“I’m going to step out,” Janis murmured quietly. “I think you’ve got this well in hand.”

Ray tilted his head to the side slightly and nodded in acknowledgment. Janis gave him another smile before she pushed her chair back and stood to leave. She could have just said the same thing over the psychic link, but it was more polite to their negotiation partners to do it this way.

A glance at the Nerlians showed she probably needn’t have bothered. They were currently occupied, talking to each other or bent over two sheets of paper containing the latest draft. This particular session of their talks had already been dragging on for close to three hours, so she couldn’t blame them.

As Janis left the room, she heard the group fall quiet when Ray said something, easily commanding their attention with a calm but authoritative voice. He’s good at this, she mused.

Regina had finally recalled Ray from his job as an ambassador and sent him to take charge of the Hive’s negotiations with Nerlia, which was self-evidently the best choice. He’d clearly learned more than a little from the elves. It would be a bit of a different style than the human diplomats, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Plus, it wasn’t like either side really had career diplomats.

Janis breathed a sigh as she stepped out of the building and felt the cool evening air on her face. It was nice. She actually liked Nerlia, at least what she’d seen of it. Not that she’d exactly seen the country at its best.

Janis ran a hand through her hair and glanced around. Unfortunately, they weren’t in the Nerlian capital, which she’d have liked to visit. It might be a good thing, though. Instead, they’d set this up in a smaller city, closer to the current border between the areas where the Nerlian crown had maintained control and where the Hive’s army had advanced to. This city was currently still officially under Nerlian control but also housed a Hive garrison. Just looking around, the civilians seemed to take it reasonably well. It might help that they didn’t have to worry about burning and looting (or the even worse things that could happen in wartime) and the drones didn’t act threatening. She could still feel a tension in the air, but the market in the nearby plaza was open and a few people walked from stall to stall, apparently enjoying their shopping. Most just hurried to get on with their errands.

She’d almost forgotten how dirty and stinky a proper city was. This one wasn’t that bad, comparatively, but the smell still irritated her.

Janis turned her attention back to the psychic link. Hey, she asked Jem, where am I supposed to go again?

She could tell he was a bit annoyed. Two Fords, about a hundred kilometers southeast of here. I’ve already sent you a Mount.

Got it, thanks.

As if on cue, she saw a dark blur grow larger in the sky and stepped to the side, directing the Winged Drone Mount to land. When it did, Janis spent a few seconds petting it before she climbed on. She probably shouldn’t dawdle too much, but it hadn’t sounded urgent, either.

The drone ascended into the sky and Janis watched the city disappear below her, before she settled in for the trip, pulling her new scarf over her face. It had been a gift from some idiot Nerlian or another, but she had to admit it was at least useful. Not that it would make her do them any favors even if she remembered his name. Still, she knew Regina didn’t mind her screwing around as long as she didn’t actually accept bribes, which she obviously wouldn’t even if she could get away with it. The idea made her chuckle as she pulled on a bit of air magic, mostly for practice.

Her magic had been suffering a little, lately, as she spent all of her effort on the war. Janis didn’t regret it, not really. She liked helping the Hive and it was exciting in a different way than magic. Well, despite the bad parts. But that was war. Still, her leveling had kept pace, and she didn’t want her skills to fall behind too much, so she took every opportunity she could to hone them. She was getting better with elemental magic, even if she’d run into a bit of a barrier when trying to learn healing magic, despite the conditions of the war.

Accordingly, she was almost upset when her current ride started descending and her practice was interrupted. Janis sighed, rubbed her eyes, and suppressed a yawn. She hadn’t been sleeping well lately, although she did get more sleep than in the last few months in the thick of it. It was still starting to show, and she knew she probably had to do something eventually. It was stupid to not want help, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling.

Janis looked around the town as she jumped down from her drone and gave it a quick pat. The place had seen better days, she had to admit. The town had only been touched by the fighting at the edges, but she suspected it was normally more lively, and hopefully cleaner. There were a few tents set up at the edge, rough burlap fabric and wooden poles. It didn’t look like any houses had been destroyed, so that might be refugees.

The inhabitants didn’t change her first impression. They looked like any other collection of Nerlians she had seen lately. This wasn’t the first time Janis saw gatherings like this, or the first time she’d been in a similar town. She’d almost suspect Regina was up to something if it wasn’t clear that they responded better to her than to the drones. Right now, they were gathered around, staring. Well, better doesn’t mean good, I guess, Janis reflected, her fingers twitching as she resisted the urge to touch her hair. The ends of it and her eyes were clearly garnering a lot of attention.

She stepped away from her mount, glancing at the small group of War Drones that moved to flank her now, more as a visible escort than because she’d need protection. The locals had let them through easily and without showing too much fear, which was a good sign.

“Good evening, people of Two Fords,” Janis greeted them, raising her voice a little to be sure they heard.

There was an uncertain silence and first, broken by some hesitant mutterings of return greetings. Finally, one of them stepped forward. According to the System, he was a Scribe of level 25. He bowed nervously. “Good evening, Lady Starlit,” he greeted her. “Welcome to our humble town.”

Janis gave him her best noble smile and inclined her head a bit. “Thank you. I assume you are the mayor?”

“That I am, the headman,” he agreed, still seeming a bit twitchy.

Janis swept her gaze across the gathered crowd. This was better than it could be, but she still saw some tension. “Let us talk privately,” she suggested.

The headman - apparently, this town wasn’t considered big enough after all - followed her a few steps away, where they probably wouldn’t be overheard as long as they didn’t raise their voices without protest. Not that he could really do anything. Considering his obvious nerves, he was probably just hoping the Hive would not be too hard on the town, or disturb its operations too much.

“I’ve heard that several of our drones have been attacked, three times,” she began, calling the information to mind and briefly checking with the psychic link. This was, unfortunately, not the first time she had to sort out something like this.

The mayor shuffled his feet. “Yes, Milady,” he acknowledged. “I’ve tried to find out who participated, but no one saw anything. It was just thrown stones, nothing sophisticated or anything. They, uh, the drones are fine, aren’t they? They’re not hurt too badly?”

Janis shook her head. Even low-level War Drones were still protected by their shells, and while thrown stones weren’t exactly harmless this hadn’t led to any real injuries.

“They’re not the only incidents of note, I’m given to understand,” she said, giving him an assessing stare. “There have been protests against the Hive’s presence, haven’t there?”

“I’m not sure I would call them protests …” he said hesitantly. “Just, well, a few folks uncomfortable and unsure about what was happening. They all dispersed all right when the guards asked them to.”

“They impeded the Hive’s work a little,” Janis noted. “But I suppose I can’t disagree there.” She sighed, glancing around and then back at the man. “Alright, headman. What do you think we should do?”

He blinked, clearly put on the spot and unsure what to say. “What? I, uh -“

“I’m willing to work with you here,” Janis said patiently. “I could crack down harder on the town and tighten the metaphorical iron first, but to be honest, that would mean an investment of troops and resources we don’t really want. Not that we couldn’t, you understand, it’s just that we’d prefer other solutions. I personally don’t like the risk of precipitating violence, either. But if it means just inviting more attacks or letting these escalate otherwise, I’d have to do something.”

The headman licked his lips. She had the impression he was thinking fast. “What about involving the townspeople more?” he suggested. “Maybe open some kind of exchange, to reassure them about the Hive? And draw more guards from the town, to keep the peace?”

“All good suggestions,” Janis agreed, smiling slightly. “We’d have to be careful about recruiting, of course.”

“And perhaps,” he continued, still tentative, “you could tell us a little more about your plans for the future? It would give everyone some peace of mind and reassure them, keep them from stupid decisions, I think.”

Janis sighed. This was hardly the first time she’d heard that question, either. “Nothing is quite set in stone yet, but it does seem you will remain under our administration,” she said, then quickly gave him an abridged summary of the state of the negotiations and what it meant. She was light on details of the Hive’s plans, since those were still being worked out.

He nodded slowly as she finished. “Thank you for the information, Lady Starlit,” he said with a quick bow. She thought he sounded sincere. “I will pass on what the people should know. I’m sure it will help to quiet some tempers. Although —“ he cut off again.

Although some of them probably hoped we’d be gone soon, and the confirmation that they’re going to stay under the Hive won’t go over well, Janis completed mentally. In her opinion, that was pretty stupid. They were clearly here to stay, and even if it had been realistic for the hive to just withdraw back into their core territory, it wasn’t something anyone should count on in a situation like this. Then again, no one had ever said people were smart.

“Can you handle it?” she asked bluntly. She could make guesses and try to work off what she’d seen and what data the other drones had gathered, but it still wouldn’t be nearly as good as the impression of a guy who lived here. Besides, if he said he could and then didn’t, she could blame him and he had to know that.

“I — Yes. Yes, Milady, I can.” He visibly straightened his shoulders.

Janis smiled. “Good. Thank you, Mister Sertsen. I’m counting on you, then. But don’t hesitate to call for help if you need it. We won’t hold it against you, as long as you don’t act foolishly.”

“I will, I mean, I won’t, Lady Starlit.”

She really needed to get used to that address, and especially the tone it was said in, Janis reflected, sooner rather than later. Well, at least this was actually going well. She’d had worse towns.

There were a few seconds of silence, and Janis looked around again. She examined the people who lingered nearby, looking at them curiously. People like a lot of others she’d seen recently, but they all had their life stories and reasons for being here, and trying to see how they’d react from a brief glimpse was impossible. In a way, she was glad.

Objectively, she knew she couldn’t complain. There had been trouble here, and if it could get sorted out with a few minutes of her going in and talking to someone, that was great. It didn’t matter if it was the fifth town she’d had pretty much the same conversation, or that others had gone worse and she’d even had to fight two times.

She just really wished she could go back to the Hive’s base and spend a few weeks immersed in Regina’s books and her magic. Being here, living and working in a war zone, even after the war, was … grating. If only I wasn’t the only near-human in the Hive …

But Janis dismissed that thought quickly. Even if a few humans joined, it still wouldn’t really change her position. And besides, she was glad she could help.

Well, she wouldn’t mind being sent to a diplomatic endeavor in Cernlia so she could see Kiara again. They’d exchanged letters, but it had been far too long since she’d seen her in person. She missed her smile and even her overconfident riding skills and weird clothes.

A bit distracted, Janis bade her goodbyes to the headman and turned to make her way back. She spent a few extra minutes watching the town, focusing more on its general state than on specific people. Maybe she’d come back here one day. It really wasn’t so bad. Once the Hive got around to it, it would even be a lot better.

Besides, it was kind of fun to imagine where they could put power lines or build water towers or how a new schoolhouse would fit into the buildings around the town square. Even better since it was actually something they could make happen. And would. There were just too many people and too many settlements to get to them all quickly.