06 - This Monstrous Moon

Frank "Franky" Heather provides tickets for the gala, thanks to the ever grateful Ada Black. After a moment of discussion, the crew hatches a cunning scheme. Mphoentle Begin the will appear to be suffering from Anomalous Muscular Disease (AMD) - a condition found among Warren's denizens. It accumulates in childhood, robbing them of hope, strength waning, they know they will never survive into a full adulthood, as respiratory weakness and vascular function weakens and eventually ceases. Also known as "Stolen Dreams". This malady affects humans and xenos alike, and its cause and cure are unknown to the medical community. 

When Mphoentle Begin the is wheeled into the Solar Ball by Frank "Franky" Heather, Rye Malklaith locks eyes with her and she can see the depth of his obsessive love, and a deep concern for her welfare. The AMD ruse is going well, so well, that Mpho's body believes it is happening, her body is truly compromised by this ravaged disease, as she has ensorcelled her own mind to believe the lie. 

Meade Grey has provided an additional agenda. There is a retainer of House Malklaith that is a target for assassination. One is the Vizier Ephram Toles, who has been secretly selling people afflicted with AMD to the Guild of Makers for experimentation. 

Moth (Mevakor Ortcutt) has a related job - a serial killer stalks Moon of Warren's undercity, which isn't being investigated by House Malklaith security forces. The killer has targeted those that care for sufferers of AMD, and then kidnapping those that suffer from AMD. The first suspect is the Vizier, but he is an old and frail man. Some investigation reveals that it is Vincent Omega, the personal bodyguard of Rye Malklaith, who possesses a Way ability to become invisible. 

It is obvious that the two retainers of House Malklaith are working together, and both will be present at the ball for execution. Much to do.

Frank "Franky" Heather uses his contact with Kargan of the the Church of the Stellar Flame to smuggle in some needed components, in exchange for providing Kargan with a weapon at the Solar Ball. The church has a new target - is it once again Ada Black, who is among the attendees?

Moth (Mevakor Ortcutt) sees Rye Malklaith's mother, the beautiful 3rd wife of Ritam al'Malklaith - Harmony Malklaith. They know one another from another life some decades earlier, when Moth (Mevakor Ortcutt) was stationed on the House Malklaith estates as one of the Medical staff dedicated to House members. There he struck up a friendship that deepened to something much more with Harmony, However, the danger and impossibility of that romance led Moth to leave the Estate, throwing a ring - a promise? a pact? into the trash on his way out. Decisions made, branching paths, sliding doors.

When he sees her, years later, she looks much the same, and thanks to his discovery of Cerati rejuvination properties, he looks similar.  The two talk, hesitantly at first but with increasing warmth. Harmony has lived in her beautiful cage for the intervening time, and her deadened soul brightens seeing someone she loved by her own choosing. 

As Rye Malklaith takes in the ailing Mphoentle Begin the, he declares that he will marry her, immediately. The staff of the Solar bar stumble to arrange this to an impromptu wedding. Emboldened by Moth's presence, Harmony encourages her son. "Love chosen is pure." she says, looking at Moth the entire time. 

Meanwhile, Meade Grey follows Ephram Toles to the bathroom with a smuggled weapon. Two House Malklaith security stand outside - how to get by them? If only there was a distraction of some kind. 

Meanwhile, during the wedding, Kargan readies his weapon to strike. But who is his target? 

All this time, the incredibly dangerous Vincent Omega flits from place to place, disappearing from view and reappearing behind various patrons. He is dangerous and ever-present, suspicious of the goings on and always with a watchful eye on Rye Malklaith's well being. 

As the wedding commences, a shot rings out - and Harmony Malklaith is fatally injured. She dies in Moth (Mevakor Ortcutt)'s arms. Vincent Omega executes Kargan the same way he killed those that cared for sufferers of AMD, with a stiletto blade stabbed into the back of the neck. 

As Rye Malklaith witnesses the death of his mother, Mphoentle Begin the takes this moment to allow her imagined AMD to appear to take her life. She uses Way techniques to slow her body's functions to a standstill, a dangerous maneuver as what looks like death could indeed become death.  Rye Malklaith holds his lifeless bride, stares at his lifeless mother, and focuses on Vincent Omega, the protector that protected no one. 

Meade Grey has his opening. The guards run off to the source of the gunfire. He slips inside and confronts Ephram Toles. The old man has an ace up his sleeve, a Precursor artifact glove glowing with strange electrical current that can kill with a touch to flesh. After a brutal struggle Meade Grey is the victor, and Ephram Toles is dead. 

With grief mutating to rage, Rye Malklaith takes a ceremonial blade from Vincent Omega and stabs him with it. Then he kneels and weeps, for he has killed his protector and father figure. 

The crew quietly leave in the tumult that follows.

Moth (Mevakor Ortcutt) takes a moment on the terraces of the House Malklaith estate, remembering a young man that and an impossible, beautiful love, and what seemed the safest decision to make. But was it the right decision? It is a small comfort that the bird has finally escaped her cage.