Agatha H. and the Fair Dinkum Blue, Pt 6

[maramcc]

Part five is here.

What: a fanfiction for Girl Genius, featuring my literary stand-in and stunt double Mara
Time: continuing after The Pauper Princess and the Way of the Trilobite

I recommend that you download the fonts "Bangle" and "AbottOldStyle."

The story so far!
--Stuff blowed up! Awesome!
--Some people did, too! Less Awesome!

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Legal disclaimer stuff:
"This story is not approved by, sponsored by or affiliated with Studio Foglio LLC or Airship Entertainment."
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The Pauper Princess Fanfiction Theatre Presents:
Agatha H. and the Fair Dinkum Blue - Part 6!


"PROTECT DE HETERODYNE!"

A phalanx of Jäger surrounded Agatha, who was still on her knees, alternating between beckoning over a medic and trying to rouse her fallen cousin. There was a pulse, but still no breathing.

"Mistress!" said General Goomblast, "Hyu need to get beck to hyu ship! Iz too dangerous down here!"

"Please, General," she retorted. "You know me better than that. I'm not going anywhere! And definitely not until Mara is stable!" Right on cue, a medic arrived to examine her, and hurried to thread an emergency respirator down her throat. Agatha helped steady her. "Tarvek? Gil? How does it look from up there? What are we up against?"

Agatha frowned at the lack of response, and felt around her head. "Why aren't you responding?" She grunted in frustration. "Ugh! Where's my communicator? General! Have you seen my headset? Communicator? Talkbox?"

"Vat?" he said, trying to keep his eyes on her and the battle simultaneously. "Vat hyu mean? De ting on hyu head?"

"Yes, the thing on my head!" she said, then snapped her fingers. "It must be in the medical tent! Protect Mara! I'll go find it!"

"Hyu izn't going novhere!" he said, moving his massive bulk in place to block her. "Hyu und de Prinzess go beck to hyu flagship!"

"No! I'm needed here to coordinate the ground efforts!" She pointed to the fleet of airships above. "They've got the skies already! And there are still wounded that need protection until they can be moved again!"

"Mistress," said the General, "Hyu iz dis close to being thrown ofer my shoulder und carried to hyu ship!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh, ho, ho, eff only hyu-GET DOWN!" The General pushed her back, unintentionally(?) knocking her to her knees. Two enormous, incoming "hoppers," the constructs responsible for the current melee, had leapt high over a group of Jäger and were inbound to land near, if not directly on, the phalanx of Jäger protecting Agatha and her cousin.

THOOM! went the first as it landed, skidding sideways to kick up as much dust and dirt as possible. This seemed to be a favored tactic, and why not? It was effective. Its two riders/soldiers wasted no time engaging their shared enemy with close-range weapons.

THUD-THUD! went the second hopper as it, and its two riders, suddenly fell apart in mid-air, their various halves now flopping and spinning uncontrollably along the ground. The General's boot stopped a soldier's torso from rolling into Agatha. He kicked it away in disgust and anger.

The Guildern Guardian - Captain Seamus, from his suit's markings - that had sliced the creature in half zoomed past the group before executing an abrupt mid-air turn. He hovered and pointed his gauntlets at the enemy. The high-pitched whine of the battle suit's cutting tools hurt sensitive ears, but there was no need to fire them. The Jäger had made quick work of the other hopper and its riders. Agatha looked his way and gave a little wave of thanks, then switched her mood back to Concern.

"Mara!" she cried, searching for her and the medic. Then she breathed in relief. Piotr, one of Mara's Jäger bodyguards, was crouched over her, having shielded her with his own body. Seamus landed quickly and ran to her side. The medic had managed to find his own cover.

Agatha put a hand on Piotr's shoulder. "Well done," she said, then asked the medic for a status. The Princess was stable, but still unconscious, and it was unknown if she could breathe on her own yet.

"Your Ladyship?" said Seamus. "I've been ordered to bring you back to your ship-" He looked to Mara "-But I've also been charged by Prince Kelvin to protect Her Highness-"

"I'll make it easy for you," said Agatha. "Protect her." She pointed to the downed Jäger airship. "Get her inside there until she's cleared to be taken back to the flagship. And who ordered you to take me back?"

"Specifically, Herr Wulfenach," he said. "But both of-"

"Not surprising," said Agatha. "Well, I'm countermanding that. You see to the Princess, just like your original orders. I'm staying here."

"Against de bedder judgment uv hyu advisors..." Goomblast muttered. Seamus, meanwhile, had already moved away to listen to the medic's instructions.

"Mistress," said Piotr, "Let me stay vit hor. Pleeze."

"Sorry," said Agatha. "You're needed out here, after helping Axel inside. General! If you won't let me find my communicator, then at least send people in the tent to look! I'm blind down here!"

"Yas, Mistress," said the general, gesturing to three nearby Jäger to conduct the search. "But hy iz going on record dot hyu need to be op dere vit de odder Emperors!"

"Duly noted," she said. "And where are the other Generals? We need some field reports!" Goomblast acknowledged her orders and gathered yet more soldiers to locate the other Generals, including Gkika.

Agatha looked up and toward the rest of the fleet. Aside from the Guardians, others had been dispatched to join the fray: Franz, more of Gil's 501st fliers, Agatha's tiger clanks (minus Otilia), what Tarvek liked to call "Tooth Fairies," Mara's ladybird beetle clanks, and others. As soon as the ladybirds landed, they shifted into bipedal forms and fired stun cannons with impressive accuracy at the hopper troops. One shot stunned both the hopper and its riders, leaving the fleet's soldiers free to finish the work. Agatha's tiger clanks... tore things apart. The "Tooth Fairies" were not named for leaving money under pillows, as the enemy discovered.

Agatha was briefly puzzled by ordnance fired from the airships being focused on spots away from the battle proper. If she could just find her blasted headset, she could get all the details she needed. But she had no doubt that their combined forces would make short work of these miscreant constructs.

She heard a scream in the distance, even amidst the din of battle. "General," she said. "Did you hear that?"

"Uv coz hy did," he said. "Dere iz fightink; pipple scream und yell!"

"I know. But I think something else just happened," said Agatha, peering into the distance. Frenzied shouts followed the scream of... pain? Death? She looked towards Gil's and Tarvek's flagships again and waved wildly. She attempted a bit of pantomime to indicate a lack of portable communication, but given their distance from the ground, even seeing her would be a miracle of its own.

Another scream. Still distant, but from another part of the battlefield. This time Agatha glimpsed some dirt being flung upward. The General stepped in front of her, blocking her view. She tried to push him aside, then to walk around him, but he was uncooperative.

"Get out of my way!" she said. "What is it? Are they landmines?"

General Gkika arrived first, and was annoyed to see Agatha. "Vat iz hyu doink here?" she demanded, then addressed Goomblast. "Hoy! Bridge troll! Get de Mistress to hor flagship!"

"Hy haff been tryink, hyu barroom trollop!" he bellowed. "But she-!"

"All right! Enough!" barked Agatha. "I will return to the flagship when I'm damned good and ready, and no sooner! Got it?"

The two Jägergenerals curled back their lips, but ultimately growled their consent.

"General Gkika!" she said. "Did you get a visual on what just happened there, and there? What are they? Mines?"

"No, Mistress," she said. "Dey iz-"

Not five meters from where they all stood, the earth itself rose up, in an unexpectedly circular shape, and tilted towards the trio like a lid from a cup being pulled off. They did not see what was behind this earthen trapdoor, but a soldier they had glimpsed nearby cried out. Barely a second after the earth lifted up, it slammed shut again. The soldier was nowhere to be seen.

"Something..." said Agatha, "Underground..." She stared at the two generals, then pointed at the scene of the crime. "Get it open! Somebody pry open whatever that is and get him back! And why has nobody handed me a death ray??"

The soldiers and Jäger closest to the scene were already hacking and digging at the dirt. In another part of the battlefield: another trapdoor popped open, another scream, another missing soldier. Without a word, Goomblast scooped up Agatha and bent her over his shoulder. She could protest all she liked, and she liked it very much, but now even the ground was not safe.

The earth popped open again, but this time the trapdoor opened away from them. Now they could see what was attacking from below: spiders. Or rather, one massive spider, almost the size of one of Agatha's tiger clanks. The creature snagged two soldiers with its thick legs and dragged them under the earth with it. Soldiers and Jäger converged to dig and pry at the door. Agatha shouted warnings to avoid chopping up the creature's victims along with the creature.

"Mistress!" a Jäger shouted from the side. He was running from the medical tent, eagerly clutching her headset. "Hy found hyu-AUGH!" A popping open of the earth, a mass of writhing black-brown legs, and the Jäger and the communicator he held were gone. His compatriots rushed over to hack and pry at the trapdoor. They managed to open it just enough to drag him back out, but the communicator was a lost cause.

"Get to high ground!" ordered Mamma Gkika, ordering everyone in earshot. "Get avay from de dirt! Get onto heavy clanks eff hyu ken!"

"If they could" was the key. The few spiders that had appeared so far were the warmup, the introductory chords, the eight to twelve measures before the rest of the band joined in. Their percussive attack erupted almost all at once, in a horrifying rhythm of Whoosh-Snatch-Scream-WHOOMP, spaced half a note apart, coming in waves, in ripples, in crescendoes. This was a frantic percussion solo where the instruments were dealing death instead of music.

The hoppers and their riders were dispatched quickly once the air troops arrived. It was the ground troops that were trapped in the deadly game of Whack-a-Mole. Agatha and her two Generals were relaying field orders as best as could be done in the chaos. The tiger and ladybird clanks were the most effective at yanking off the doors once discovered. The shape-shifting cephalopods rescued anyone trapped inside - if possible - and the "tooth fairies" did what they did best: eat the spiders, piece by tiny piece. The arachnids would flail and shriek about it, but were ultimately drowned out by the flurry of wings and chomping of teeth.

Effective attacks all, but reactive. Spotters finding the outline of a trapdoor were by then close enough to be grabbed, and usually were. Rescued victims flopped about limply - alive but paralyzed. Any available Guildern Guardians scooped them up and flew them to the closest airborne medical ship, leaving them unable to fight or assist other wounded in the Jäger ship.

Then:

A mass of earth almost twice the diameter of the other spiders' doors lifted up beneath General Goomblast. He toppled away from the trapdoor and reached out to pull Agatha with him, but missed. Two of this mother-of-all-spider's legs latched onto her arm, and yanked. Gkika sliced one of the legs with ease and stepped forward for a follow-through stroke. The spider shrieked but did not withdraw. It lunged forward and sank its fangs into Gkika rather than its original prey. Gkika convulsed and shuddered and fell towards the creature, but it pushed her away and used another of its many other legs to grab Agatha's. It slammed her hard to the ground and bit her calf. She made a game effort of clawing at the ground to escape, but to no avail. In barely two seconds she lost control of her limbs, and her vision went black.

General Goomblast grabbed one side of the trapdoor as it was shutting. He was dragged forward, but the door still shut, as flush to the ground as it could under the circumstances. Goomblast cried out in pain. He did not let go or relax his grip, but his arms pulled away, anyway - minus his hands.

"Mistress!" he roared, and pounded on the door with bloodied stumps.

****

A doctor had taken Mara's vitals and declared them stable. She could wake any time now, or take a lifetime. The doctor lacked evidence either way. The medic that had given her the ventilator had dressed her head wound. Seamus did not appreciate being sidelined, but the Prince had decreed her safety to be his first priority. He had delegated command of the Guardians to a lieutenant shortly after reaching the downed Jäger ship. There were about thirty other wounded here - a mix of human and Jäger - lying down or sitting. Some were attempting to hobble about, including the Princess' Jäger Axel, who had suffered an open fracture. He had hopped over, using his own weapon as a crutch, to stand by her side. A new Jäger named Holtz had released himself back into service, very much against the attending doctor's wishes. Seamus had no authority over the Jäger and saw no point in confronting any of them still eager to serve. He stayed at his post, watching for any threats to the ship and thus the Princess.

He heard moaning behind him, and turned. The Princess was awake, but disoriented, judging by her determination to fight with the medic trying to keep her ventilator in place. Seamus was at her side in an instant. The medic was explaining the necessity of that tube being down her throat, which did not deter her. Seamus' battle suit gave him a lot more strength than she; he took both of her arms as gently as he could and crossed them in front of her chest.

"Your Highness," he said, "This is Seamus. Do you recognize me?" She grunted through the ventilator, but did peer at him as if trying to make a visual examination. After several awkward moments, she nodded. "You've been injured. Her Ladyship Most High ordered me to take you to this shelter. This man is a doctor and is helping you. Understand?"

She stared hard at the medic, who smiled and held up a stethoscope. He took advantage of her new calmness to begin checking vital signs. She looked back at Seamus and blinked several times, then nodded again. He released his hold on her, and she let her head roll back and closed her eyes. The sounds of the battle - or rather, screams - outside reopened them. She looked over, then tried to sit up. Seamus held out his hand just enough to block her movement. She glared at him and attempted to speak with the tube down her throat, but only managed to get out vowels.

"Eh - i' - A'uh'uh?"

"Your Highness, you need to rest," he said, patting her shoulder.

She grunted in frustration. "Eh - i' - A'uh'uh!!"

"Ma'am, I'm afraid that I can't-"

"Vhere iz de Mistress?" said Axel, hopping closer to her. "Still out dere, hy vould tink. Vant hy should fetch hor?" Her first reaction to the Jäger was to widen her eyes and shrink back, as if not recognizing him. "Prinzess? Iz Axel. Hyu know me, yas?" Another awkward pause ensued before she nodded. "Hyu vant me to find de Mistress?"

"Nnnnn."

"Iz dot yas or no?"

More strange sounds from outside. A sort of Whoosh-Scream-WHOOMP combination that was heard in different parts of the battlefield, then increased in quantity... and proximity. Seamus ordered Mara to stay put and asked Axel to stay with her. She glared at him, but complied. Axel nodded his consent.

Now peering outside,Seamus' mouth went slack at the sight of New European troops being snatched into the earth by black and brown demons from hell. A slight tremor from under the ship required him to steady himself against a wall. He looked back inside; some concern from the wounded, but nothing had burst in and taken anything. The floors beneath them were strong, and the ship was likely too heavy for them to lift. There was no guarantee of it, though.

"We need to get people out of here," he said to the closest doctor. "Back to the fleet. Who can be moved?"

"We're already working that out, sir," said the doctor, and moved away to confer with his colleagues.

"Mistress!" he heard a Jäger shout from outside. In that one word there was great anguish and distress.

"Dot vas... General Goomblast!" said Axel.

"Get de Mistress out now! Keel de spider!" Frenzied shouting drowned out his additional orders, but they were all about the same thing: something bad had happened to Agatha.

"That's it," said Mara, who had pulled out her own ventilator and was now standing. "Seamus, you need to get out there and-" She groaned, and her knees gave out. Axel's reaction was a millisecond faster than Seamus'. He caught her and held her up, though it hurt his bad leg to put weight on it. She was conscious, but dazed.

"Your Highness," said Seamus, taking over for Axel, "This is not helping your situation."

She mumbled things that not even her Jäger bodyguard could understand. Her head lolled back and forth, one to the other. She stopped at Seamus and stared at him. "Wha?" she said with only slightly more coherence. "'Aff to say it twice? Assesssss the sitchation 'n' help Ag'tha. Or smmthng."

Seamus nodded, then got a doctor's attention. "Doctor? Is she clear to be transported to a medical airship?"

The doctor glanced outside. "Given the circumstances, I would say yes. Gently."

"Thank you." He scooped her up into his arms and brought her to an opening, then scanned for any nearby threats.

"Ohhh," said Mara, gaining a bit more clarity. "This'll do, too. Put me down so I can survey the area. Um... where was Agatha last seen?" Seamus' boot jets fired up. "What are you doing? I have to help! Something's happened to- NO! Not now!" He made a vertical liftoff first to ensue a good distance from the ground threat, then leveled off to head for the nearest medical ship. The acceleration drained enough blood from Mara's head to cause her to pass out, making for a quiet four seconds of flight.

****

On the first day, the surrounding area was torn up enough to envy the most enthusiastic of strip miners. This includes the outpost where the hopper troops had... hopped from. Other than barracks, offices and a deployment bay, there were no tunnels or other obvious paths to their headquarters.

When the door of Agatha's captor had been torn open, neither she nor the spider were anywhere to be found. There was a tunnel, but a short one that ended in a meager lair at best. Most notably, no remains were found. Given that these beasts specialized in hidden doors, much effort was made to find others, and to keep digging. There was only solid dirt from then on. Agatha had, without sufficient evidence to explain otherwise, vanished. Gil and Tarvek were in no mood to accept any explanations for how her elite guards - Generals, even - had managed to lose her. That her communicator was not on her person only added to the difficulties in finding her.

Debates were waged and raged whether to send all, part or none of the fleet ahead, given that the missile launch location had been determined. More than one hopper trooper had been captured, as well, but were proving to be surprisingly resistant to interrogation. It didn't help that none were officers and thus not privvy to high-level information. They also spoke with a nigh-impenetrable combination of their native tongue, which was derivative of English, and their local slang.

The spiders' paralysis venom lasted about four hours for Jäger, and a day or more for those with more conventional healing abilities, as Zeetha discovered. She and Mr. Higgs had a respectable kill count between the two, as always, until she took a fang bite to the knee. The spider in question learned to fly that day after an enraged Higgs heaved it into the sky, to be taken out by a passing Guardian like a skeet.

Mara, having first been injured, then pulled from the battle under duress, had no useful information for Agatha's fellow Emperors about the events. She had hoped they had information for her. After their first conversation, she was excused to get more rest, but there was no opportunity for it. Never mind her chaotic thoughts and trying to sort through every bit of knowledge she had that might be used to help find Agatha. She also had a patient: General Goomblast, who could not wield a butter knife, let alone a rapier, in his current condition.

The medical ships were crowded with wounded, both human and construct. There was some luck, though; the remaining wounded Jäger were able to heal on their own without requiring surgery from her. She and Agatha had attended to the worst of them already. As the only Heterodyne on board, a ward of the dying would have been disastrous. The Emperors offered their assistance with Goomblast, but Mara was compelled to honor Agatha's faith and not let even them view a surgery in action. She would have liked General Gkika's assistance, but the mighty Jäger was only just coming out of paralysis at the time. And so she created his new mechanical hands, and attached them, alone.

It was to her great relief that he was pleased with the results. He tried a bit of swordplay with his new hands and was not quite as proficient as before, but claimed that he would be back to his old fighting form in no time. As for the other Techmasters' curiosity about her tending to a Jäger, the Emperors' response was that the Heterodyne's Techmistress was the closest any of the Jäger could get, and so there was no choice in the matter.

Afterwards she returned to her lab, but before getting to work was again summoned to speak with Agatha's fellow Emperors. Agatha had been missing for half a day now.

She was brought to a small room occupied only by Herr Wulfenbach and- By now she'd been given permission to refer to them as Gil and Tarvek, even if she was yet to do so. They both regarded her with an intensity that convinced her to remain silent until spoken to.

"How do you feel?" asked Gil. The question was at odds with the silent scrutiny that accompanied it, as though her answer would be judged.

"Tired," she said. "But very much on the mend, sir. Thank you for asking. I should be resting, but find that... I find it helpful to work in the lab. I feel... useful."

"We're all feeling a bit useless at the moment," said Tarvek. "Still, you were injured and shouldn't push."

"Thank you for your concern, sir," she said quietly.

"So," said Gil, folding his arms, "I think it's a fair bet that the Jägergenerals have made up their minds about you. That you've proven yourself."

She scoffed. "By getting knocked out? Losing my cousin?"

"To be fair," said Tarvek, "It was their job to keep Agatha and you safe."

"I'm not really a, um, a blame-throwing sort of person, sir." She forced a smile. "Except on myself."

"No one's blaming you for anything," said Gil, "In fact, you've been performing very well, regardless of the circumstances. In which case, we asked you here to ask about your next steps. Your plans."

"My--?" she said, then shrugged. "For my part, trying to find Agatha will be that. I don't intend to stop until we have."

"That's good to hear," said Gil. "But we want to know if, because of her temporary absence, you're considering revealing yourself?" She stared at him quizzically. "It's not public knowledge that you're a Heterodyne. Are you thinking of-?"

"Ohhh," she said in comprehension. "Revealing that, you mean?" They nodded. She looked askance and rubbed her neck. "Um... Funny. Until you just mentioned it, that thought hadn't occurred to me. This isn't something you want me to do, is it? Because... Agatha knows that there's still work to be done in Guildern - my kingdom, that is - to build its defenses to her satisfaction. So my family- and Guildern's people - can be protected when the time comes. But that's irrelevant until she's found. I say when she's found, not if. Wait, you're not considering... giving up-?"

A clamor arose as the two Emperors spoke to contradict her.

"We are not," said Gil to sum up, "For one second, giving up on finding Agatha."

Mara breathed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness. For a moment I wondered if I might be, um, working alone?" They glared. "I'm not!" she said quickly. "I realize that."

"Do you have any ideas?" asked Tarvek. "You were busy with General Goomblast, so I'm guessing you haven't had a chance to brainstorm with the other Techmasters?"

"Correct," she said, then looked concerned. "You haven't been waiting on me, have you?"

"Hardly," said Gil. "We'll be meeting again soon. Meanwhile, we have fliers searching grids and the big clanks on the ground."

Mara said, "I've been trying to think of ways to locate Agatha specifically, regardless of where she is."

"I don't follow you," said Tarvek.

"Sorry, it's been difficult to organize my thoughts, but I'm trying to think of... not so much a search technique as a way to circumvent any sort of technique and just... find her." Off their blank stares: "I know, I'm making no sense."

"Let's call the others now," said Gil. "Get some other ideas rolling. At least review their progress."

Tarvek said to Mara, "You should get some rest. But stop in sickbay first and get checked. You could just be fatigued, or it could be your injury."

"I thought you were both medical doctors?" she asked. "Hang on, don't summon the Techmasters, then ask me to leave. That's... Look, before you call anyone, I have an idea rattling about, but I shouldn't share it with them, if you know what I mean."

"What about us?" said Gil.

"Yes, I will, I just..." she said, and pinched her eyes together. "A moment, please. It's... a kernel of an idea, but I'm thinking... Apparently Heterodynes share certain physical traits. Different things that I've noticed. Similar blood type and an... odd reaction to Dyne River water. And I'm not certain, but I think coffee might affect Agatha in similar-"

"What's your point?" said Gil.

"Well," said Mara, "If this is the case, then I'm thinking that Heterodynes must have certain... fingerprints to them that could be used to find her? Such as, uh, not something like blood type, but perhaps a brain pattern? Or... her personal body chemistry? Her-?"

"Bioelectric frequency?" said Tarvek. "Her signature, so to speak?"

"Sirs, do you think I'm on the right track?" asked Mara. "Her bioelectric signature would be unique, yes?" They nodded. "You wouldn't happen to have that sort of information about her, would you?"

The Emperors exchanged looks. "Possibly," said Tarvek. "Except... not here."

"Castle Wulfenbach," said Gil with a sigh.

"Is it something you could find?" asked Mara. "Someone you could contact? Or... or given your intellect... You wouldn't happen to have memorized it, would you?"

He shook his head and appeared somewhat chagrined. "One, the location of the data is in a top secret part of the ship. No one else on board is even supposed to know about it. Two, our information is coded. Even if we used the talkboxes, it would take a minion days to read it back to us. As for memorizing it...To a point. But not all."
Mara perked up. "Anything would help, sir! As for the rest, I suppose you have good reason for all the secrecy. That leaves me with my alternate course of action: on the hypothesis that Heterodyne physiology is similar enough, I'm going to use my own bioelectric signature as a template. Combined with any information that you have." She shrugged. "You see why I can't share this with the Doctor and Professor?"

"I like your idea," said Tarvek. Gil nodded. "It's your project. The Doctor and Professor will work on their own assignments, but if you need our help-"

"-Just ask," Gil finished. "It'll be done."

Mara smiled and blushed. "Thank you, sirs. If you don't mind, I'd like to begin my research immediately."

"Please," said Tarvek, gesturing to the door. "But don't neglect your own health."

"I wish that were an option," she said. The men nodded grimly.

"But before you go..." said Gil. She paused and waited. "We're in agreement that you will not reveal yourself in Agatha's absence?"

"Um..." she said, "Right, no. I mean, yes, we're in agreement. In fact, I wouldn't reveal myself now even if you told me to."

"Well, that's goo- What?" said Gil. "What was that?"

"I told you," she said, "That decision is mine, Agatha's, and my family's. Now, I realize that you three are equal in your land and power and whatnot, but she's still--- It's not so much that Guildern is in her empire, or that we're family, but-Look, I'm loyal to her. That's all that needs be said. Good evening, gentlemen. I'll provide progress reports as warranted."

After she left the room, Tarvek folded his arms. "Hm. What do you think?"

"She's got a bit of fire," said Gil, nodding. "And I like the idea. She's been a good Techmistress."

"Yes, but I had another question in mind," said Tarvek.

"Well, out with it, then," said Gil. "I don't have time to suss out your every niggling doubt."

"I'd think it'd be one of yours, too," said Tarvek. He sighed. "Fine. Time is precious. I want to know if you can picture her as The Heterodyne."

"The-- The Heterodyne?" said Gil. "Her?" Tarvek nodded. "Why ask that? Good grief, don't tell me that you're giving up?"

"Don't put words in my mouth," said Tarvek. "This is not something I want to happen. But we have to accept it as a possibility. That we might not find Agatha."

"A possibility for you, maybe, but not-"

"Don't be such a child," said Tarvek. "And don't get me started on your earlier, 'won't marry anyone else' tantrum. Oh, don't give me that look. Consider the possibility of her loss, and tell me if you think the Princess could step up?"

Gil folded his arms and brooded. "First," he said. "I am not being a child. Why am I not considering the possibility that she's lost? Because of the evidence. Out of that whole battle, we had injuries, we had death, but nobody - nobody - except Agatha was taken. Even the others that were pulled under and killed, we found their bodies. But she's gone. If Mara can't find her, we finish our search grids here, then move on. And we keep talking to our new 'friends' until we get information. We head for the missile silos. We find 'Queen Matilda,' we find Agatha. I'm certain of it."

"Agreed."

"But I'll indulge you," he continued. "Her cousin as The Heterodyne? No. Her tech is great, but she's no Agatha. No leader, that is. If she had to take over, I... I don't think Mechanicsburg would last a day."

"Why do you say that?" said Tarvek. "I'm genuinely curious. And it almost didn't last Agatha's first day in charge, either. She won by a hair. There was a lot of rubble to sort through after the Siege. A lot of bodies. Including poor Tweedle, now that I'm recalling it."

"Who?"

"A cousin," said Tarvek. "On the von Blitzen-- You know, never mind. Back to business."

"Fine," said Gil. "Benefit of the doubt for Mara, if you like. But I suspect that she'd order the Castle and the Jägers not to kill anyone, or something equally ridiculous. Heal the enemy's wounded. That sort of thing." He rolled his eyes. "Pacifists. And what about you?"

"I admit that I'm still undecided."

"Well, let's get back to work so you don't have to decide," said Gil.

****

Mara remembered Agatha's admonition to visit the Heterodyne troops more often, and took a break from her work to visit the Jäger airship, which had been sufficiently repaired and was airborne again. Unlike Agatha, she did not call for a karaoke party, but walked quietly among them. She listened to their concerns, helped with lingering wounds, and did her best to offer hope for Agatha's rapid and safe return. Overall they were a hopeful lot; most of them were old enough to have seen many generations of Heterodynes pass by. The veterans were hopeful, but the best able to weather the loss of their leader. Though Ognian's tears did seem genuine as he briefly collapsed into her arms. But she knew better by now than to acquiesce to Maxim's request for "smootchies," no matter how soulful he made his eyes appear.

It was still the newest of the pack, which Jäger like Holtz belonged to, that needed more assurance.  The irony did not go unnoticed that the Jägerkin's presence was comforting to her, too. For half of her life they had been the bogeymen of her worst nightmares. Now the same bogeymen were perking up her spirits. Now the Jägergenerals were oddly insistent that she have tea with them. The lure of rest fought with her compulsion to find Agatha; she didn't need another direction to be pulled in, but decided that it would be good politics to accept the invitation. She hated politics. To her surprise they spent the time not talking about Agatha, but Heterodynes long... and not quite long... past. Many of the stories of Agatha's... or their... ancestors were both hilarious and terrifying. The tea party ended with them referring to her as "Mistress." But not The Mistress.

The next morning, prior to which Mara had gotten no sleep, she requested the Emperors' presence for a trial run of her locator. A large screen had been set up in the lab and divided into a UTM grid. She quickly mumbled details about its functions, then caught a second wind and switched it on. After a moment, a small dot formed in the center of the screen.

"That would be our location," she said tiredly. "I mean, mine." The entire screen represented four hundred square kilometers. Several knobs allowed her to adjust the search in different directions, but not zoom out to view more than the four hundred. She was moving the search to the north, when Gil pointed.

"Stop," he said. "Look there. There's a bit of... fuzziness."

"Sorry," she said, and picked up a rag to wipe at the screen. The fuzziness remained. "Oh?"

"Do you need us to do anything?" he said, peering at the readouts. "Zoom in? Tighten the focus?"

"What about adjusting the signature?" said Tarvek. He pointed to a dial. "This is for tuning the currency reflection, yes?"

"Hold on, please," she said, adjusting one knob and lever after another, "Just, um... calibrating the potentials sensors... checking amperage..."

"That's making it worse," said Tarvek. "Wait... No, now you're on the right track. It's starting to coalesce."

That news was better than any coffee or other stimulant to spur Mara to keep going and work faster. After both a brief and excrutiatingly long time, the "fuzziness" tightened into a single dot on the screen. Per the grid's readouts, it was five kilometers due east from the fleet. The Emperors made a joyful, yet cautious noise, hugged a surprised and awkward Mara, and dispatched a team of Guardians, accompanied by Franz, to investigate. And if it was Agatha, to greet her properly, ascertain any medical need, then return her posthaste to the fleet. If not Agatha, to establish the threat level and deal with it quickly and permanently.

---To be continued