As Quip crawled his way back over rocky terrain towards Baron's town, Alec filled him in on everything that had transpired with the Teretha people. "Alec, I cannot find any records that refer to a lost warrior. That being said, outside of Baron propaganda, there isn't much information on Teretha culture. Do you think it is a liberation or martyr's legend?"

  Alec did not like that train of thought; he did not fancy being a martyr. "It doesn't matter, it ain't me. I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I can boil it down to these pillars. I cannot be a part of the Baron's revenge plot any longer. I'm going to make a deal with the Tethera to give me as much Aamaranth as I need to let us live as long as we desire. Then, before they blow it to kingdom come, we get them to let us jump to some peaceful resort planet. Far from any retaliation the baronhood might have."

  "And somewhere nicer than this." Quip finished off. Alec looked out the viewport. By the time they had cleared up the scene and patched up Maywil, the moon had begun to dip. As they crested the last rise before the slow roll up to the town, Sinclair, the harsh rays of the sun had already begun to rise. In that moment of blinding dawn, he could almost see the landscape covered in lush forest, the way Tusong had described it before the baronhood. Alec could live in a place like that. This place was the antithesis of that now, hard to believe if it ever was.

  "What is the course of action, then, Alec? I do not expect the Baron to tolerate you poking around the town when you should be out doing the contract."

  "Don't worry, I got an idea. Take the wheel." The term was metaphorical, but the quip activated the autopilot. Alec walked into the back. From what he had seen of the Baron, the man was primarily ego. In his experience, whenever a man like that encountered weakness, it was embraced as an opportunity to climb higher on another's humiliation. Alec took his jacket, shirt and jeans and typed some numbers into the changeling machine.

  "A fine gambit indeed," Quip called out as he read Alec's plans for his clothes. He lit a flare and breathed deeply as he checked his impact suit. Where he had been shot, the hand was like any other. Alec had felt nothing when the slug hit his hand; the impact suit had done its job like a million times before.

  His clothes printed out in an exhale of steam, they looked exactly the same. The small change Alec had made is that now they carried the burn damage as if Alec had been caught in an explosion. With the impact suit, he would never take body damage, and with his augmented bones, he would never break a limb. He still felt, however, that he had seen enough damage to be able to fake it well enough.

  He climbed into the cab after redressing. "Quip drop more oil in the engine and let it burn, make it black, drag two wheels."

  "I understand". Quip lurched and started dragging tires, creating a wake of smoke and dust. Alec eased the speed down, and he suddenly heard a deep shuddering noise. "Nice touch." Alec was impressed with the improvement.

  Quip was releasing a low vibration through the external speakers that sounded like creaking fibrasteel. "Thank you, sir. What can I say? You inspired me."

  Alec could hear the sarcasm in Quip's voice. He hunched himself over the wheel as he rolled up on the first gate into the Teretha containment camp. He rolled straight through, noting the guards on the radio calling in what they were seeing. The gate was opening, allowing him to roll through without wasting time on a scan. That was useful;; perhaps it could be used to ourto advantage in the future.

  The door sealed with a boom behind him, and Alec wasted no time in selling his performance. As a few of the mech soldiers came running toward Quip, Alec popped the hatch "Passive defence quip", he stated under his breath. Then he fell unceremoniously, the full six feet into the dusty ground. He didn't overperform; unconscious had gathered a lot of information from the Teretha. Perhaps it would work here, too. It was a strategy Alec had not employed much in the past, but sometimes vulnerability gave the best chances. He closed his eyes and lay still, flopped on the ground.

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  The one thing Alec could say from the very start is that Teretha treated an unconscious foe better than the soldiers treated a perceived ally. The mech-soldier was strong enough to throw Alec over his shoulder, which he did. It knocked the wind out of him, and he heard the soldier call out. "He's livin' or at least has some air in him." The last Alec heard was another call out, "Get him to Doc Death!" He felt the man lurch away from the scene at a running pace, and the voices of wonder faded behind him.

  Letting himself flop as an unconscious man would have ached Alecs ' flesh-driven muscles, but he endured the ten-minute jog. He heard some party music, not the Baron's kind but that of the folk who lived under their thumb and then her heard the creaking of a door.

  "Doc, this is the Baron's guy. You need to stabilize him; the madam is on her way to collect him. You need to make sure he lives till then."

  Alec heard some shuffling as he was dropped on a metal table; he felt it bend under his weight. An elderly voice met Alec's ears as hands began to check where the holes had been made in Alec's clothes. The voice was sure and deep with a long drawl that sounded like it didn't quite belong in a baronhood proper. "Son, I'm looking, but I can't find any wounds on this guy. He musta have hit his head."

  With his eyes closed, Alec once heard the man rummaging around after stating that. He seemed to be looking for something. "This is not an ordinary man, and given the description, he can only be one. They call him immortal, so I think this may do the trick." Alec heard a popping sound, then smelled one of the worst smells he'd had ever smelled. He used the opportunity and shot his eyes open, taking in a large breath. Here came his turn to perform; he hoped he could hold attention like the Baron. Sure enough, the doctor was standing there, shocked, with a tube of smell-wakers in his hand.

  "I… I…. I made it." Alec looked at the doctor, a tall man with a long beard and glasses. He had wisps of grey hair and eyebrows that looked like caterpillars making odd shapes on his face. The other in the room was a Mech-soldier, one permanently fused to their exoskeleton. Alec could see rashes like his where flesh met metal. The soldier looked miserable but focused on Alec, looking for answers.

  "They, they got us." Alec continued in his faux-stunned voice. "There were eight others; they found me on the road. The rebels had me pinned down. They were brave and fought with honour for the brotherhood, but they didn't survive. They did make way for me to escape, knowing I would return to avenge them." Alec punctuated his performance by pretending to stand and tipping back again.

  "Godamned blooders." The soldier exclaimed. The doctor seemed bothered by this and undeterred by the soldier's anger.

  "There will be none of that language here, for either of you." The old doctor looked between Alec and the man. Taking some of the embarrassment of correction by making it a house rule. The soldier looked ready to choke him, but didn't move. This man must have some value to the baronhood in some way, or he had powerful bloodlines.

  "Don't worry, I'm fine, idiots didn't know I can't die. They'll find out soon enough when I wipe them off the planet." Alec did stand this time and pretended to steady himself. He used what limited knowledge he had gathered to sell the soldier completely. "They came down from the mountain on hooks and ropes, took us all by surprise." This seemed to add the final validity the guard needed; he took his radio and stepped outside. As the door closed, Alec heard "target attacked, our scouting party has been…"

  The door closed. He and the old doctor made eye contact. The doctor had a challenging look in his eye, but kept his eyes on the door. "There is no smell of energon." He looked up at the door again and back at Alec. He pointed to Alec's burn marks again. "These marks appear like rifle marks, but the smell is … not burnt".

  Alec cursed that part of the changeling device was a final steam with a lavender scent. This man was looking at him quizzically, then back at the guard in the hall beyond the door. Alec looked him in the eye, preparing to implore the man, maybe even bribe him with a vial of Aamaranth. He had expected to be rushed into the heart of the mansion with Madam Zelsim. Somewhere, he could gather more information.