a submarine in that one!”

  The enthusiastic teenager happily tinued, not notig the look shared betweewo adults.

  ***

  “Mrs Tilden, Mr Remore and Mr Williams are looking to have a meeting, Director,” said Cassie, Lenora and Barry’s assistant.

  “They want to set up a ference call?” Lenora asked.

  “No, Director,” Cassie said. “They’re downstairs.”

  “Downstairs? They’re in the building?”

  “Outside, with security,” Cassie said. “They just kind of turned up. In a flying saucer being carried by a bird.”

  “I’m sorry, what?” Lenora asked. “Is this some kind of prank?”

  “Uh, no, ma’am. The flying saucer is still out there. The bird turned out to be Taika Williams, who turned bato a person.”

  “He does have the power to turn into a giant bird,” Barry said.

  “No one was exactly sure what to do with them,” Cassie said. “Or how they got this close without tripping any of our alert magic or other security systems. Security ander Higgins scrambled his team a word to notify you while he locked everything down.”

  Lenora pihe bridge of her nose, closing her eyes in frustration. She drew a sharp breath a out slowly, then schooled her expression and opened her eyes.

  “Just the three of them?” she asked.

  “There’s oher man, as-yet to be identified. He’s not human.”

  “One of the transformed,” Barry said. “Almost all of them went to the Asano as refugees, so it’s not odd to see oh them.”

  “He’s a lion man,” Cassie said, her expression growing slightly embarrassed. “He’s super adorable.”

  Her expressio back to bnk professionalism at a gre from Lenora. Barry, standing behind Lenave Cassie an encing nod and rolled his eyes in Lenora’s dire.

  “Let’s go,” Lenora said, heading for the door. “Barry, you said Terrailden is still in the Media Retions office?”

  “He is.”

  “Call him. He may be useful when in dealing with his sister.”

  As she led the way to the elevator, Barry pulled out his phone.

  “Deputy Director Sierry answered cheerfully. “To what do I owe the pleasure? Is this reted to the kerfuffle happening outside? Security won’t let anyone near it.”

  “Your sister is here.”

  “Ahat’s quite the saucy development. She didn’t e alone, I take it.”

  “Taika Williams, Rufus Remore and one unknown.”

  Barry heard Terry all but leaping from his chair.

  “Rufus Remore is here?”

  “Yes.”

  “In person?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is he wearing a shirt?”

  “Terrance…”

  “Could we get security to fiscate it? As a precaution.”

  “Have you even finished your sexual harassment seminars from the st thing?”

  “I got back from the st one on Thursday. I ’t believe they made me fly to Adeide for the damn things.”

  “I ’t believe you’re still employed.”

  “It’s my mother, you know. She does not like sdals to involve the family. Covers up everything she get away with. She was livid when Anna scooted off to join the Asano . I was the one who got to tell her, which was a delight. She actually threw a shoe at me.”

  “Just meet us downstairs,” Barry said, and g Lenora while they waited for the elevator. “And do behave yourself, Terry. The director just learhat you weren’t fired the st time, so if you don’t, she’s going to do something to you more permahan your mother fix.”

  “Okay, thanks for the warning, Baz. Best behaviour.”

  “Mate, you’d better, or Nora’s going to rip us both a new…”

  Barry saw Lenora’s expression as she listeo the call.

  “Just don’t, Terry. None of your nonseoday.”

  ***

  Leaving the lobby elevator, they found a small crowd of workers held back from the mairance by a security cordon. The security team, their magically enhaactical gear including full helmets, formed a stern and faceless line. Several people noticed the arrival of the director ay director and immediately approached. Barry stepped forward and tried to warn them off, with little effect.

  “Anyone who doesn’t go back to their workstatiht now,” Lenore decred, “will no longer have one by end of day.”

  The assembge quickly took to the stairs and elevators, except for Terry.

  “They’re still not letti past,” he said.

  “Nor should they,” Lenora told him. “If and when you are needed, you’ll be let through.”

  He opened his mouth to protest, looked at her fad wisely closed it again. Leched him fns of rebellion for a moment, then nodded.

  “Cassie, stay here with Tilden a everything he does or attempts to do.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Lenora led Barry forward, the guards parting to let them through.

  “ander Higgins is waiting for you, ma’am,” one of them told her.

  “Thank you, Man,” she said as they passed through the cordon.

  “How you tell them apart in those outfits?” Barry whispered.

  “Shush,” she whispered back.

  They crossed the lobby aed through the main doors. Security personnel, guns held but not raised, stood in a lig four people. In front of the lihe on-rold rankers, a British man from the work and one from the ese gover. They were both warily standing off with Williams and Remore, who were much more casual. Remore was rexed, with his hands in his pockets. Williams was eating a slice of cake and had an ig moustache. They stood betweeher members of their group and the gold-rank security members. Behind them was the flying saucer they had arrived in.

  Outside of the ring, Higgins was in his normal security uniform, not tactical gear.

  “Holy, ma’am,” he said without preamble, “I didn’t know what to do. They just showed up. The city is restricted, but nothing that would stop Remore or Williams. I mean, even this is theatre. old-rankers couldn’t haher of them, let aloh.”

  “You had best take care with your mouth, Higgins, lest I close it for you,” the English gold ranker said.

  “Everyoand down,” Lenora said. “Out of the way.”

  She strode through the group to stand in front of their ued visitors.

  “Is this really what you thought was the best approach?” she asked. “Circumventing our security protocols to e here directly?”

  “That’s my bad,” Taika mumbled from around a mouthful of cake. “I sensed some magic, but I didn’t realise it was meant to be security. The standards are a little different in the . We have that ti-spanning vampiric empire to deal with and you have what? Journalists? People selling scammy water filters?”

  Ailden stepped past him with a sigh.

  “We do apologise, Director,” she said. “We genuinely had no idea of the security arras here.”

  “You could have reached out in advance,” Lenora pointed out.

  “That might have been a bad idea, in light of what we’ve e to share. Preferably inside, away from…”

  She g the gold-rank security members.

  “…public spaces.”

  “Director,” the Englishman said, “we must be included in any—”

  “‘Must’ is a strong word, Lord Willoughby,” Lenora cut him off. “Your role here is security. My role is to determine in what text security o be employed. Since I deem these individuals a non-threat, and you couldn’t do anything about it if they were, I will thank you to stand down. Along with the rest of our security forces, ander Higgins. Maintain a low alert, do a full security sweep and pile a report on potential approaches to preventing this situation from repeating itself. Is that uood?”

  “With respect, ma’am,” Higgins said, “protocol says they ’t be decred a non-threat until we’ve do least basic checks. Make sure they aren’t shape-shifters. Iheir vehicle. Determihe identity of all members of the group. Human and otherwise.”

  “You mean Gary?” Taika asked. “He’s cool, bro. Also, he won’t have any legal identity outside of the . And I tell you now that I am a shape-shifter. I turn into a humongous eagle, which is sweet, plus I’ve got this whole birdman situation going on. In an awesome battle-form way, not a jump-off-a-pier kind of way.”

  “Taika, please stop helping,” Anna said.

  “I’m going to waive the security sing,” Lenora said. “That is within my authority as director.”

  “That’s up to you, ma’am,” Higgins said, his toelling her exactly what he thought of that idea. “If you do so, however, I am required to notify all member groups of the situation. Preventing me from doing so is not within your authority.”

  “Given that your security force is supplied by the member groups,” Lenora said, “trying to keep a lid on this would be pointless, so you might as well go ahead. But first, stand down your people.”

  There was some more bad forth, but before long, Lenora and Barry were leading Taika, Rufus, Anna and Gary ihe building. Higgihe group past the cordon, now only holding back Terry and Cassie.

  “Aerry called out, but his eyes were locked on Rufus. Lenora raised an arm to point right at him.

  “Not another word,” she warned. “Deputy director, take Mr Tilden and sit on him until such time as we need him.”

  “Of course, Director,” Barry said. “e along, Terry. We’ll take the other elevator.”

  “G’day Terry,” Taika said with a wave. “Long time.”

  “Cassie,” Lenora said to her assistant. “Get ready te the mass of calls aing requests that will already have started to pour in.”

  “Yes, Director.”

  Lenora turo look at the four interlopers.

  “We’d best tihis in my office.”

  Annou

  This will be the st chapter released this year. Chapter releases will resume on the 3rd or 4th of January, depending on time zone.