This is Business

"You did this to them?" Inquirer says in a slow, deadly whisper. "You ARE incompetent, period. That is the only reason why I am letting you still breath!"

Well, perhaps it shall be of little surprise to you how things went from there with that pronouncement. The others find both Xyllis and several other of the unwelcome guests are laid about Inquirer's feet, who she herself looks a bit . . . ruffled. Xyllis herself is out cold, the stun setting to the weapon (a new and most unexpected feature for Military grade weaponry) that Inquirer used having done an admirable job.

As for Princess Astra, a pantac jab or two means not only will she be out for a bit but shall be having a hellacious hangover upon waking upon. Not that Inquirer cared one way or another after she and her mother had tried jumping her after knocking out their precious court sorceress so quickly.

. . . .

Oh, for those out there scratching their heads Xyllis didn't stand a chance in that altercation. Let us think about it, eh? It takes a LOT less effort and time to pull the trigger of a weapon already at the ready than it takes to cast a spell with somatic, verbal to it. Even the shortest of spells, good though they might be in a fight, won't be quick enough against an opponent with mere human reflexes (and Inquirer, being a Golem, has MUCH quicker reflexes than that).

Throw into this dust up the fact that Inquirer, due to her having "inherited" an Avatar unit ("Light Combat" cybernetic unit) as a body, had a strength well above human norms, you can figure . . . . Well, the results are what they are when the others come racing up to see what is the matter.

Honestly, they had not expected any real excitement here. Just a will reading (per "their" Dr. Vincent's last request) and then . . . whatever business there was to be had upon Terra Prime for a while.

See what the results would be for some rather overly eager "volunteers" (Military types on leave) who'd said something about doing some "Voldy hunting" after catching wind of Inquirer's report to Military officials . . . With the "personal force-screens" they'd requisitioned they stood a chance IF it held up to certain killing curses. If nothing else, it would throw a scare or three into the Deatheaters. . .

Inquirer herself rather hoped that their superiors would rope those dopes in before they wrecked further havoc on what still was a shaky situation back on that one Earth . . .

Nevermind...

Ah, anyway, they also hoped to spend some time on Terra Prime so that the newest Companions . . . . acclimate. Oh, Allan had already been pretty okay with Ethiopians and all that. Mina? Oh, she'd been okay well before even becoming . . .a member of a new species. That is not the problem. See, while not exactly anti-imperialistic, the literary Allan Quatermain (as well as "our" Allan here) felt that the native Africans should have a say in their own affairs. That and "our" Allan has since been disabuse of the silly idea of . . . Well, let us just say that he is not taken aback by the idea that there were Africans out there who could actually teach his England and thing or three in more than a few sciences.

. . .

No, the problem here is the relationship between Mina and Allan!

Not to say that it is strained or in danger of growing cold. NO! Rather, it's a matter of it . . . getting out of hand. Most of the time they're okay, but sometimes their new draconic nature takes ahold . . . sometime making them toss aside restraint and . . .

Well, best left unsaid. Artizza would say something about it being a backlash for their Victorian upbringing, being repressed all the time (silly ideas she and Fertal had gotten from Jarlath earlier back in Narnia about Victorians or some such) . . .

Nevermind . . .

Given enough time, they'll adjust and regain their self control and all that, but right now it is still a bit . . . rocky for the new draconic love birds. At least they had enough self control back at that back alley chapel not to lose track of their lines and . . .

. . .

Of COURSE they got married! Oh, please...

At first they'd not seen the purpose or point of (of all people!) Chiana's suggestion. Finally, however, they understood. While it wasn't accepted back in Victorian England of the 19th century, extramarital relationships did exist . . . . but to do something like that in the social circles they'd be moving around in on Terra Prime could prove to be . . . .very bad. It still had some very medieval ideas about some . . . . things you know.

. . .

What clinched it was this, though. Chiana asked quiet plainly if they had something against marriage as a sign of a bonding of their hearts to each other and ONLY to each other? Not as some kind of contract or some other kind of legalistic nonsense, but as a promise?

"What, you have plans of frelling others out there on the side?" Chiana smiles.

"Of course not!" both new Oriental dragons protested hotly, and then seeing the point. Only for the other and . . . . that lead to another session of molten embraces and kissing and . . . .

"If this keeps up we're going to have to invest in some kind of portable cold shower generator," B'Elanna sighs, rolling her eyes at that last memory.

No rest for the weary... They'd been able to . . .keep control of themselves (saving it for later for the bedroom/lair) thus far and it looks like they'd gotten a handle on their new natures, but perhaps a week of relaxation just to make sure?

Maybe, if . . .

Well, back to the problem at hand, eh?

"I'm sure that 'our' world's Queen of Aqualaria will like this," Inquirer says softly, holding the sword that she'd forcedly taken from the still quietly cursing Queen. "Quiet obvious that you won't need it anymore. Get you into trouble if you're left in possession, so no more!"

Queen Helia looks ready to protest that she was the rightful queen of Aqualaria.

"Okay, the explanation I promised," Inquirer says, cutting her off before she can be interrupted by yet more stupidity. "You and your associates here had the bad misfortune to be teleported to another reality, a parallel world. That being the case, you do not rule that land even IF you were in Aqualaria, so shut UP."

Queen Helia, clearly not believing only glares at Inquirer at mutters something quietly about her paying for this.

"Like I care," Inquirer shoots back.

That social obligation done, she then makes sure that the rude ones who'd tried to do her harm are disarmed and properly looked after (one of "their" Bobos ready to smash and a phasor armed Elrondir being drafted as jail keepers). That done, she watches as Rift informs Helia (who is hoped shall be good enough to share with her companions when they awaken) the charge they face and the possible sentences they face by Ethiopian law.

The crime is attempted "mind rape" and accomplishes to the crime of attempted (possibly being upgraded to full mind rape and accomplishes to full mindrape if Sigin is unsuccessful in countering the magicks upon "Freda" and "Astra") and generally speaking there were . . . severe.

For the perpetrator of the crime itself (something that the Minestuses would have faced if they'd not died before apprehension so long ago for actions done to various Astras, turning them into horny demifox women and placing them in areas where nature would . . .er. . . take it's course) there was three punishments. The accomplishes only faced the first two.

The punishments were: permanent banishment (possibly to a distant penal colony where hard time is VERY hard), execution by hanging, or having "alterations" done that would prevent the criminal from EVER being able to cast magic again.

. . .

The last used to involve a form of what could only be considered psionic surgery (somewhat akin to that brain butchery done to that one mage in episode 50020), but that process had been more likely than not to lobotomize the patient than anything. Nowaday, with cybernetics available it was just a matter of implanting an otherwise non-harmful implant of some type (say a cybernetic spleen or some such) and the harm done to the . . . ability of the body by having such an alien thing within would be most . . . permanent. Almost always lingered even IF the offending organ was removed at a later date . . .

. . . .

That said, Inquirer said AS the obligated judge, jury, and executioner of this particular case, she was ALL for banishing them back to their homeworld, with the understanding that they were "personna non grata" from now on here on Terra Prime.

"However, if we cannot get proper readings from whatever scrambled the transporter logs right before I met those two," Inquirer sighed, pointing at the still cowed Fifi and Bambi, who now don't want to go ANYWHERE near the rather . . . nasty and unfriendly people. "That'll mean I might have to do something . . . .distasteful."

Nobody opted on asking what the last exactly meant. Right now, many are more concerned with trying to contact Cuthbert in the hopes that he might have some leftover samples of that herb he, Artizza and friends and gone after back in the Hitchhiker's reality.

. . .

You know, the stuff that was supposed to cure that one centauress' memory problems, Ravenman? She who'd been the victim of another Transform Door (the Champions had twigged to Fifi and Bambi being yet another set of victims of that strange spell) and that intelligent shade of blue's herb was useful at breaking through the magical mindwashing. It was hoped that the same could be done to these new bawdy girls....

"But we LIKE bein' bawdy girls!" Bambi wailed. "I don' wanna be somebody else!"

"Hey, if you feel that way AFTERWARDS we'll let you go," Inquirer snapped. "Right now, though, you two aren't exactly in your right mind, but if you feel like it after the treatment, we'll remove what we uncover."

"Though it'll sicken me if we have to do it," Inquirer mutters to herself.

If the bawdy girls still want to be bawdy girls after all that, forgetting their past lives then what was there to do? Better them than some backalley hack of a mage, who might turn these beauties into catatonic vegetables instead of removing unwanted memories. Better them than a hack job, any old day, though it would give Inquirer heartburn for quiet a while...

. . .

"Alright," Chiana says. "Now that that is taken care of for the moment . . . . Or at least before somethin' more comes up . . ."

Yeah, B'Elanna and the Doctor are working on Dr. Vincent's teleporter, trying to retrieve scrambled data (or at least narrow the search down from an infinite list of realities to a managable handful of possible destinations).

Sigin, the offworld Dr. Vincent (who'd been found trustworthy by Inquirer), and the old woman are attending tothose other bawdy girls' (Freda's and Astra's) needs.

Rift was contacting Queen Astra of Aqualaria and Regent Malachi of Ethiopia, keeping them in the loop about Inquirer's latest. It was the politically wise thing to do, keeping those in the loop over such matters like this.

Fertal and Artizza were in a corner, trying to figure out for themselves why they should have some kind of "doppleganger reaction" (the instant and possibly deadly upwelling of feelings) with "Fifi" (for Fertal) and the sleeping bawdy girl Astra (for Artizzza), but why not any kind of reaction (besides now general loathing) for Princess Astra. Maybe either she--despite being a physical copy of Artizza back when she'd been human--was too different spirit/personality wise for a doppleganger reaction? Such had happened for Fertal back upon meeting that "funhouse mirror" version of Fred (re: 30655)? That or perhaps . . . Princess Astra really isn't who she appear to be? A clone or something?

The last hasn't been shared with the others YET, but they'll broach the subject when things aren't so . . touch and go for the bawdy girls at least!

1. But right now it is time for a chat between Inquirer and the girls in gray!

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