The White Smith Star held his gaze for what felt like an eternity, her augmented consciousness processing calculations rapidly.
Achilles could see the war between caution and ambition playing out behind her eyes…the careful paranoia that had kept her alive for centuries warring against the intoxicating possibility of power beyond her current reach.
When she finally nodded, her voice carried the weight of glorious finality.
"Okay," she said.
She said!
"I will take this offer."
…!
Achilles inclined his head with the calm satisfaction of someone whose predictions had unfolded exactly as anticipated.
He had read her correctly…in beings who had achieved the heights of Stellar Genesis Embodiment, ambition rarely died. It merely grew more sophisticated, more carefully calculated, but no less hungry.
