“Meh,” Mousethief said after I explained what Mes had told me.

“That’s it?” I asked as I sat on a chair in his quarters. He had assured me we weren’t being spied on.

“That’s why I gave you that stone that links to Mes. Mousethief wants no part of any of that,” he said.

“What about the end of the world?” I asked.

“Then it happens. I have learned not worry about things like that. And I am sure you will figure something out,” Mousethief said with a grin.

“Really?” I asked.

“There are other things to worry about. Like what you will name your brother or sister. It is not just the waves rocking-“

“Don’t say another word Mousethief. What my father does is up to him. I don’t need to know,” I replied.

“Hmm, if you say so Mittens.” There was a moment of silence as we both thought over recent events.

“Where did you get that gray stone?” I asked Mousethief.

“A cult was worshiping it. A death cult of course. Well, I heard what they said and tried it out after it was confiscated. Imagine my surprise when Mes showed up,” Mousethief explained.

“And you gave it up?” I asked again in surprise.

“Yes. I might have gotten quite a bit from Mes, but we aren’t suited for each other Mittens. Me a mouse of culture. Mes, a weapon of unimaginable power,” Mousethief shook his head. “It would have ended in tears eventually. Now you can do all the super dangerous missions and save the world.” Mes had said it was going to be destroyed regardless, but I didn’t bring that up again.

“How big of an issue is the rest of the crew?” I asked.

“I have them managed. I know several are reporting back to High Cleric Maximilian, but that is expected.”

“And if you had refused this mission?” I asked pointedly.

“I would have been reassigned. Then they would have given you someone else. The Assassins have a deal with the Covenant Church. Technicians, support staff, and all the rest of it is extra. Mousethief can’t say no against forceful pressure.”

“If I had complained?” I asked.

“It would not be good. Most technicians are swapped out or moved around until a good pairing is found. I broke some rules teaming up with you. While they exploited that opening with your father and assigned him Missy, that doesn’t mean they can’t pressure Mousethief.” I glowered at this.

“It isn’t fair.”

“It isn’t. But unless you can beat ten paladins and three High Clerics without injury, then you can’t tell the Covenant Church to screw off,” Mousethief explained.

“Those sounds like some specific numbers,” I replied.

“That’s the current counter force if you go rouge,” Mousethief replied.

“What?” I asked in surprise.

“The same as your father, which is a bit insulting. But it is what it is.”

“How do you know this?” I asked and Mousethief grinned at me. “And the other volcanos they blew up to cool things down. How?”

“Mousethief has skills. Those skills are useful in getting information. Nothing that is too secret. I think they set some of this stuff slip to see if a creature screws up and mentions it.”

“My father didn’t know about the volcanos. You didn’t tell him?”

“No. He won’t go against the Covenant Church. While he might read some spicy literature, he is quite meek where the Covenant Church is concerned. He only pushed back when it involves you,” Mousethief explained.

“Any idea what is under the headquarters of the Covenant Church?” I asked.

“No. Never been there and don’t plan to go. That isn’t a place a creature steps lightly into. Even the vault is less dangerous than that place.” Mousethief shook his head. “There is something, I know that. But I can’t tell you what. There have been materials moved from the vault to there, like snake scales.”

“Really? What could they be doing?” I wondered.

“Nothing good Mittens, nothing good. The deeper you dig the more problems there are. Look at the last mission. They dug and now there is a volcano. That is why I plan on retiring, end of the world or not,” Mousethief explained.

“I understand,” I said with a sigh. There was just too much.

“Mittens, my advice is to not worry about all the complicated stuff, just what you can control in front of you,” Mousethief told me and reached out to pat my paw. I rolled my eyes at him.

“I know that. Thanks for the pep talk,” I replied and got up.

“Thanks for giving me a heads up on what Mes told you. Get your rest, you will need it,” he told me. I left his room and put on my raincoat. I went outside as the ship was pelted with rain and the ocean was heaving up and down.

I stood in front of the control room, watching the waves crash over the bow as the Metalshark plowed forward through them. I felt the rain hit my face and it was cold, but also relaxing in a way. I kept a firm grip on the railing in front of me as I went up and down.

After being able to not die while on a boat or ship, I was coming to enjoy it. The rolling motion the ship made was soothing in its own way. After spending an hour outside, I went back into the ship and dried off. I got some looks from the crew when I went to the mess hall to eat, but no one said anything.

That was when my father showed up. He was a bit unsteady on his feet. He got a cooked fish and sat down with me. “Eating?” I asked him.

“To keep my strength up, it is important. I have learned to keep things down even if my stomach is heaving,” he replied.

“Impressive,” I said with a grin, and I finished off my fish.

“Unfair,” he complained since I had no trouble on the ship, even during rough weather. “Cats aren’t made for water.”

“I was kind of enjoying it outside,” I replied he paused and gave me a look before shaking his head.

“Don’t fall overboard. If that happens, no way to rescue you before you freeze to death. And that is if we can find you or anyone notices,” he said.

“Experience?” I asked.

“Yes. That is why I don’t like smaller ships like this. A nice big cargo vessel, is much safer for traveling. A small ship like this, is an accident waiting to happen.”

“Mousethief is capable enough. He doesn’t crash,” I replied.

“Stuff can happen. Even if Mousethief is talented beyond belief with his driving, it just takes one mistake to have a disaster,” my father countered.

“Well, I trust him. And we are all in the same boat together,” I replied.

“If anyone survived this ship capsizing, it would be him, daughter. I know you like him, but don’t let yourself be manipulated. Mousethief is quite clever.” I considered that and while I agreed Mousethief would save himself first, we were partners.

Even more than my father and him had been. And I had more missions I needed to do. I couldn’t afford to have Mousethief and me at odds or fighting. It seemed his relationship with my father was worse than I thought.

“I will be careful, don’t worry. Even a volcano couldn’t take me out,” I joked. My father smiled at that.

“You are a smart cat Mittens and my daughter.”

“Now, I have to ask, Missy really?” my father sighed a little bit but was smiling.

“She can be a bit uptight. Wherever they dug her up from, she has been quite sheltered. Still we get along.”

“Even if she is using you to carry on your bloodline?” I asked.

“I could fight, and everyone would be unhappy. Or I can agree and make the best of things. I also get to tag along with you,” he told me.

“Well, it will be interesting to team up directly. Take out all apostates together, double team,” I said.

“Not this mission. I guess we can double team the bears at least. So what are you thinking? On how to handle the mission, I mean.” I considered the question carefully.

“Go in there and kill the cult. Then kill any creature that objects after that. Keep killing until the bears give up,” I said. My father looked at me and then let out a long sigh.

“This is more diplomacy than killing,” he told me.

“Then they should send a diplomat or a High Cleric. I am going to finish this mission up so we can quickly get to the next one. Also, if I kill a lot of them, and they send a creature after me, it will be easier for them,” I explained.

“That makes sense. But it just sounds like you want to kill them all. You aren’t going into a blood rage, are you?”

“No. I have that under control for now. I feel it when I am fighting, but I focus and don’t let myself succumb to it,” I replied.

“Good. I was worried about that. I am glad you got a handle on that,” my father said with a relieved tone.

“Even if it gets really bad, just lure the bears towards the ship. We have Mousethief and the ship has guns,” I replied with an evil grin.

“Honestly, I expect the reason Mousethief wanted the ship was to use an HMG. I swear he loves using it,” my father replied. That did make me wonder, was Mousethief still linked to Mes. Was he using the HMG to get a lot of EXP all at once.

That was a question I hadn’t really thought about before. I would have to keep an eye on Mousethief. While I trusted him, he had a lot of secrets. He refused to tell me his skills and features he had gotten from Mes. Why didn’t he share all of them or instruct Mes that they could tell me?

He clearly wanted to keep some things a secret and he could still be connected to Mes. There was nothing that said they had to be in one location at a time. And I didn’t check the stone all the time. So he could call on Mes and the Interface without me knowing.

Then it just came back to the issue, of why did he give it to me? I couldn’t think of a good answer to that question while also explaining him keeping secrets. There was a disconnect there, that I couldn’t bridge. I was missing something important.

Whatever Mousethief was up to, he wasn’t sharing with anyone except perhaps Mes. To get a higher authority level, I needed a million EXP. That was an insane amount. “Father, how many creatures has Mousethief killed?” I asked him.

“A lot. He normally handles the cultists while I engage the more serious threat. You were on that mission where he blew up a building. He is really good at handling the large groups of creatures. You think there is a problem?”

I was about to say yes, but I felt a sense of danger. “No. I don’t think there is a problem. Just thinking how helpful Mousethief actually is.”

***-***

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