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Astrophyllite hurried away from the puppet room as quickly as her legs would take her, the bag of contraband food clutched tightly to her chest.

She did not make it far. The captain she'd felt - jet fuel and leather and chrome and sharp, sharp crystal - barred the way, and Astrophyllite stopped some seven yards distant, watching the woman and taking quiet, short breaths. She hadn't been seen yet, but surely... surely she'd been felt?

(She wondered - how did her own aura feel? Was she old blood and loamy soil and batwings like Bischofite? Was she twin to Avalon's frost and steel? Was she Natron's astringent, smokeless fire and electric blue cutting through stale, tomb air? Or was she... was she something else, something wholly her own and not composed of the parts that had made her?)

Teleport away, she thought to herself. Before she sees you. Teleport and be gone and don't get caught. Teleport. Teleport, you broken stupid moron. Get out of here!

Yet despite the cacophony inside her head, she could not move.

Astrophyllite shied away from the lamplight, raising one hand slightly as if to shield her eyes - and then forcing herself to stop, her arm at about chest height. "Fine," she said, her voice shaking audibly. Stupid, she thought. You're so stupid, you can't even teleport when you want to! Just when it's an accident! "It went fine."

She lowered her hand and made a conscious effort not to wring the neck of the plastic bag. Drawing attention to it would only get her in trouble... probably. Drawing attention to anything you weren't supposed to have only ever resulted in trouble - surely the same went for bagged lunches as for jewelry and fancy pens.

Focusing on the empty space behind the other captain, Astrophyllite dropped her gaze and began to walk swiftly past the other woman. "I need to report to General Natron," she said, still trembling. "G-good night."

Stupid, she thought again, wincing. Now she knows who you work for. God. You're so dumb. Zinkenite only brought you on as a punishment. He probably meant for you to be dead by now. Maybe he'll call you up to his office and finish you off himself.

(Did Zinkenite have an office?)

"Excuse me," she said, holding the grocery bag close to her chest as she skirted around the older woman.

Astrophyllite chewed her lip and realized, with sudden clarity, that the captain hadn't gotten any information from Hvergelmir. If she had, why would she care what Astrophyllite had gotten? It would just be repetition. And that... that changed the tables significantly - and made this all the more dangerous.

Hver told you about the knight for a reason, she thought. She told you to keep you safe. But if the intel was good, then it was valuable, and she shouldn't give it up so easily... Being a good soldier was difficult. "I'm to report directly to General Natron with my information," she said hesitantly, calling to mind old workshops about stranger danger. "If you tell me your name, then maybe I'll know if I'm allowed to share with you."

Careful, she thought, looking down at the woman. She was close - too close. Close enough to smell the peanut butter and the sugar in her bag. "I can't tell you anything until I know if you're safe to share with," Astrophyllite repeated. "Natron told me to report directly to him. No stopping."

Astrophyllite looked down at the other captain and gritted her teeth. You have to be brave, she thought. You have to be brave for Hvergelmir because if you get in trouble, then she will get in even worse trouble.

Slowly, she lowered the bag and began to shift it behind her back. She tried again to gather her wits enough to teleport, to find that calm and determined center that would allow her to just think of a place and be there.

Her heart raced in her ears. No good.

"Stuff," she lied boldly. "Nothing important. Natron's orders. I'm not supposed to talk to you."

Astrophyllite was not very good at doing too many things at once. For example: falling while trying to keep hold of a bag of contraband goodies. Instinct regarding how not to break your neck while falling took over - she let go of the plastic bag and braced her arms out behind her to catch herself. It was still a rough landing, but-

The bag hit the ground.

The apple rolled free.

Astrophyllite scrambled to roll over onto her knees and drag herself away from the captain. Teleport, she thought frantically. Come on, you can do it!

Except, apparently, no, she could not.

Something struck the side of Quartz's gold boot as he passed. He stopped, a little surprised by it, and looked down.

In the dark, it was hard to tell, at first, what the little round offender was. He had to pick it up.

It was shiny and red in his palm, likely to bruise from its fall.

He blinked. An apple.

Of the two officers currently engaged in a scuffle, Quartz didn't have the first clue who either of them were. The pervasive power-signature muffling of nearby Mauvians made their auras hard to read, but close enough up, they were identifiable as Captains, both -- and he thought he recognized the one doing the beating as one of the officers he'd seen briefly at Stroud's apartment before they'd all powered down. The eager-to-please one.

He may not have known the precise details of what was going on, but enough was clear from what the crop-haired captain was seething about and her treatment of the younger girl. He watched as she very, very nearly ripped the starseed out of what had to be maybe a fourteen-year-old's chest, while the kid made distressed noises and tried to get away.

Before he realized it, Quartz was wading into the midst of the little fracas, reaching under the older captain's armpits to lift her away from her intended victim and set her to her feet. The power of Chaos, he'd learned, enhanced any person's normal strength with each rank. That certainly meant there was a chance that either captain present had an advantage on him, depending -- but he knew what his own resting human strength was, and he could hazard an estimate as to either captain's based on their size and build. In speed, they'd each have him outclassed, but strength was not particularly his shortcoming here, not with this little captain as a potential opponent.

Still, it paid not to take things that far.

"Excuse the interruption, Captain," he offered as he stepped away, in his best, deadest voice, head and eyes submissively downcast. Quartz was careful to pluck the other captain to her feet just as perfunctorily, without any particular emotion or kindness.

He lifted his gaze to hers, eyes imploring while the other captain standing at his back couldn't see. "Captain, General Schörl is asking for you. You're to come with me straight away." Quartz kept his guard up, listening for movement at his back. It was a nice thing to hope his bluff would pay off, but if not, he didn't relish the thought of being cold cocked in the back of the head just because he hadn't been paying attention.

Zircon made a startled grunt as she felt strong arms wrap around her body, squirming wildly against the oppressive force. Wiggly as she was, however, she was no match for the steadfast power holding her, and by the time she felt herself lifted entirely free of the other Captain she ceased her struggle, focusing instead on catching a glimpse of the would-be interloper.

"Lieutenant," Zircon growled, tearing her arms free from Quartz's grasp the moment she felt her feet touch ground. Her eyes seethed with hatred, not just from the fire in her veins over Astrophyllite. Here was this man, dead to his purpose, wholly ignorant and undeserving of her General's favor, and now he was standing between her and her prize. Jaw clenched, she reached forward to brush the lieutenant aside. He was nothing, and a further distraction would prove to be an ill choice on his part.

Her hand fell the moment his lips had the audacity to use Schörl's name.

"...Her?" Zircon's expression faltered, but she drew herself away from the pair. If her General had given orders, even through her newfound pet, she had no choice to obey. "I-if that is General Schörl's wish, then I suppose..."

Her eyes flashed back to Astrophyllite, and her eyes narrowed, but she held her emotions at bay, willing her anger to ebb away. This was all in Schörl's hands now, she had to trust that it would be taken care of properly.

Shoulders stiff, she looked down and away, refusing to meet Quartz's eyes. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing the hurt in her eyes. "You may pass, Lieutenant..." After a moment, she sighed through her teeth, shaking her head. "Captain. Until we meet again." With pursed lips, she stepped aside, leaving judgement to the hands of her betters.