A Sinner's Eden

***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***

***Magnus***

“I have better things to do.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “If you haven't noticed, we are fighting a war.”

There were better topics to discuss when the fleet besieged one of the enemy's capital cities.

At first glance, our current tactical situation looked very good. Despite some losses, we won two major engagements and survived the trap which devastated Jeng's remaining forces. A testament to Aerie's over-engineered airships which withstood the nightstalker attacks long enough to allow the defenders to do their job.

But we shouldn't forget that Jeng's capital was still completely untouched. A mistake during the siege could mean the difference between a decisive victory in the near future, or a long war of attrition nobody could afford.

And not to forget, the true enemy behind Clan Thich had yet to show itself. Aside from some nebulous explanations from Gaia, we knew next to nothing about the true nature of the threat.

“True, true, but it isn't like you couldn't spare an hour of your time to talk with your sisters,” Astra continued, seemingly unimpressed by my posturing. Her insistence on pushing the topic was slightly aggravating. “As I explained, your input is necessary. And it isn't like any of us will be needed right away. Assuming everything goes to plan, the fleet will arrive at its destination tomorrow – at the earliest.”

“Yeah, and I want to be there in case one of those psylings shows up,” I replied and added mentally ‘and have some fun fighting’. “It isn't like I paid Ivonne any special attention except for keeping her safe. Why should I go out of my way with Evanne?”

What had brought this on? Why was Astra suddenly so determined to have me intervene with Evanne? Ivonne was adamant about Evanne being her problem, so I saw no reason to get my fingers burned, given how everyone had reacted to me trying to protect Ivonne.

“I remember the situation very differently,” Astra answered quickly and started counting on her fingers. “You talked to Ivonne about your relationship. You took care of Ivonne's continued education. In fact, you were very concerned about all aspects of her new life at Mount Aerie as a Frost. You were very vocal about her hooking up with Hector. You-”

Whatever I did, it was wrong.

I threw up my hands. “And everyone kept giving me grief about being on Ivonne's case. Back then nothing I did was right. Now I am keeping my distance from Evanne to give her time with Ivonne and it is also not right! What am I to do?”

Since we were already at it, I started making my own list, beginning to find a wicked sense of pleasure in this little argument of ours.

Getting into a little lover's spat was a rare occurrence for Astra and me. “I am not allowed to have fun while fighting, because laughing while killing things is creepy. When I throw someone – deservingly – off a high place, people get a fit. Nobody thinks anything of my genius social manipulations, despite them working out every time. I have to start questioning whether I should do anything 'people related' with all this push-back I get.”

Astra frowned at my temper tantrum. “I am sorry, but you should go and talk with your sisters.”

“No.” I shook my head. “Insisting on a point without having logic to stand on is used by those who are weak of mind. You haven't explained why doing the 'presumably' previously wrong thing is now the right thing to do!”

I hoped I hadn't gotten into some kind of circular logic here, but all my sub-personalities were on the same page.

“Just because you don't see the logic doesn't mean it is not there. Besides, social interactions and feelings hardly rely on logic.” Astra crossed her arms.

I shook my head.

“If you don't, we are not going to have sex for a week,” Astra threatened with a blank expression, sounding utterly serious. “Taking action in this matter may not have any logic to you, but it does to me and the girls.”

“What!?” I baulked at the threat. “What does my relationship with my sisters have to do with the two of us!? You can't threaten me with taking away our fun time!”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course, I can. Your sister is my friend, so I don't want to see her hurt. Just go and talk with them. If it gets to 'fun time', I believe I am the one with more impulse control.”

“I will just endure it!” I threatened. “Besides, you are the one with the baby craze between the two of us!”

Astra raised an eyebrow, looking seriously irritated. “I just had a two-week long, twenty-four-seven re-convalescence treatment with being the kids' sole supervisor while you shone with absence because of that secret mission of yours. And even when you came back, you only showed your face in the evening. I believe I would be perfectly fine with holding off on trying to make more till the current batch is over their attention-seeking phase.”

I lifted a warning finger but thought better of it once Astra seemed utterly unimpressed by my posturing. “Are you serious?”

“Very.” She shrugged and allowed her filaments to loosen ever so slightly. The effect was immediate, making her outfit look ever so slightly less appealing. “I can set you on ice for years if I have to.”

I stared at her in horror as I considered my chances of ever having sex again if I mishandled the situation.

Feigning defeat, I gave in. “Then I will warn you, I don't believe this Lukas guy will get out of the affair unscratched.”

Astra looked slightly conflicted about her answer. “I don't particularly care about Lukas as long as he keeps breathing. Taking a partner is still for life as long as we don't find a way to switch off the nanites and the virus. Killing him would end any hope for Evanne to have a normal relationship.”

“I will do my worst if he gives me the smallest reason,” I clarified, taking a step towards the door.

She shrugged. “Do what you have to do, within reason.”

Taking another step, it was now my time to frown. “Is this not some kind of trick?”

“Nope,” Astra replied, allowing me to take another step.

I quickly walked the rest of the way towards the door but turned back before actually leaving the room. “Are you sure?”

“Very.”

Turning, I left the room we had taken over on the flagship.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I walked quickly but tried my best not to seem too hasty. Only once I was halfway to the wormgate, I allowed a happy skip to enter my steps. Then I began to grin like a maniac.

My plan had worked! And there those poor fools thought I was bad with social issues! None of them had anticipated how patient I could be. By giving Evanne the cold shoulder, I had earned myself a blank cheque to deal with this Lukas guy.

Now I could go nuts with Astra's sanctioning – which was the only permission I cared about, to be honest.

“There is nothing better than sanctioned violence!” I claimed as I approached a guy who handled the wormgate passengers. This earned me a strange look from him.

He quickly shifted his attention away when he noticed my expensive armour and the various insignia announcing me as a high-ranking member of the 12th strata, a juggernaut, and a high diplomat with the protector title.

Nowadays, the wormgate between the flagship and Mount Aerie was running almost permanently, allowing a small but steady stream of people and equipment, but those of my rank could cut the queue as they pleased.

On a different topic, I wasn't a person who got off on violence or hurting others for the fun of it. Far from it!

On the other hand, I also had no problem with applying force to a problem if there was a logical reason for it.

But the thing with my brothers-in-law was a little different. There was just some strange satisfaction in making sure Hector would do his utmost for my Ivonne. Which was the least he could do after getting into the sheets with her.

Now, the question was what to do about this Lukas fellow and Evanne. Should I keep playing the unhinged brother? Judging by everything I heard about Lukas, he wouldn't be as easily 'conditioned' as Hector.

I kept going through various scenarios as I made my way to the hospital at Mount Aerie, where Evanne and Lukas were currently under house arrest. It was the best way to describe their current status. Any prisoner of war of a similar rank would have been summarily executed or sent to the wilds, which would end in the same fate for most.

Maybe once Tirnanog's humanity united and managed to subjugate all the monsters, there would be room for moral considerations and something like the Geneva Convention, but that day was still far away.

When I reached the closed-off hospital section where they were held, I found Hector sitting in front of the door and staring off into space.

“Hector! What are you doing?” I greeted him.

He blinked before he turned his attention to me. “Reading a book on old Earth laws. The UI allows access to the colony's entire remaining database. There is also the stuff you brought with you. It's all there at a single thought, given you know the right terms to search for.”

I frowned. “This is the first time I have heard of this. How does it work? I can't remember seeing the UI having any functionality other than personal control over the nanites and the chat interface.”

“It's relatively new,” Hector admitted while scratching the back of his head consciously. “Gurney unlocked some of the UI's source code and there is already an entire community of people who are programming and adding new functionalities. Some of it is still very flawed, but it is getting better rapidly. If I were you, I would go to the Hall of Law and pull a UI update. For the first one, you have to unlock it directly at the supercomputer – for safety reasons.”

“If it is that new, I will wait.” I waved a hand dismissively. “I was never in the habit of playing beta tester.”

“Well, I would still do it. If only because once you have the function for drawing updates unlocked, you don't have to be physically at the supercomputer to draw new updates.”

“Hmm,” I hummed. “Maybe I will swing by with Astra when there is time.”

“You should.” Hector raised a finger. “Gaia got interested in the idea and the functions she supports are mind-blowing. Like the library of practical knowledge which I used to read the book and the virtual map. She is really helpful when she thinks a topic furthers her goal of improving humanity.”

I pressed my lips together. Was Gaia trying to become Tirnanog's Google and Wikipedia? What a frightening idea.

Shaking my head, I gestured at the door. “Are Evanne and Lukas available? I was told I should talk to them and Ivonne.”

“They are in, but Ivonne is currently not here. Should I call her?”

“No. No.” I waved him off. “I would like to have a chat with Evanne before I talk to Iv. Just to see for my own how Evanne is.”

Hector nodded. “I suppose I should pretend I haven't heard anything should there be loud noises?”

I was genuinely surprised. “Hector! I am beginning to believe you are slowly becoming a real part of the family!”

He returned a forced smile, showing he wasn’t quite committed to our philosophy.

I patted him on the shoulder and entered the hospital area which had been sectioned off for incarcerated patients.

What I found was a short corridor with a spacious room at the end. It wasn’t quite an apartment. The design and layout still gave priority to clinical needs, but it was without doubt of higher quality than what the average citizen might have to expect from an elongated stay at the hospital.

Evanne and her partner were sitting at a small desk when I entered, causing them to quickly get to their feet.

Lukas narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “What do you want, soldier?”

I glanced down at myself and pursed my lips. Given my armour, it was understandable for someone to get the wrong idea if they couldn't identify the insignia on it.

“I am here to talk with my sister.” Gesturing at a nearby door which presumably led to the bathroom, I indicated for him to get out of the way. “You may wait on the toilet.”

“You!” Lukas clenched his fists, recognizing me now. “What gives you the right to-”

“I have every right,” I interrupted. “If you hadn’t partnered with my sister, you would be dead. So off to the toilet with you or I might not settle for ramming a steel-toed boot up your privates.”

Stepping forward, Lukas raised a fist and I sighed, having a hard time hiding my relief. Well, I had tried my best! Even warned him.

Leaning to the side, I dodged the fist quite easily.

Lukas was definitely not a speedster.

Aiming low, I tried to repeat the previous take-down, but having anticipated the counterattack, Lukas was already in position and blocked, tanking the hit quite easily.

Continuing onwards he tried to use his momentum for a tackle.

His fighting style probably meant he was some kind of tank.

Flash-stepping to the side, I allowed him to charge empty air except for a foot in his path, resulting in him tripping and landing on all fours.

Jumping high enough to touch the ceiling, I used both arms to push myself off for some added momentum and brought my knee down on his lower back, which was quickly followed by a satisfying crunch.

Lukas screamed like a stuck pig – which was the reason why I didn’t hear Evanne charging me from behind.

My precognition nonetheless gave me enough of a warning to make me flash step on instinct, dodging the chair she was trying to break on my head.

Having no target to hit, the swing went through unimpeded and clipped Lukas’s legs, eliciting more screams.

I rolled my eyes. It was just like with Astra and me in the beginning. The simple act of partnering up didn’t magically turn Lukas and Evanne into skilled combatants. They might have been proficient at combat while using their personal mutations, but getting accustomed to their partner’s skill set would take weeks or months of dedicated training.

Evanne turned, readying the chair once more, so I poked her with a finger, tasing her.

“Ah!”

She shrieked and the chair went flying, but she didn’t back down, so I kept poking in rapid succession until she finally got the point and half jumped, half stumbled out of my reach, looking for another weapon.

Raising my finger threateningly, I cleared my throat. “I can do this all day. It isn’t a question whether I get my way – only how.”

Evanne finally got the point and backed off to the wall.

I returned my attention to Lukas, who was by now trying his best to turn around while using only his upper body. Who knew jumping on someone’s back was so effective at immobilising them?

“I will kill you! Do you understand? I will…”

Ignoring the tirade, I aimed a palm at him and a moment later the room was illuminated by a Lichtenberg arc of lighting, eliciting a different sort of screaming. To not kill him, I only slowly dialled up the power till he was properly immobilized.

He would heal in time.

While he was still regaining his wits, I bent down and collected both his legs within a loop of my filaments. Then I dragged him off to the bathroom and tossed him inside, using a little more force than necessary given his state.

He smacked into the wall and I followed leisurely until I stood over him, making sure he wasn’t out cold.

Bending down, I made eye contact. “Lukas, I would be very silent from now on if I were you. If you give me a reason to come in here to make you shut up, I will get inventive. Currently, my best idea at silencing you would be to stick some of my filaments down your throat and rip out your vocal cords.”

The curse which was on his lips faded away once he realized – I was serious.

Once I was sure the meaning of my words had made it into his battle-crazed brain, I left and closed the door behind me. Then I made a point of waiting for a few seconds before I nodded. There wasn’t a single noise coming out of the bathroom.

Turning, I smiled at Evanne who was still at the far wall and gestured at the table. “Evanne! It’s so good to see you. Why don’t you take a seat? How have you been the last few years?”

My wide-eyed sister quickly went to the table and sat down. “B- bad, M- Magnus.”

I nodded gravely and took the seat across from her. “I can imagine. You have to tell me everything.”

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