The idea that one can in good conscience commit murder solely based on sorcerical status is an extremely radical idea. One neither I nor the foolish woman believed in.

❂❂❂

Two hours later, Nell and Talyn received a signal from the Flounder; the Rebellion managed to capture Fort Ammeer. Nell sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. Relief flushed through him; he'd been useful.

"Master Nellith," Talyn said, "we must tend to the wounded. Come with me." She configured the door to unlock, and they stepped out into the hallway, finding wounded soldiers and shattered spears. The Flounder handed Nell a bag full of medical supplies. Nell had entrusted it to the general – if the Horde realized he was a doctor, he would be a major target.

Nell sat down on the ground, tending to the first patient. Dark red splotches streaked across her skin – electrocution scars. Nell took out his stethoscope; his crew would arrive shortly, and his duty was to ensure this woman survived.

Medicine had order. Routine. And if Nell couldn't save everyone, he would help as many as he could. He slipped a painkiller down the soldier's throat; she would certainly need it when she woke up.

He wasn't sure he was proud that he'd been the one to pioneer electrocution remedies. But his studies had been out of necessity. Nell's team would bring the IV ports to give her an antidote; sure enough, the fifteen nurses and three apprentices entered shortly after.

"You've got your medpacks," Nell observed. Inhaling, he pointed to the other soldiers. "Her Majesty of Salineas' medics are attending to the other wounded with my method. We're in charge of this area – administer treatment quickly, and give them painkillers." He turned to the nurses. "Three with me," he said, "to administer the IVs. Four with Ashwyn, four with Cash, four with Magnus. Come now."

The nurses nodded; Nell himself could administer the IVs. As he took the bags and ports, he looked toward the hallway. Even as it was, his forces were spread thin. He could only hope his team had enough resources for the thirty wounded soldiers.

He used a stray holo-pad to contact Morgause. "Your Majesty -" he started.

"Yes, my dear," Morgause said. "I have made contact with Micah. He's on his way now."

"What about Shadow Weaver?" Nell asked.

"He and the Ancient Princess dealt with her," Morgause said. "Micah said she was going back to the Fright Zone to mount a counterattack."

Nell frowned; If Shadow Weaver tried to get here, the odds were she would lose this fight. Many sorcerers rested among the soldiers, and Shadow Weaver would be hopelessly outmatched, Black Garnet or not.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he said as he applied the burn bandages to a patient. "We could not have done this without you."

"Correction," Morgause said. "We could not have done this without you. Without your plans, without your courage. You are valuable, good doctor."

Nell smiled. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must attend to my patients."

✧✧✧

After weeks of trying to work her way to Hordak's favor, Beck decided that she was suicidal.

She didn't suffer from depression – not enough to make her jump, at least. But Beck couldn't deny this plan had more risks than rewards. Luckily, she was a disposable piece in the Rebellion's scheme...

Or unluckily, she thought.

Today, Beck wore the skin of Migueleno, son of Eduardono of Tropicilas. One of the rioters. She hated that if discovered or spotted, the man himself would be killed. And that was a guarantee. Breaking into Hordak's sanctum alone was enough, perhaps, to warrant a day where you could only drink blood.

Stealing from Hordak, though...that was a death sentence. He was likely still asleep – he woke up dreadfully early, but even his species needed to rest sometimes. But Imp...she wasn't sure.

She tried to shapeshift into Imp. But the creature simply didn't have strength enough to lift the battery – not to mention that if the real creature found Beck, she would be found as an imposter immediately. So she had to sacrifice that one life to save the world from destruction.

That's what they all did. They were all tools, every single one of them. Just like her.

She padded into Hordak's lab. The power source was a small – but heavy – metal box; it could fit into the satchel on the inside of her uniform. All Beck had to do was steal it, then go out the back exit. No one would suspect a thing.

As Beck approached the apparatus, she frowned. What was Hordak building? All Shadow Weaver would say was that it was some sort of portal theory project. The Horde's second assumed it was to bypass the Whispering Woods' protections, but since Hordak had been working on it for over ten years at this point, it was doubtful to Beck that he would unlock the secret anytime soon.

Beck was more than happy to let that goal delay, if the Lady Weaver was correct. She pocketed the battery, then stepped outside, humming The Jazzy Beetle to herself. One of her favorite songs, an upbeat shifter tune that Lariel had taught her. Beck's parent used to have a knack for hilarious songs – it was what she missed most about them.

I will avenge you, Lariel, Beck promised herself. I'm a tool, but at least I'm a tool for justice. I can be good as my life is thrown away.

She reached the back door, authenticating the code. Stepping out into the back road, Beck spotted another Force Captain on the side, wearing thick armor. Micah.

Beck began speaking to avoid alerting the soldiers of Micah's true identity. "Attack on the coast's most unfortunate. When the Commander gets her audience with Lord Hordak, she's going to be in big trouble."

The Force Captain replied, his voice shifting to become more gravelly. "I see," he said. "Do you suspect she'll be unable to lead us?" They spoke in Meyan, but that wasn't uncommon; many soldiers in the Horde still struggled to learn Kriesges.

Beck shook her head. "I doubt it. She's a strong one. Even without the Garnet, she's got resilience. Do not fret, Force Captain."

They walked a distance away, feigning that they were on border patrol. When they were safely behind a rock, Micah took off his helmet. His young face beamed back at her tiredly. "Thank you," he mouthed.

Beck pulled the battery out, then shifted it into an electric rod. "You'll need to hurry," she whispered in his ear, too quiet for anyone to possibly hear. "It'll fade once you're too far away from me. Tuck it safe in your armor, and run."

Micah nodded. Then, to her surprise, he stepped forward and kissed her on both cheeks – a Tropicil affection for close friends, something they shared in their culture. "Thank you," he whispered again. "You have no idea..."

Beck pressed a finger to his mouth. "Run."

Micah nodded, putting his helmet back on and slipping the electric rod in his medpack. Then he boarded the skiff; Beck had relayed the driving instructions to him. For all the Horde knew, he was a Force Captain going on reconnaissance.

Beck stepped back inside the sanctum as Migueleno, walking out with a soft hum to The Jazzy Beetle. It was only when the door closed behind her that Hordak's angry bellow resounded from beyond her hiding place.

Shifting back into Beck, she continued marching down the hallways until she found Shadow Weaver – who all but collapsed into her arms. "Commander?" she asked, feigning concern for the older woman. "What happened?"

"Micah..." Shadow Weaver panted. "Micah took Fort Ammeer."

"Oh my," Beck said softly, playing her role. "How?"

"I don't know," the Delvalian snapped. "I just got back from his stupid fight, and if Hordak finds out it's lost, by the moons..." She trailed off, her masked eyes screwing shut. "I have an audience with him in an hour. Please check that troops are at the ready, and command your lieutenants to send someone to survey the damage done to our forces."

❂❂❂

Did you know...

- A lot of my readers commented that based on the illustrations, Beck looked like she was always planning something. I can say now that's definitely true, and you're going to get more of her dastardly schemes as the story goes on.

- Based on Huntara's comments in Season 3 of She-Ra, Shadow Weaver had a very foolish tendency of throwing away soldiers. She plays it off like it was Hordak's fault, but Shadow Weaver was the one commanding the armies and pretending Hordak was approving of her every action.

Tell me what you think...

- How might Shadow Weaver be punished for losing Fort Ammeer?