The Spider Queen

(Unova Syndicate- Planet T'ramran)

(Unknown Location)

Sophie stood quietly as she waited for a response from the mysterious scout.

There was nothing else she could do to say to convince him that her words were true.

She pressed a button on the side of her wrist communicator and felt a small vibration. The holographic projection that displayed her national identity was now deactivated.

It was hard to resist the temptation to open her eyes but Sophie knew that she could not afford to fall into another illusion.

Or whatever strange technique that the scout used against her.

"Duke Peterlor…. Is your father the former high commander of the Imperial Army?" the deep baritone voice questioned.

"Yes,' Sophie admitted freely.

Her father was quite well known among the general population of the Earth Federation and his military reputation was renowned.

"Let me check something for a moment," the Servie calmly spoke. Sophie nodded in understanding and waited patiently.

She could hear something rustling in the bushes nearby but still kept her eyes tightly shut. Several minutes passed by uneventfully as Sophie continued to wait.

It would not be a lie to say that she was beginning to feel a bit frustrated but she did understand why the scout would be so wary.

"Okay you can open your eyes now," the scout whispered softly.

Sophie hesitated for a brief moment and then slowly opened her eyes to see the figure in front of her.

The handsome Servie male was sitting down on a leaf of a nearby tree. His flowing dark hair swayed gently from side to side as his amber eyes stared at her.

It had been quite some time since Sophie had seen a member of the pixie-like race that possessed such tiny beauty.

The green uniform that he wore blended in perfectly with the surrounding forest and it was only thanks to Sophie's enhanced vision that she could see him clearly.

"My name is Finch Wondersong," Finch bowed his head and spoke politely.

Finch held up a tiny metalloid device in his right hand that was connected to a strange looking antenna.

The tiny metalloid device was a communicator that was custom built to fit the short stature of the Servie race.

He went on to clarify why he now believed Sophie's story by projecting a holographic window into the air.

"I just checked on the virtual net and your name along with your picture appeared on the list of noble heirs who have been missing for the last few months," Finch stated in a matter-of-fact way.

"In fact, the honorable Duke Peterlor has added a special bounty to your name."

"Anyone with genuine information about your current whereabouts will be rewarded with either an experimental gene serum or one hundred billion Enas credits."

Truthfully, Finch was extremely shocked to find out that the former hero of the Federation had a daughter who was a hybrid.

He rarely kept up to date with the latest gossip happening on the virtual net and the new leaders of the Imperial Army did not like to mention the former high commander.

"You can connect to the virtual net from here?" Sophie asked curiously.

She tried using her communicator to connect but received the message… [No Network In Range]

Finch merely pointed at the antenna sticking out from the tip of his communicator and explained that this was a special military device used by the scouts.

Its purpose was to allow communicator devices to send and receive information from outside the network.

"I will send a message to the higher ups at the military outpost and hopefully they will send an extraction team out immediately," Finch declared proudly.

Wait… was this a good thing?

Sophie could see no other way to leave the Unovan Syndicate except for relying on the Imperial Army.

House Peterlor did have many enemies so it was impossible to say that they would not see this a perfect chance to get rid of her.

Unfortunately, this appeared to be her only option…

She had not received a reply back from her father since her communicator device was no longer in range so there was no way of knowing if her message had reached him.

Sophie took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and then tried to look at the situation more objectively.

Was it a risk to seek out the help of the Imperial Army?

Absolutely.

But staying as a mercenary in the Unovan forces was equally dangerous since she didn't know if the next battlefield would be her last.

"I am not the only noble here," Sophie suddenly blurted out. Finch tilted his head sideways and shot her a puzzled look.

"Lily Blackait was also teleported with me and is on my starship," Sophie spoke in a serious tone.

Finch paused his movements for a second and then pressed a series of buttons on his communicator.

He pulled up the list of missing nobles from the virtual net to search for the name Lily Blackait.

"Hmmm…. it says here that her family declared her dead and withdrew her from the missing person list," Finch stated.

"What?!" Sophie shouted in surprise.

Finch explained with a trace of compassion in his voice, "Yeah… at least eighty percent of the noble heirs who are still missing have been declared dead by their families and the search has been called off."

"Her picture and information can still be found so is this the person who is travelling with you?"

Sophie took a quick glance at the picture being displayed on the holographic projection and saw a smiling Lily posing in the dress that she had worn for the royal banquet.

It had clearly been taken on the day where everything went to hell.

"Yes.. that's her but I will say this clearly now… I will not leave her behind," Sophie firmly stated.

Finch could sense the determination in her voice and quickly spoke to reassure her, "There is plenty of space on the extraction spacecrafts so it shouldn't be a problem to take her as well."

"My communicator has a tracker embedded inside so that my squad will be able to find me in case of emergencies."

"I suggest bringing me along to your starship and then we can wait together for the rescue team to arrive."

Sophie thought that the plan sounded reasonable so she pulled out a small handbag from her storage ring.

Sophie took out a few needles and proceeded to poke a series of holes to let air inside so that her tiny companion would not suffocate.

There were also some loose pieces of cloth inside Sophie's storage ring which she placed on the bottom of the handbag to create a comfortable bedding.

Finch's translucent wings flapped lazily as he dove inside the small handbag and closed the zipper shut.

The faint sounds of tapping could be heard which Sophie assumed was from Finch writing up a report to send to his higher ups.

Sophie golden eyes darkened as she swept the surrounding area to make sure that no one else was hiding in the bushes nearby.

With a small sigh of relief, Sophie turned around and begun walking towards a random direction.

The meeting time was forty-eight hours later from the start of the mission so there was quite some time left to kill.