Private security personnel crowded the hospital room. Captain Dobbs cut his way through them to inspect the body. There wasn't much to see, but he confirmed that it was in fact CEO Droleck who had died. He returned to Red and explained his observation.

"Is it really our job to investigate this?" Red asked.

"No, but it wasn't Ambassador Wron who died. Nor Negotiator Pahll. That leaves only one likely party."

"And you think they used magic?"

"It's definitely possible. No sense in ruling it out without any evidence."

Red agreed. "We should meet up with the temple monks here and see if they have access to intelligence that other people don't."

Captain Dobbs led the way to the temple. The offices were all empty. Captain Dobbs went to a terminal on the desk of the master of the temple and tried to log in to station security. He succeeded. Dobbs scrolled through a few video feeds and found the location where Droleck had collapsed. He scrubbed the footage for the exact moment and found him.

Red watched the footage closely after him. Droleck simply collapsed. No sign of magic or even foul play.

"Is that it then?" Red asked.

Dobbs sighed. "I guess so. Without any evidence, it's not like we can make a move. If it's purely mundane, there's not much we can do about it but leave it to station security."
Master Eckelt entered his office. He was an old man with long white hair tied up in a ponytail. He wore an ornate robe that hid most of his figure. "Ah, it's you."

He bowed. Red and Dobbs bowed back.

"I got a security notification that my terminal had been accessed without me present. I came to check it out, but I see it was official business. Sorry we had to meet like this, Captain."

"Apologies, Master Eckelt. An emergency came up and we decided to act as quickly as possible. I assume you've heard of CEO Droleck's sudden death?" Dobbs asked in an informing tone.

"Indeed, I have. What a terrible tragedy. Have they discovered the cause of death yet?" he asked in return.

"No. We had to make sure it wasn't magical in nature. Luckily, there's no proof that that's the case. If he was killed, it was by mundane means."

"Good, good. Wouldn't want to put the other monks of this temple to work in the midst of their retirement!" Master Eckelt laughed and rubbed his belly.

Captain Dobbs apologized for waking Master Eckelt and motioned for Red to follow him out of the temple. Master Eckelt exited behind them, immediately splitting off the other direction. After a moment of hesitation, Dobbs clicked his tongue and shook his head. "So, guess we'll just have to wait to hear about the investigation then."

"Isn't that a good thing? Doesn't seem like the monks working here are ready to come up against seasoned Acruxian battle-mages," Red admitted.

"And that, Red, is why we're here as well. Well, the only thing we can do now is wait and see. I'm going to the bar. I'll let you know if I hear anything." Captain Dobbs broke rank from Red and went on his way.

Red wasn't sure what to do with themselves. They sent a message to Carlyle and then went to one of the parks near the temple. It had been styled like the Acrux home world, and Red had never seen that type of fauna up close. They crossed a bridge over a small stream that flowed through the park and sat down on a bench.

It was peaceful. The shapes of the leaves had soft edges, seeming to flow directly from the branches before dissipating into air. The parks were kept slightly warmer than the rest of the ship, and Red started to sweat.

They took a deep breath and closed their eyes. The mindscape engulfed them, infinite void in all directions and Red at the center of it all.

Or, at the center of their awareness, anyway.

Red recreated the park as best they could in the mindscape, an exercise taught to them by their master when they were still a kid. It seemed easy at first until you realize that your trees don't have individual leaves, just masses of green or orange or purple glued onto their trunks.

Red's qComm buzzed. They opened their eyes to check it. It wasn't Carlyle.

They took a deep breath before returning to the mindscape. As they closed their eyes, they saw an Acrux walk into the park. Red opened their eyes to make sure she was real and not in the mindscape. Sure enough, there she was, inspecting a bundle of flowers near the entrance.

The park had been designed to always be in bloom. A small slice of home, frozen in time and shipped across the galaxy, available to any homesick traveler in their time of need. Red wondered if such a place could ever be comforting.

They returned to their simulacrum of a simulacrum with a strong inhalation. Holding it, they added the Acrux woman to the scenery. She looked over at Red, curiosity on her face, and held their gaze for a long while. They felt fear trickle into their system. Something seemed wrong.

The woman approached Red. "Hello, Wanderer."

Red nodded to her. "Hello."

"May I sit?" she pointed to the space on the bench next to Red.

"Sure."

The woman looked around at the park. "You're quite good at this. Even got the number of petals on the gorkinias right."

"I have been trained by the best, after all."

"Despite your age, too! Jhikae monks are truly on another level."

"So it is said." Red breathed and stared at the leaves on the tree overhead.

The woman just sat there with Red, mirroring their actions. Red could tell they were getting annoyed. She was obviously here for a reason, so why didn't she just spit it out already?

"What do you want?" Red had had enough.

"You're aware of CEO Droleck's demise, yes?" she asked.

"It's all over the news."

"Did you determine the cause?"

"Do I look like a doctor?" Red spat back in response.

The woman laughed. "So, even you couldn't then. Perhaps you are not as skilled as they say."

She disappeared from the mindscape.

Red opened their eyes and looked around the park. She was gone. Red took off after her, expecting to see her sprinting down the hall outside of the park.

But there was nothing. Nobody. Just the hum of the environmental systems.

They decided to report their encounter to Dobbs. It had shaken them to their core. Despite there being no sign of magical influence in the death of CEO Droleck, the appearance and goading of an Acruxian magician complicated matters.

Red did not want to go to war.

They stood just outside the door to the bar, staring through the window at the back of Captain Dobbs' head. Red turned away from the bar. Their qComm dinged. A message from Carlyle.

Whatever the reason for the magician's teasing, it could wait until tomorrow. Red returned to their quarters on the Furious Monkey and spent the night talking to Carlyle.

Red couldn't be woken up by Dobbs the next morning, so they awoke to a serious of urgent messages. Negotiator Pahll had died that morning. For fear of some kind of illness, everyone present or adjacent to the hearings would be quarantined for at least two weeks. Red was forced to stay in their quarters. Again.

At least until the security forces figured out the cause of death, or at least ruled out illness.

Two deaths, but the peace agreement had been signed and sealed. Now, the two groups waited for the treaty to be ratified by their government leaders. This process could take anywhere from weeks to months, but in the meantime it was agreed upon that the agreement would continue as planned.

Red didn't expect to get the message halfway into day two of quarantine that Ambassador Wron had died as well. There was suddenly no reason to expect the Acrux Empire of foul play. Why would they target their own in such a scheme? Purely to evade scrutiny? Certainly such an act would be seen as a needless waste of life.

What good would the deaths of a few minor government officials do, anyway? Red couldn't be bothered to understand the politics of the situation. Instead, they thought about the magician that they met at the park. Who was she? What did she want? Why was she such a bitch?

Five days later, they finally ruled out disease as a cause of death. Red was free to return to the station and resume their daily life. As they disembarked the Furious Monkey, they saw the Acrux magician standing on the opposite side of the docking area. She waved and then walked over to Red. "You figure it out yet?"

Red raised an eyebrow at her. "Why don't you explain it?"

She smiled. "Not today."

The magician snapped her fingers and disappeared. Immaterial form? Invisibility? Red tried to discern her location but failed. She was gone.