“Today, we prove to you the power that Her Majesty’s weapon has over her enemies!” Aclisia’s right head addressed the soldiers, her voice ringing out across the warehouse. “The galaxy belongs to Queen Nor. And yet some still fight against her reign. Her Majesty thanks you for your service, and wishes to inspire you.”

The soldiers roared in response. Lira joined them, Breck and Gilly shouting, too.

When they’d quieted down, Aclisia removed the hoods from the captives. The first was a young woman, red-faced from screaming, sweat plastering her white hair to her forehead. For a moment, the woman’s pale locks reminded Lira of Androma Racella, seated behind the dash of the Marauder, scratching tallies into a sword.

If only she’d been here. If only she’d been brave enough to serve Nor, too.

The second captive was a man, round and well-fed, with powder-blue skin. An Adhiran, like Lira.

“We must ask each person we encounter a vital question, in order to determine who they truly serve,” Aclisia said. She nodded to the guards, and they removed the gags from each captive’s mouth. “Who is your queen?”

The prisoners gasped for air, gulping in weighty breaths. The woman sat still, her eyes wide and roving over the group, but the man began to curse in Adhiran.

“Nor’s a demon!” His voice was ragged, as if his vocal cords were tearing in two. “She’s turned you all against what’s right! That monster is not your queen, damn it! Why can’t you see that? Why can’t you see what she’s done to you?”

Beside him, the woman simply shook as silent tears streamed down her cheeks.

The word from soldiers already out on the front was that all the Unaffecteds said similar things, but Lira had not yet seen it with her own eyes. The audacity of the man’s words made Lira’s blood boil with rage.

“Who is your queen?” Aclisia asked again.

“She’s brainwashed you all!” the man howled, veins popping out from his neck. “SHE’S TURNED YOU INTO—”

A guard stuffed the gag back into the man’s mouth, and his cries were cut off short.

“Pathetic,” Aclisia’s left head said.

Her right head nodded. “This is what our enemies believe. That we are all beneath a spell, following a queen who has wrongfully stolen her throne.”

Behind Lira, the soldiers cursed and spit at the captives. She joined in with eager haste.

“We have peace in Mirabel for the first time in decades. We have a queen who wishes to treat us all equally, and all she asks in return is that we serve her. That we continue to spread her vision across the galaxy, so that everyone will believe. Time is of the essence now, in the building of Nexus. And when it is completed, Phase Two will begin.”