The Spider Queen

Sophie walked over to the shadowy version of herself and quietly observed what was happening.

In this possible future, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the coin that she had showed to the shopkeeper in order to gain entrance to this place.

She then lifted up the coin in the palm of her hand and looked at the engraving that had been etched onto the coin's surface.

This version of herself then proceeded to walk along the underground passageway while searching for something.

The black and white world shifted slightly, and the figure walked faster and faster as if time was being fast forwarded.

Sophie felt a bit confused by this turn of events but kept watching.

The pain in her head was only getting worse with every passing second and it took all of her concentration to maintain her future sight ability.

Sophie gritted her teeth and tried her best to focus on what she was seeing in order to distract herself from the agony of having her mind ripped apart.

Wait… the coin… maybe it was a hint!

The puzzle pieces slowly clicked together in her head just as the shadowy figure reached a painting that was identical to the engraving of the Spartan warrior on the coin.

The figure then proceeded to touch the painting using the tip of the coin and a passageway opened up.

Sophie blinked twice and when she reopened her eyes, she was back in reality with the world returned to normal.

Her head was still throbbing slightly, but the pain was gradually fading. Sophie took a few moments to compose herself and then reached into her pocket for the coin.

The coin shone eerily in the underground cavern as Sophie lifted it up in the air and followed the steps that the future version of herself had taken.

She used the light of the torches and her excellent eyesight to scan each of the paintings on the wall to look for the right one.

The security of this place was quite impressive.

Sophie had heard rumors that the woman behind this organization was a tad… eccentric.

But she didn't expect that one would have needed to known a passcode, posses a secret item and solve a riddle in order to see her.

A few hours passed by as Sophie continued on her slow but steady trek deep underground. The air was stale and humid and soon her body became covered in sweat.

Sophie would occasionally wipe the beads of sweat from her forehead and winced slightly as the salty liquid slid into her eyes.

The she saw it.

A painting in the same style as the numerous ones before it but this time it depicted a warrior carrying a spear in their right hand and a large shield in their left.

There were words written down at the bottom of the painting, so Sophie leaned in closer to get a better look.

μολ?ν λαβ?

Those were the words written down in writing that was so small that without her enhanced eyesight, Sophie was sure that she would have missed them.

She furrowed her brows since she was pretty sure that those letters belonged to the language of the ancient Earth civilisation that the Spartans belonged to.

She took a picture of the writings using her wrist communicator and then used a translator app to try and decipher their meaning.

Molon Labe.

The translation stated that the phrase roughly meant a show of defiance against enemies.

Sophie was puzzled since she was fairly certain that very few people had knowledge of this language and fewer still would ever use it.

The hybrid girl investigated the painting for a couple more minutes but found nothing else that was suspicious.

She raised up the coin and pressed it against the helmet of the warrior. For a brief second the eyes of the painting glowed and then the wall behind it trembled violently.

Pieces of rock and rubble fell to the ground and a section of the wall collapsed to reveal a hidden pathway.

Sophie entered with a bit of hesitation since this passageway looked as though it had not been used in years.

Cobwebs, small insects, and tiny ant-like creatures crawled along the floor, and she heard the dripping sound of water coming from somewhere in the distance.

Sophie turned a corner and came face to face with what looked like… an elevator?

A silvery grey mechanical box with numbers printed on the top of the machine and what appeared to be a single button on the side of one of the doors.

Sophie cautiously approached the machine and lightly pressed the button using her index finger.

The doors slid open, and she saw a very clean if not slightly cramped interior.

The floors were made from solid gold, mirrors lined the walls and a bench had been placed in the corner of the space with comfortable cushions on top of its surface.

Sophie stepped inside and doors immediately closed behind her. The machine shuddered slightly and then the box began to descend downwards.

There was nothing she could do except wait so Sophie sat down on the bench and leaned against the back of its metalloid frame.

Ding! Ding!

After a few minutes a loud ringing noise could be heard, and the doors swung open to reveal a room with a single table in the centre and no other pieces of furniture.

Just one table and that was it.

The floors, walls and ceiling were barren.

Sophie stepped out of the elevator and the doors closed again. She approached the table and a metalloid chair slowly rose upwards from the ground.

This was clearly an invitation to sit so Sophie sat down and waited to see what would happen next.

This was all so… mysterious.

Fortunately, the hybrid girl did not have to wait for long as the doors on the other side of the room slowly slid open and a female alien slithered inside.

She was a mesmerizing sight.

Her physique was slender with black scales covering most of her exposed skin almost like a protective coat of armour.

Her head was large and narrow shaped with vertical pupils that seemed to gleam with a sense of playfulness and intelligence.

Her mouth possessed a row of sharp teeth and occasionally a long fork-like tongue would flick in and out of her mouth as if she was tasting the air.

She wore a simple red dress that hung along the curves of her body. The dress was ill-fitting and yet it did not detract from her unique beauty.

"Duchess Peterlor… this is a bit of a surprise," the female alien hissed softly as she approached the table and sat down on the new chair that rose up from the ground.

"I recall that coin of yours was given to Viscount Nemesia… hmm… and how did you manage to acquire it? Is the old man dead?"

"No… he offered to sell it to me along with the information on how to gain an audience with the esteemed Lady Arcturus," Sophie replied honestly.

There was no point in hiding this information because clearly, she would not have been allowed inside this place if the alien in front of her did not allow her entrance.

"Lady? Ha! You can just call me Zylara," the female alien grinned and her vertical pupils stared directly at Sophie.

"I'm no noble… just a humble weapons merchant… all those titles just bore me."

"Please do not sell yourself short," Sophie matched her friendly energy with a polite smile as she reached into her storage bag for a heavy envelope.

"You are the best arms dealer in the Hydra Star System… rumors have it that you supply weapons to most of the top mercenary groups in the galaxy."

"Officially I only sell to mercenaries… but under the table well… let's just say my clients come from a diverse set of backgrounds," Zylara replied with a smirk.

"But how can I help the famous young genius of the Federation? Last time I recalled House Peterlor has deals with arms traders in the Alpha Star System." 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝐧𝐨𝘃𝐞𝐥.𝗼𝗿𝐠

"Should you really be here behind their backs?"

Zylara leaned forward the friendly look in her eyes turned predatory as she stretched out her claws and lightly knocked them against the top of the table.

Tap… Tap… Tap…