Polk, Magos Apprentice to Koriel Zeth, mistress of Lava City, stood beside her mentor and watched Ambassador Melgator ascend the Foundry steps.
He wore a black velvet cap, his gaunt body wrapped in a sable-trimmed robe.
His eyes were filled with an evil darkness, constantly radiating his pain into the surroundings and chilling both him and the Aegitos Machine Spirit.
At Melgator's side stood a slender woman, her entire body encased in a skintight suit of glittering synthetic material.
"Could it really be her?" Polk asked within the Thought Space.
Koriel's bioscanner detected her unease.
"Yes. If possible, do not speak to her."
"I would stake my life on it—no one wants to speak with death." Polk watched her swaying suit, as though ripples of blood were spreading across it.
"She definitely isn't the ambassador's guard. Not even the Fabricator-General would be extravagant enough to use a Mechanic Assassin as a bodyguard."
Mechanic Assassins were mysterious, cold-blooded killers. They had existed since the first settlers set foot on Mars.
Other than the unknown master of Cydonia Mensa, they showed no favor to anyone.
Koriel stared at the Mechanic Assassin's long, multi-jointed legs as her light steps glided across the milky white marble floor.
They were a series of complex Magnetic Gravity Thrusters, making her movements beautiful and deadly.
Genetic modification and surgical enhancement had honed her into a perfect form.
Given the Fabricator-General's Abominable Intelligence attack, Koriel did not know whether she would be slain by the Mechanic Assassin's blade in a few seconds, her blood dripping over the steps of her furnace.
Melgator approached Koriel with stiff, clicking steps.
"Great Sage Zeth, it is a pleasure to visit your Foundry again."
"Melgator, this is my Magos Apprentice, Polk."
Melgator sensed Koriel's wary gaze fixed on the companion beside him,