A city named as a joke. Though subterranean and not well lit at all, the denizens of Tarantella live a very normal, very modern life. Pretty much everything one could find on the surface can be found here, including shrubbery in the form of mosses. It is a vast metropolis, full of spider-folk, though it only rarely receives surface guests.

---

Tarantella Archive
Tarantella Archive II
Tarantella Archive III

Grace Tower
Julen City

---

Yin's steps are short, graceful, and demure, keeping a fair place and a regionally-appropriate walk to a fairly conservative Islamic country. "The house isn't far," she notes to her guard...and sure enough, within about ten minutes--it would have been two if they could stick to walls--she's knocking on Kaz's door.

The door slides open. Now that Kaz doesn't have to be quite as secretive, he's opted for the techy CEAGT-style abode he used to love so much.

At the door, a boy-sized spider-bot with a TV screen in its face meets them.

"Please come in and make yourself at home. There is whiskey stash only half-consumed in the living room."

"Thank you so much. There's a wyvern with me as well," Yin notes to the AI. Glances back to Petrovic, and heads inside. Once they're both in and the door is closed, she adjusts her hijab, unwrapping it enough that her face is uncovered an taking off her glasses. It's harder to cheer up a friend when you don't look like you.

The spider proceeds into the other room to inform Menayen of the visitors.

And thus, about two minutes later, a weary, bloodshot-eyed and somewhat stubbly kitty-runt wanders into the living room.

"Hiya Yin. Oh." He blinks at Petrovic. "I was expecting a different scary Wyvern."

"Nah. The blonde one needs some time to think, I think." Yin smiles a bit. Eesh. He looks awful. "Ready to grab some lunch, Menayen?"

"OH, yeah. Just a minute. I need to be attractive." He blinks. "So, why the slab?" He points at Petrovic.

"You're already cute. And because the city's not exactly at its most secure for me right now above ground. There are a lot of people very upset. Petrovic suggested the escort, and I wasn't particularly inclined to argue this time since I couldn't get around him being right." She's sure they'll still have a reasonably private lunch, though. Petrovic tends to keep his distance not only to allow private--often classified--conversation, but also because it's easier to keep an eye on the situation and check on anything his plants point out without making Yin ridiculously conspicuous.

"Cool." Menayen grabs his white lab coat. Is quiet a minute. "Y'know. I still wear this thing from my CEAGT days. It's awesome. Fireproof, cold proof, waterproof, idiotproof, geniusproof, and I've personally tested all of 'em."

"It looks good on you. I'm responsible for at more than half of those, if I recall," Yin observes, slipping her glasses back on.

"It's actually a great thing. You know it's got a field generator in it?" He smiles at Yin. "It's totally immune to the Arbiter's pulse."

This gets a raised eyebrow. If he can make one thing immune...he could theoretically make more immune. But still, she's another part amused. "You always manage to cook up more than you're supposed to. I adore you. So. Italian?"

He smiles at her, a desperate little smile. "Italian." He gathers up the coat. "But let's eat in the city. Here." He hands Yin a gift-wrapped box. "I got you something."

Inside the box is a smart, navy-blue pantsuit complete with classy shoes and a pearl necklace and a beautiful, futuristic-looking lapel pin in what looks like platinum, in the form of a caduceus.

---

Alou blinks at the box sitting on his desk. A trap? Probably.

But he opens it anyway. His house has bomb sniffers, so it's not a bomb or a germ. Maybe it's that digital camera he ordered.

He pries it open, and blinks at the caduceus pin inside.

"Hm," he says aloud, and glances at the tag. "Wear this now," he reads, "and don't take it off. It's very important. Signed Kaz."

---

Yin doesn't stiffen...only from self control. She is still a few moments, though, before managing a smile. "Aww...it's beautiful, Kaz, thank you." She kisses his fuzzy mess of hair...even as her mind races. She's worried. Really, really worried, about his state of mind, and what may this may mean. "May I," should I, "wear it now?"

"That depends," he purrs. "I insist you wear the pin, since it matches mine, but you don't have to wear the suit unless you would like to change in front of us. Right, stoic?"

Petrovic scowls. "Let me inspect those first, Yin."

"Oh, I'm sure they're fine. Menayen's one of my most trusted friends, and has been a long time." She holds the box back to Petrovic regardless, though the pin stays in hand. Still...she's trying to hold back an almost cripping concern. "Menayen..." she finally notes, softly. "You're scaring me. Seriously. In a big way."

The kitty blinks. "Oh. It's the stubble, right?" He walks over to the other side of the room, and picks up a pencil-looking thing. He presses a button and a three-inch electrical pulse comes out, which he immediately begins to use to scorch the hair off his face--without burning anything else. "Nifty, innit?"

Petrovic pokes through the clothes. Sniffs them. Holds them to the light. Finally, is satisfied, and hands them to Yin.

Yin smiles weakly at Petrovic, fixing her head scarf before taking the gifts back, and looks to Kaz. "Quite so. You so need to make me one of those. Meanwhile...ready to go?"

"I did make you one of those. I think your boyfriend borrowed it before you got it, though." Kaz puts his razor down, all clean-faced. "Very much so! Seriously, though, put the pin on. Looks good on you, I guarantee it! Looks good on me, anyway."

"It would. Matches the lab coat." She hesitates. And puts it on.

And nothing happens.

"Ooh. Looks nice. Whatcha think, cornbread?" Menayen looks at Petrovic. "I got a few more of these bad boys. There's one for you, and Soze, um, Alou, Troix, me, and yeah, I think that's it. Oh. And one for that cute little muffin that runs the italian joint."

Petrovic smiles a bit. "I don't accessorize. But thank you. Let's go. I could use a nice chicken penne right now."

Yin nods. Glances to Menayen. Pauses. Damnit. Petrovic being here...is not helping. "Yeah." She manages a smile--in the eye expression, of course, since most of her face is hidden. "Let's get some lunch." This is...not the friendly cheer-'im-up she was hoping for. More portents of doomsday from still another angle, she didn't need.

Menayen grins at both. "Come on, Kash." As he walks out the door, his loyal spiderbot follows right along.

Petrovic glances at Yin. He wonders what she's seeing that has her so obviously out of sorts. At least, obviously to someone who has monitored her night and day for a few years.

She doesn't return the look, just following quietly. Petrovic hasn't been given his pin. Soze hasn't that she knows of. It means there's time.

---

Soze turns the box in his hands. Huh. A present from Jasne? How scandalous! And the pin is just darling.

---

Menayen holds the last pins in his hand. Wonders if giving it to Petrovic now is too obvious. Petrovic's is actually for someone else. That's okay, though; he's fairly sure that creepy black-lipped fucker can get away from the Arbiter on his own.

"So," the kitty asks as they tramp into the streets, "I'm buying. Who's drinking?"

"I could use a glass of wine," Yin notes.

"Aces." Menayen leads them into the italian place in question, a nice, clean, Olive Garden-esque spot run by a spider woman who is, by all accounts, the most mystifying (if not beautiful) creature in Julen. She tends to dress in belly-dancer tops and veils in a dozen shades of chiffon blue and violet, decked out in gorgeous, sparkling jewelry and generally looking very exotic. Her antennae-hair is prismatic, but muted, so it looks dark and lustrous. And her eyes are violet, too.

"Hiya Contessa," Menayen purrs when they arrive and the owner in question is standing at the desk, purring into a telephone. "Love me yet?"

She glances at him, amused, her painted lips smirking.

"Not a chance, furrball." She looks at Yin and Petrovic. "Fetish party?"

Yin just smiles at this with that closed-eye expression, almost a touch shyly. She doesn't speak very much when trying to keep a low profile. She's told that the more she keeps up this "demi-figurehead" thing up, the more striking her own mannerisms become when she's not acting.

"Sure. Wanna come?" Menayen grins at her. "Table for four if you want to, three if you don't."

"Table for three." 

Kitten eyes ensue.

"Four. Fuck you, Kaz. This way." Contessa leads them along, greeting and shoulder patting folks as they go to a corner booth. "Sit. Waiter will be along in less than one minute. Or else."

Yin smiles, and sits, sliding over. Petrovic will want to be on the outside. Damn. They don't need another person joining them. She wants to talk to Kaz.

Petrovic, though, doesn't sit.

"I will take a different table, actually," he informs Contessa. "I cannot eat at the same table as a woman."

Contessa blinks. "Oh. Well. Religion? Oop, not my business. Let me show you a different one. Kaz, I'll be back."  And off they go, with Petrovic pointing out a better vantage-point table.

Kaz huffs. "Damn. I have a pin for her too."

"Yeah, about that," Yin inquires quietly, leaning casually on her arms, voice softening. "What's with the pins, Menayen? Do they do what your coat does, and if so, why do we need them?"

"Need them?" Kaz looks at her with big shiny kitty eyes. "I dunno what anyone needs, but platinum is hot."

"Platinum is hot," she agrees. "But in the shape of something you don't even like, I need to wonder why they're going to everyone special to you around here."

"Oh. Well, I was thinking about your boyfriend. See, I was thinking about all this mess. Why have a weapon like the Arbiter if you aren't planning to use it more than once? Why not just nuke Okarthel? Revilier could do that. And he could make it quiet, too, turn it into a reactor overload or something.  But the Arbiter was expensive. Seriously. I mean, it's attached to a TV satellite. But still. He's going to find an excuse to fire it at Okarthel. Then what? Paris maybe? The French don't like us. Maybe he'll crack open one of those Domes. Dunno. Anyway, the short of it is, platinum looks good on the people I like."

Yin's eyes soften. Yeah, of course. He is right. "Yeah...I tried to talk to him about disarming it. Didn't go so well. He essentially told me to go away until I had proof that it's going to backfire...mostly to keep himself from snapping at me pretty badly, I think."

"He's a military general. Can't forget that. He got where he was by surviving, you know. I've seen the videos. He's not kind-hearted and forgiving when it comes to war. He loves you. He does. But he's a plotter and a killer. It's what he does." Menayen smiles some. "It was gonna get him killed eventually, anyway." Menayen smiles that clean-shaven, bloodshot-eyed smile. "It might as well be me that does it, right?"

"Menayen..." pause. "You're not going to preemptively fire that thing to keep Revilier from doing it first. Are you?"

Menayen shrugs. "Maybe."

About this time Contessa comes whirling back, all smiles and sparkling.

"SO," she begins, "what would you ladies like?"

Yin is absolutely quiet for a few moments, stunned by the confirmation. Finally, she gamely puts on a smile beneath those tinted glasses and covered nose. "Just a glass of a beaujolais nouveau would be lovely if you have it, or a cabernet sauvignon if you don't."

"We're two feet from France," Contessa chuckles. "We have everything wine. And Menayen?"

"Chicken penne, please." He smiles at her. "Ooh. I gotcha an early tip." He holds out the pin.

Contessa blinks at it. "She has one, too. Was it discount day on bulk purchases or something?"

"Nah. Just shinies for people I like." 

Contessa accepts the thing and pins it to her veils. "Will there be anything else? A drink, Menayen?"

"Water."

He smiles at Yin. "I can even tell people my real name these days. Nice, innit?"

"I know what you mean." She smiles. Well. Usually. Waits until Contessa steps away. "Menayen...give me more time on this. Give me a chance to talk Revilier down or work on disarming somehow."

"You don't have time, Yin. Revilier's created a weapon like this and shown that he has the spine to use it. It and he need to be destroyed. I've seen what happens when serious weapon technology ends up in places that shouldn't have it. It's not good. Not good." Menayen huffs.

Yin's eyes narrow, stricken. Finally close. Her voice, when she speaks, is soft. "Menayen. I just want you to know: there are better ways. But whatever you decide to do...I am going to stand by that man. I will forsake his decisions. I will never forsake him." The pin is removed from her dress in pale, lithe fingers, and set quietly on the table. Yin stands, and turns to the door. "Petrovic. We're leaving."

Menayen smiles at her. "Sit down, Yin. Tarantella's safe from the Arbiter's ray. Sit down, or I push the red button right now."

His spider bot steps in front of the door.

Petrovic, of course, is at perfect attention. Just... waiting to see what Yin does.

Her fangs bare, though of course this goes on beneath her hijab. Yin doesn't sit, though her eyes glance briefly to the spider-bot. Damnit. It would be hard--very, very hard--to get out of Tarantella if Menayen...if Kaz...tries to stop them. It's a scenario she'd never considered. "You're talking about firing a WMD into a city to keep it from probably being fired...assuming it isn't stopped by Astrals first, a huge possibility. I came down here hoping to calm and cheer up a friend. I wish I'd known he'd already gone insane."

"God, Yin, shut the fuck up would you?" Menayen leans back in the booth. "How did you ever make it as a spy when you talk ten times more than you listen? Tell me at what point you got me to admit I'm planning to actually kill millions of people just to take out your boy toy. Go on. I'm waiting. It's at least ten minutes on the penne."

"Why did you give us all protection trinkets?"

"When did I tell you they were protection trinkets?"

"Assumption. If I'm wrong, then set me right."

"You're not wrong." Kaz smiles at Contessa, who brings drinks. "Thanks, hotness. Pin looks good on ya!"

"Everything looks good on me, Menayen," the spidress purrs.

"Even me?"

"You would, hypothetically. One in a million chance."

"Sweet."

And she saunters off.

"I didn't find Astral dragons when I searched. There's a lot of space, I know. I found something else." Menayen glances at Petrovic, who is just sitting down. "I found Wyverns. Huge, full form Wyverns with the same energy type as the Arbiter."

Yin's brow creases. She finally sits down, after a few more moments. "Supposedly that staff is made from part of a mercurial wyvern's body," she notes quietly. "But if that's true, what do you suppose the approach means? If it's agresive, especially if both sides really did show up...we could be looking at the end of everything."

"Yeah-huh." The kitty sips his water. "I tried communicating with them. Faster than light communication is cool. You guys don't have it yet. Probably won't for a while. They said stuff. My Wyvern-speak isn't that good, but Kash here translated it for me." He sips again. "The weapon and the Wyvern responsible for it. They said they want them both destroyed. Insert a creative ultimatum."

Yin's eyes close after a few seconds. Just...damnit. Damnit. This is very...so bad. "Kaz, you have to understand that no matter what, I have to look for another way. I can't let that happen." She's fighting to keep her voice from breaking. Succeeding, but...it isn't easy. "Why are you telling me this?"

Menayen huffs again. "You were ready to write me off as insane a second ago. Maybe your opinion matters." He sits back. "I warned Sidarsis, you know. I did. But I guess she's dead, now. You know what else? I'm positive Sidarsis was a Wyvern prophet. So Revilier brought this on his own head."

"She may not be. It's hard to say. The agression would be interpreted the same whether she isn't or isn't, though...ugh." Her eyes are still closed. This is serious stuff. So much for a nice, quiet meal. "I know Revilier isn't perfect," she observes finally. I do. I know all of the nasty ins and outs of his administration. But...goddamnit. There msut be something. I mean, what if I can get him to have it deactivated himself? That would have to mean something. It would have to."

"Hey, I'm not saying I'm firing the Arbiter right now. I have more pins to make. Thousands more. I think they can sustain the pulse from Mercurial wyvern attacks. I don't know how long they'll wait." He looks down, eyes looking desperate again. "Revilier's a goddamn warmonger. Someone'll get him. You'd better be ready."

She just nods. Says nothing. Doesn't look at Kaz. Or up.

"That's enough about that. You leave Revilier to us." Petrovic glares at Menayen. "You just do your tech stuff and leave politics to politicians."

Menayen smiles. "Fuck you. I don't like you. Leave."

Petrovic tilts his head. Glances at Yin.

She doesn't return her look...but in such, doesn't second Kaz's order. "Menayen," she finally notes, softly, "I know I'm the one who suggested meeting, but you could have pretended nothing was going on. Why are you telling me all this, and is there something else you're inching towards?"

Menayen sips water again. Thinks.

"You're my friend, dumb shit. I don't think blasting your husband into dust without talking to you would sit well with our relationship. And as much as I hate your boyfriend the General, I like your boyfriend the Guy. He's strong, he's funny, he looks good in a banana hammock." The kitty looks at Contessa, who apparently decided to bring the food herself, as she approaches from across the crowded room. "I don't know how to take the fact that you think I needed a better reason to tell you."

"Take it as such: more or less the entire planet is out to get me. And my best friend just acknowledged that he's planning to kill my fiancee. However it's framed, that's not conducive to warm and fuzzy thinking. I really should go, Kaz. Is there anything else?"

Menayen looks at Yin then, and his eyes fill with something like purpose. He doesn't even smile when Contessa sets his food in front of him.

"You're absolutely right, Yin. I'll tell you what." He takes his fork, looks at it. "I'll destroy the Arbiter. Yeah, I know what you're not thinking, that'll piss off Revilier who will almost certainly send people after me. I can handle that, he hasn't trusted me from day one. But it'll make everything just aces with us. And when the Wyverns come for him, I'll try to have a different plan for saving the world, presuming I'm not assassinated. I should've been more thoughtful!"

"You can get bitchy if you want and piss off at me for forgetting to be a pure robot and react to things with pure, cool logic, shutting out all emotion. That's fine, I'm supposed to be programmed that way. Granted. Just do what you're going to do." Yin doesn't wait for a response this time. She's done with this conversation. Just...goddamnit how had this gone so wrong? She just heads for the door, silent, step quick.

Menayen looks down at his food. Contessa sits in front of him, carefully situating her legs.

"That was tense. Old girlfriend?"

Menayen munches the food. Thinks.

"She used to be my friend," he mews, "but then she got engaged." He puts the fork down. Suddenly, he doesn't feel like eating.

"Kash," he softly says to his faithful robot, "I need you to send some instructions. Calibrate the Arbiter to .25% power. She said do what I'm going to do. She said I'm insane. She said I'm being bitchy." He looks at Contessa. "When it's my life in danger, I guess I'm supposed to look for another way. Revilier, see, he's smart. He's probably already got assassins in place, someone to steal the codes for the weapon. Why not? It makes sense. So I'm in danger." He looks Contessa, who just looks puzzled. "Start a fire alarm at Grace Tower. When most of the people are out, fire the weapon at the twentieth floor." The Serinian takes another bite. Little tears stream down his face.

"Menayen. C'mon. I'll take you home." Contessa stands up again. "Want a box for your food?"

"Sure. I don't have room in my fridge, though."

The spider musses his hair.

"There's room in mine. C'mon."

Kash's monitor flashes with the words "instructions accepted. Carrying out commands."

---

"You should have killed the runt," Petrovic notes when they're out of the restaurant.

"I don't think I could have. But come on. We have to get back to the tower, fast." Yin is swallowing hard every few moments, just...trying to keep it under control, and barely suddeeding. Takes out her phone, hesitates. And then dials Revilier.

"Heya. How's Kaz?" It's picked up almost instantly.

"Not good. Revilier..." she trails off a moment. "Please get somewhere safe. Like nuclear shelter safe."

"Beg pardon? The fire alarm's going off, I can't hear too well."

Her heart leaps to her throat. Distraction? Building clearing? Getting rid of bystanders. She breaks into a run without meaning to, waiting impatiently through a few beeps as he turns up the phone. "Nuclear shelter, Revilier, get to it!"

"Done. Where are you?" Revilier himself is heading to the 77th floor, where the building's bomb shield controls are stored. It's big business, expensive, and he's already radioing the techs about it.

"Tarantella. Petrovic's with me, and I don't know how many of his unit." She doesn't ask. If the line's being tapped, which it probably is unless Kaz is as out-of-sorts as she is, that information doesn't need to be disclosed. "We're coming."

"If there's a nuclear threat, you stay the hell in Tarantella," Revilier barks.

"It's not nuclear, Revilier, it's the damned Arbiter!" Not her normal reaction to snap, or at anything he'd said, really. She's just...messed up on dozens of levels right now.

Silence for a second.

"Then stay there anyway," he says. "Don't you dare come up here."

Elsewhere, Kaz looks at Kash. "Lock down Tarantella. She thinks I'm a cute friendly ball of fluff to be kicked around whenever he's needed. Full security. Detain Yinxirziji Iejir. Kill Petrovic and his guards if you have to, but only if you have to. You only need to stall them. Clear?"

Kash beeps.

The elevators and gates of the city stop, and irritated citizens know to get out of the way when the first of Kaz's spider-bot security detail shows up. Black, gatling-gun-toting bots the size of Distraction and thickly armored, they have yet to fire a shot below the surface.

"Oh, fuck..." Yin murmurs. "Revilier, I have to go. Be careful. I love you." She tries to not let her voice crack on the last bit. It shouldn't. It's not like it's the first time she's told him that, suspecting that it might be the last.

Meanwhile, she taps Petrovic's shoulder and disappears quickly into an alley.

Petrovic notes, but only after giving a 'back off, danger' sign to the three men trailing them. Into the alley they go, between shops, where the bit bots can't fit.

Yin's teeth are set as she hops a fence to end up out of sight. Mind races. Damnit...damnit. Alou...? No. No, it wouldn't be fair to tell him to choose between her and Kaz. She certainly knows what it's like to be forced to choose between people she loves, she'll have no part of instigating it. And she's not even sure he'd help her. But what...

Pause.

She flips open her phone, and dials 33-BITCH.

"Be quick." His voice is, as ever, mildly bored.

"I know where the staff is. Are you able to get it from inner space?"

"Yes. Do you know exactly where it is?"

"Pretty close. It's on a tv satellite orbiting about four miles above the others of the same variety. It's orbiting in the same direction as the planet's rotation, and since it's about to fire and I don't believe it's designed to bounce from other satellites, it's got to be approaching Julen."

"Fine. Was there something else?"

A metallic clicking fills the air. Duplicates, and clicks again. And again.

Petrovic peers over the fence.

"Yin, run!" he manages to shout just as the first wave of cat-sized spider-bots streams over the fence.

Yin cringes. "Shit...!" Then, back into the phone as she takes off running with Petrovic, "I'd love it if you repaid the information by doing it quicklyokaythanksbye!" Over another fence, makes sure Petrovic is right with her, and starts running again. "We have to get to the west gate, it's our only admittedly narrow shot. The other exits are controlled absolutely."

The little spiders race along, keeping quite up. The heavier bashing step of the larger robots can still be heard from not too far away.

"Watch the alleys," Petrovic shouts. "They open to the street ahead. I'll go first and make sure it's safe." This as a wall of stone quite abruptly shoots up behind them, stopping the spiders for a second. "Get ready to run!"

Petrovic doesn't wait for Yin to answer. He walls the opening to the street and sprints across.

The roar of gatling guns winding only just precedes him. Rock shoots everywhere, bullets monsooning into the alleyway, thousands of lead chunks streaming through Petrovic's wall.

And body.

"Petrovic...!" Yin knows she should run. But she doesn't hesitate, grabbing his wrist and dragging them both to the ground, hands glowing brightly with the golden spell, eyes wide.

The barrage doesn't slow. Petrovic gasps, coughs. "Go on," he hacks, "go, go!"

The earth barrier cracks behind them, turning red in neat circles as the little spiders cut their way through with, of all things, short lasers like Kaz's razor.

Yin grits her teeth, deeply torn...damnit. The spell blazes more brightly with an effort that nearly drops her, then fades. "Stay down. That's an order. They won't shoot you if you're incapacitated." She hopes to god. She squeezes his shoulder, and jumps into a sprint.

The little spiders swarm Petrovic, deployed Spider adhesive to his wrists and ankles... pinning him. The other spiders start to chase Yin, but quite abruptly stop moving. The guns quiet. Their motors go silent.

They turn away.

Yin's step slows to a stop at the sounds. She turns, eyes narrow. What the hell...?

Yin's phone rings.

She picks up, of course...even as her jog takes her back to Petrovic. "Hello?"

"The weapon is destroyed," Radivishe Moorn's voice crackles. "However. Grace Tower is a ruin."

Yin's step falters. Slows, stops, before she forces her feet moving again. "Okay. Thank you. It..." Trails off. "What about Revilier...do you know...?"

"Of course I don't know. I was going to kill him myself in about two hours. Apparently whoever controlled that weapon saved me the trouble."

Yin is...just silent. Pale, as her hand sets to Petrovic's back, glowing gold. She tries a few times to say something. Fails...and finally just hangs up, when she can't speak.

Revilier....

What is that that vampire hunters say...? That vampires' hearts are dead, and their souls are. For the first time, she thinks she understands what that means.

She just remains there. Still. Refusing to believe.

Finally, it occurs to her to dial Revilier's phone.

"The person you are trying to dial is away from the phone right now. Please leave a message for 'Revilier' after the tone."

Beeeeep.

Yin's eyes slide shut. No. It...wasn't destroyed, then. His phone, he'd had it. And it's intact. There's no way he was killed. There isn't. "Petrovic...? We...need to get back to the tower...." There's certainly something very, very wrong with her voice as his bindings freeze to be broken off.

Petrovic coughs. Sits up.

"What happened? Where are the robots?"

---

Kaz puts his tazer back in his pocket. Looks down at Contessa, sighing softly at the pistol in her hand.

"Good. Great. Neato." He takes the pin from her veils and stuffs it in another pocket. "I hope you're happy, Yin. They're already onto me." And he walks outside, followed by a loyal Kash. "Open the gates. Let her out."

---

The doors and elevators of Tarantella whirr to life.

"They were called off. Come on. We have to get back. I don't think there will be any more interferance." And she stands up, walking stiffly into the street at a pace that at once wants to run...and run the other way. Normally she would be more sensitive to man who was just shot a few dozen times and give him a minute.

Petrovic drags himself along just fine.

The bots still streaming back into their storage holes all around the major gates. People are moving again, some taking notice of Petrovic's shot up and bloody shirt.

The elevator back to Julen City is right in front of them.