he's not underground, he's not in the air (part CXVIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CXVII.)

Zack Starbinder approached the station, static in midair in front of the stabilized rift. "Tannhäuser Station, this is the Varyag medical gunship, requesting clearance and permission to dock to help investigate."

The Duchess, walking into the hanger bay, blinked as she heard Zack over the comm. "Oh, dear." She looked up as Justine's clear voice came over the PA system.

"Varyag medical ship, you are cleared to land at Hangar 2. Please report to Security after clearing the arrivals terminal for full briefing on the current station alert level. Thank you for your help, and welcome to Tannhäuser."

"Thanks, Tannhäuser Station. Initiating landing sequence."

She watched as the ship landed, powering down, and the access plank lowered as Zack walked out. He moved quickly up the stairs to the small catwalk she stood on.



"Greetings, Duchess!"

"Hello!"

The poet walked around the corner, smiling. "Hi, Emilly!" He pulled her into a hug, and she grinned against his chest. Zack, meanwhile, looked out at the ship on the main platform.

"Is this the mysterious ship Justine was talking about, or...?"

Emilly pulled back with a smile. "Hi, Rusty." Then she looked over at the stark lines of the unknown ship. "This seems to be the one."



Meanwhile, Zack looked down at his padd. "This explains why I found this in the database. It says this ship should be registered to the Duc's name?"

"It doesn't look as...patchwork...as normal Reaver craft, so maybe it's something new the Duke acquired to retrofit?" Emilly asked.

"Unless he is the kind to leave a shuttle here and take another ship out, but...that's not his type of ship, is it?"

Emilly thought. "That's...a good question."

Zack frowned. She turned to look at him.

"Two good questions, actually. Though he does keep a lot of ships docked at any given time."



Zack turned his padd so Emilly could look at the readout. "Duchess, may I advise you take a look at the Duc's shuttle traffic to see for any unusual departing and arriving of your husband? Or to see if any ships were reported missing over the last few days?"

She dutifully looked. "I can do that," she said, "though admittedly, that's something Justine usually keeps track of. But I'll check."

Rusty leaned over the railing. "Has anyone tried to look inside of this ship?"

Emilly shook her head. "Not unless Justine did."

Zack handed her the pad, unslinging his bow as he sighed. "You two stay here, I'll go take a look."



Emilly touched the padd, pulling up another list, shunting it to the side. "So what do you think? I didn't see anyone on the scans but us."

"There's no one inside, either," said Zack from the hanger floor.



Emilly tapped her chin with a finger. "So, mysterious ship. Mysterious armaments. No one inside. No word from the Duke. Great."

Zack slung his bow behind him again, moving behind the Duchess, rubbing her shoulders reassuringly. "We will find if there is any intruder inside the station."

She smiled up at him.

"What evidence do we have of an intruder, again?" Rusty asked.

Emilly shrugged. "Just the ship. And Justine was nervous."

"Okay..."



Zack grinned. "Will I have to teach you a few archery lessons, Rusty?"

"Hmm," Rusty said, pondering. "If you shoot an arrow in space, what happens?"

"It will continue to fly until it reaches its target. Unless there's artificial gravity."

Rusty grinned at him. "Okay."

"Companions normally never use firearms, but bows and arrows don't count, as such."

Rusty nodded. "Werre you able to get inside the ship?"

Zack shook his head. "I did not find a door, or any outside opening trigger. So either it opens at distance, or only for someone inside...or both."

Rusty nodded. "Okay."

"And either way, if someone was aboard, they're not here now," Emilly added.

"Seems that way," Zack said.

"Seems weird, though," Rusty added.

(Continued on part CXIX.)

this is not a problem if I don't want it to stop (part CXIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CXII.)

She walked in through the open door of the clinic, seeing the medic at his desk. He sighed, seeming discouraged for a moment, and she stepped closer. He heard the bells and turned.

"Oh! Hi, Duchess! Sorry, I didn't see you arrive."

She smiled. "Hey, Zack--you said you examined Justine? She didn't get hurt again, did she?"

He shook his head. "No, I assure you, she did not...get injured..." He stood, rubbing the back of his neck. "As for if she's fine, well...it depends...I do not have very good news. And...that's something I think I must discuss with you."

She arched an eyebrow. "Well, that sounds dire."

"You've noticed those...strange tattoos she has on her body, right?"

She nodded. "I have, yes."

"I was called to examine her, and asked Deebs for help. They...react to arcanic energy...badly...and by badly, I mean...bad...kind of badly..."

She thought back. "She mentioned something when she was setting up the quantum net for the Duke's personality transfer, her tattoo--'heating up'?"

He took a deep breath. "Something from another plan has marked her...probably something coming from one of the dimensional rifts here on Gearhaven...That mark is like a location marker. It may pull something from...we don't know where...just to get to her."

She blinked. "Wait. A beacon mark?"

"Deebs and I, we managed to seal it...temporarily...but it will need to be removed. I was currently studying a ritual that I know can do that but..."

"Who...do we know how she got that tattoo? Who did it?"

He shook his head. "I am not sure, myself. We weren't able to know who or what did that to her."

She thought, brow furrowing. "Is it any arcane energies, or specific types?"

"It...reacted to my energy...I did a test..."

She tilted her head, tail twitching.

"And I am not the one who placed this mark, so whatever did, probably knows how to use magic."

"Without a doubt. But--she hasn't reacted to you in the past, right?"

"Not that I know of..." He thought. "Or, she was hiding it, last time I was casting in front of her..."

"So, either...something has activated the mark, or...something in your energy signature has changed, and I don't think the latter is likely." She shrugged. "Though anything's possible."

"I used Gearhaven's magic energy to do so, as it's easier to recharge my crystals here...so, I'm not sure if she reacts to here, or..."

She stared at him, eyes slowly widening. "Oh, if she's reacting to Gearhaven's energy, that's going to be really bad...I know the Duke's planning more excavation of aetherium ore, and that's going to spike some of the ambient energy across the land."

He reached out, grabbing her hand. "You have to prevent Justine from being here until we manage to remove this mark from her! I will work on that ritual...it will be...extremely painful, but...necessary."

She watched the grim set of his features. "Do you think Tannhauser Gate Station is far enough away?"

"I don't, Duchess. The magical energy of Gearhaven seems to be...all around us...When I feel it, there's not a specific concentration that I found."

She sighed. "I'll talk to her."

"Duchess..."

She looked up again.

"I promise you, I will do everything in my power to remove that mark, even if it means to almost die from overcast...I will not let this happen."

She put her free hand on his arm. "Zack, no. Some risk, absolutely, the rituals can take a toll, but...please, don't risk yourself to that extent. We can find another way."

"Every magic comes with a price. I say there is a RISK that it happens...but if I am strong-willed, and keep meditating, and prepare carefully...I should survive, and Justine will probably have that mark removed."

The Duchess was worried, she knew enough for it to show on her face. He patted her hand.

"When I did the ritual to scry through the rift in the tower, that was something I'm quite used to doing. The ritual to remove Justine's maker is a ritual of abjuration...a school of magic I learned to do when I was still an apprentice."

She nodded.

"Hopefully...it will work...if old school magic cannot remove this mark...I don't know what can..."

She looked down, thinking.

"There are a couple other options," she said slowly, then looked up, meeting his eyes. "But then, you'd likely have the talk with me about not taking insane risks."

"Yes, Duchess. Of course, you have the final say. I will not do anything without your green light, I promise."

"Do keep me updated."

He nodded. "I will let you talk to Justine, though I must warn you, the seal we put on the mark to prevent the...thing...getting to her will not hold forever."

"No, such seals rarely do."

He took her head in his hands, staring at her sadly. "Believe...I will do all I can to help Justine..."

"I know you will, Zack. We both want her protected...As much as she'll allow, at any rate."

He nodded, dropping his hands. "That was--all I needed to report. I know it's not happy news, but..."

"No, it helps. There's been so much happening, I never asked her more about what had happened with the quantum establishing, so...it's good to follow up."

He nodded, smiling at her, and returned to the papers spread over his desk. "Always a pleasure."

She nodded, and left, worrying at a claw. Wondering how she was going to tell Justine...wondering what she was going to tell Justine.

(Continued in part CXIV.)

do you think, do you think that they notice? (part CX)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CIX.)

Artifact recovered from Gray Area data files:



Margin note: rational vectors of protection, eroded by the Blight.

FILE ENDS

(Continued in part CXI.)

hatch demons where no one can see, oh (part CVIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CVII.)

It was a clear, bright evening. Zack sat at the desk again, opening the book, setting the pen to the page.

Journal entry 2

Dear diary,

It's been probably a month or two that I've run the clinic at Gearhaven now. After the event of the weapons testing and the surgical procedure I had to do on Countess Justine's skin, it seems like my services have been required even more. I have gained renown as a healer quite quickly after the results.

Seems like mouth to ear were at work there quite wildly to speak of what I did so far.

After a while, I noticed the amount of work was tremendous and was wondering if I should try to find an assistant. I could not really ask my servants at the Starbinder Family, none of them would be very much qualified even if they all have multiple talents.

Except maybe for one...Cinder Lily Rio...she is a scientist after all. I brought her to the clinic to help me on some cases, but mostly for bio analysis like blood work, and that kind of stuff. Though there was still a big project that I was working on.

During one of my travels I met a girl named Diannah who I bonded with and felt particularly close to. One day I found her in her apartment dead of an overdose, and in a hurry I brought her up in Gearhaven, put her body into stasis and thought about a solution to maybe save her and get her back.

Using Lily's research, I managed to find a way to resurrect her with some very particular implants inside her body. It was a very big surgery but iImanaged to get her back to life, with us. She is now working here with me at the clinic, and assists me in the cares that I give.

With Diannah and Lily in my team at the new clinic, I suppose that for now, I have everything I need to be able to offer all the help Gearhaven might need in case of medical emergencies.

The large work has started, now we just wait and see how things go.

End of entry.

(Continued in part CIX.)

I keep a bottle by my bed, it's a focus (part CV)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CIV.)

Emilly arrived on Tannhäuser Gate Station, moving quickly through the levels to the command deck, and the large dark screen there. She touched the control panel, authenticating herself even as she turned the screen on.

"STAN, please watch for presence of Hiro instance 2 on Gearhaven Prime. Interface at soonest opportunity to retrieve answer to question: What was Hiro trying to do before the time accident?"

She watched words in green and an odd, mid-tone grey scroll up the screen.

STAN:
Instances of Hiro in GH prime time/space reality bubble are:
His Grace, the Duke Hiro. Currently in recovery on the Space Frighter "Misunderestimated Cat" above the ocean of Tannhäuser Gate. Observing the Armada Remainder in Krakenstorm.

Instance 2: Back-up and recovery instance of his Grace post accident, aka Hiro in a Box [HIAB]. Location in Research Facility on Tannhäuser Gate Station.

She nodded. "Yes, currently." Then she thought. "Oh, on Tannhäuser? Then execute same instruction for Tannhäuser Gate Station: What was Hiro trying to achieve before the time accident?"

STAN:
STAN connect with HIAB:

His Grace was attempting to time travel beyond the document capabilities of the Grey Area.

Emilly tapped the nails of one hand against her bicep, thinking.

"Was there a specified reason given?"

STAN:
Motivation: To investigate the time line infestation at early stages of human evolution (Bronze Age Collapse).
His Grace: Suspects current adversary.
The Blight is same entity that attempted to slow evolution in early earth timelines.
At certain points in development in history: there is evidence of manipulation from time active forces. Manipulation appears to be directed at preventing, or pollution of, the thought forms prior to an evolutionary advance.

She looked down, thinking, then startled at the next voice she heard.

"Emilly?"

Odd little hitch in her breathing, even after all this time, even with the Duke back. "Hiro?" she finally asked.

"Emilly--STAN has networked with my inputs in the lab."

She took that in. "That's...good..." Did that mean he knows he's not the living Duke? She had no idea how to even frame such a question.

"Em--I was trying to get back before the Bronze Age Collapse. To test if the tech/Magick used is what we are seeing in both base reality and on the grid."

Emilly blinked again. What grid?

"My working hypothesis was the Ringmaster and the Black Pharoah, the Hydra, maybe even the Ṕ̵̡͎̘͔͍́͗̉̃͆̾̒̐i̸̛̲̪̣̻̔̀̀͆͌̓̎̉̋̇̌̂̀͌̍̒͛̓́̾̎͋̒͋͂̈́͐̈̊̈́͊̐͋͠ģ̶͈̺̜͎͕̥̥̘̫̱̻͕̞̩̼̰̦̞͇͇̳̜̩͒̂̒̈́̆̔̐̃̈̎̀͗̓́̾̂́̈̃̚͠͝͠f̶̡̢̛̙̳͉̯̻̮̺̬̙̬̣̼̞͍̤͎͈̣͎̱̗̱̹̤͇̳̈́͗̂̈́́͛̽͐̉͂̉̈́̌̅̈́́͊̈́͐̈͆̉̀̇͘͜͝͝͝͝ͅ@̴̨̧̨̨̛͎̘̱͍̤̹̫͇̮̲̞̪̯͈̺̙̫͍͎̗͓̹͎̥̥̩̠͉̾̈̈̀́́͗̊̋͌̈͛͒̉̅͒͗̒̀̽̎͒͐͝ͅͅ$̸̨̧̧̞̮̲̱̫̯̱̣̣̰͖͉̤͉̖̲̠̥̦̜̺̮̠̪̳͇̠̝̥̇͜͠ͅķ̷̡̲̪̪͎̦̹͖̤̯͉̝͕̫͖̯͔̯̳̟͕̟̠̲͓̓̍̉̂͗͌̀̓̚͜͝͝ͅẽ̶̛̛̛̪͓͆͗̅͑̓̈́͌͊̋́͛̑̎̀͛͊́̿͘̚̕͘͠͠͠͠r̶̢̛̛̬̰͚͍̲̗̺̙͈͎͔͆͊͂̈́̀͐̆̂̂̔̒̓̇̋͘͘̕͜͝"."

Emilly felt her eyes snap wide. The distortion on that word was difficult to hear. What did it mean? But he was continuing.

"--are avatars of something working to derail things...or influence things...But I hit a wall..."

"So...?"

"So, I had to improvise. And get the data back here so we could continue on..."

The voice trailed off.

"So you programmed outside the Gray Area's operational parameters?"

Some noise--static burst? Glitch in the system? Derisive snort? She had no idea.

"Enhanced the range of the singularity drive," he said then. "Used the Gate...but...something external stopped us. Tossed us light years away and 300 years too far in the future. The nature of that weaponized 'Time Wall' is what the back-ups were carrying. Beta, Gamma, Delta and Epsilon are the onboard AI's of the Gray Area AND a back-up of my memories."

"So even if you had not pushed the ship, the ship was pushed. By the adversary, one assumes."

"Beta went with Bilqis, Delta was sent into Egypt, Gamma to Thule and Epsilon was at the first Hebrew Temple, hidden as the Seal of Solomon. Something is stopping time travel into early Bronze Age...or was..."

She nodded. "And may still be, depending."

"Emilly, our concern should be this timeline, now...The same forces that broke up Armada are looking for the probability tech...The same forces infecting the grid working to derail both a Dataist approach or a Techno-Humanist approach to growth."

The grid, again. She let it go.

"If we find any of the four AI's...they will have very different stories and paths. And different magic."

"We will, Hiro. We're concentrating on this timeline. We'll get to the others."

"Okay..."

Another burst of sound, this time more of a tonal pitch lowering to the subsonic, before disappearing. She saw words return to the screen.

STAN:
STAN disconnect from HIAB.

The screen went dark. Emilly shrugged. That seemed to be that.

She went back down to the hangar bay, and took a flier to the Red Queen's tower. She needed to think.

About a lot of things.

(Continued in part CVI.)

you'll hold my hand, so you never go astray (part CI)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part C.)

Red lights began to flash throughout Tannhauser Gate Station. On all screens flashed a message:

STAN MESSAGE: Intruder alert detected in Computing Lab, Deck 06, Tannhäuser Gate Station, accompanied by high fluctuations in quantum particle and temporal anomaly readings. Highest priority.
[Sent to Commander Johndory's channel for immediate attention]



Computing Lab: Tannhäuser Gate. Defensive Decompression commencing.

Elsewhere, Justine scrambled for the controls. "Belay that! We need that robot. Containment team has been dispatched to apprehend and isolate the intruder."

There was silence.

"Confirm, STAN!" Justine yelled.

Another beat of silence, then..."Confirmed," came STAN's slightly resigned voice. "Beta-El held in stasis until containment team arrives."

Justine snorted. "'Kill it' is your answer to EVERYTHING, isn't it?"

There was another pause. Then..."Yes, our prime directive is the Protection of His Grace, Duke of Gearhaven, Archduke of the Neko Republik, Defender of the Gnosis and Guardian of Tannhäuser Gate."

Justine shook her head and prepared to fly to Tannhäuser Gate.

(Continued in part CII.)

it's not a problem if I never get caught, oh (part C)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XCIX.)

Emilly returned as quickly as she'd fled, slightly breathless. "Okay. Back," she said, handing over the samples from Tannhäuser.

Zack calmly administered the hypospray to Justine's body and took a sample of her blood. He removed the blood vial from the hypospray and put it in a socket in the console. He then dropped the soiled hypospray into a bio trashcan and removed his gloves. "Okay...we let the machine analyze the sample and we are ready to start the procedure. Duchess, can you confirm certain details for me before I start?"

Emilly took a moment to respond, lost in the memories of finding Cleo limp on the floor, her thoughts pulled to a stuttering halt. Shaking herself out of it she replied, a little too brightly, "Yes! What?"

Zack ran through his checklist. "Is Lady Justine's bloodtype AB+? Does she have any medical allergies to anesthesia products that I should be aware of?"

Emilly thought, eyes focusing internally. "AB+, yes. Anaesthesia, I don't think so..."

Zack pressed a button as Emilly heard the comm activate again. She listened a moment, then replied. "What's left on Tannhäuser Gate at this point...?" Addressing the doctor she said, "I'll be back, checking on something--" and dissolved into static.

Lokizen watched the machine anxiously. Rusty started to pace, stopped, then started again, looking agitated.

Emilly sparkled into being on Tannhäuser Gate, moving quickly to the command deck, having to dodge several patches of construction. She pulled up a scan for intelligences, saw the cluster in Gearhaven, that would be the clinic, saw a dot over Krakenstorm, which was puzzling, and saw another dot over the Dark Sea. Then a dot popped up on Tannhäuser.

She turned the scanning system to it, pulling up camera view, and saw Hiro walking down the corridor. But--the Prometheus had said--

The penny dropped. The Prometheus had said. Throwing up her hands, she snarled and left Tannhäuser again, making her way back to the clinic.

Lokizen left the clinic again, returning to the lighthouse to breathe, the sounds of the gears turning the great light soothing his nerves for a few moments. In the clinic, Rusty looked on as Zack finished punching in the DNA reconstruction program. "All right," he said. "That should do it, then." Taking a deep breath, he entered the start command of the derma mender, watching the arms of the surgical dome begin the skin regeneration.

Lokizen returned, shifting his weight from foot to foot, hoping for a miracle.

Emilly walked back in again, muttering about ships with cruel senses of humor. "He's not...dead," she finally told them, watching the dermal regeneration.

"Not dead is a good state to be in," Lokizen replied carefully. The Duchess just nodded.

"He's not...really focused, he ran into--something--moving from Tannhauser to the Dark Sea, but he's not dead."

Zack's hands flew over the derma mender like a real professional, the needles and lasers working on Justine's body regenerating her completely without leaving a single scar on her, almost like she never had any kind of injuries at all.

Lokizen watched the procedure, entranced by the skill demonstrated by Zack

Zack looked up from the surgical unit console, breathing a sigh of relief. Opening the dome, he put a hospital robe on the unconscious Justine. "Well," he said with a satisfied smile, "It seems like the surgery was a total success."

In a corner of the clinic, Emilly blew out air through her nose, reached up, twisted her fingers, and yanked the leopard to this-here. After he completed apparating, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Hiro...why didn't you tell me the Prometheus can talk?"

Eyes wide, Hiro shook off the confusion of sudden teleportation. "Well, the Ship's Mind...can," adding with a smile as if it explained everything, "The Eschatological Practicum is its chosen name."

Mouth in a tight line, Emilly snarls. "And does the Ship's Mind dislike the Duchess?"

"I don’t think so..."

"It told me you were DEAD, Hiro!"

Hiro thought, then shook his head. "I was just prepping it for orbit...Sending it on a trade mission..."

Unimpressed, the Duchess folded her arms across her chest. "And now there's that floating--THING--by the shore temple--"

Looking over Emilly's shoulder, Hiro saw Zack lower Justine onto the hover stretcher and transfer her to the clinic bed. Distracted, he followed, looking down at the Countess. "Justine, are you ok?"

Justine’s eyes opened partially and she focused on Hiro, mumbling sleepily. "Box...of fluffy...ducklings..." before her eyes closed again.

Rusty joined Hiro at the bedside. "Welcome back, Lady Justine," adding, "Hiro. I'm glad you're okay," to the Duke.

Emilly frowned. "If she starts talking about dovecows, I'm going to worry, but ducklings are fine, right?"

Lokizen smiled at Zack. "Thank you Healer, for your skills."

"She will be fine," Zack said. "She just needs some rest. The operation worked wonderfully well. Not a trace of burning on her body."

Hiro turned to Zack. "Thank you, Doctor."

"I will keep her under observation for the night and see how she feels tomorrow."

Tentatively, Hiro reopened the conversation with the Duchess about the ships. "...We recalled the Grown-Up Conversation from Haven."

Emilly turned and thwapped the Duke on the arm. "And THAT'S for making me think you mutated the children!"

"Should we send it back...owch! Our weapons wouldn't fire on the children--"

Emilly lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. "Did I know that?? They fire on us!"

Taking one more look at Justine, Rusty turned to the door/ "I need a break."

"I'm going to go also, I'll be back around soon, take care all," added Lokizen, following him out.

The Duke and Duchess broke off their quarrel to wave goodbye to them before Hiro turned back to Emilly and took her hands. "Duchess...do we need to check on Princess Athena?"

Behind them, Zack tidied the mess in the clinic, discarding Justine’s ruined clothes and putting a monitoring cuff on her wrist.

Readdressing the Duke, Emilly threw up her hands. "No. Cleo scared me to DEATH, though--I came in and she had no eyes!"

"When you are...what?"

Zack looked back to the arguing couple. "No eyes?"

"I thought--well, you know what I thought...Then she turned over onto her belly and asked for scritches...and when she looked up, she was fine." Rolling her eyes, Emilly added, "Turns out she was trying to shapeshift...They're far too young!"

"What about Enoch?"

"Slept through the whole thing."

“Oh. No shape shifting yet?"

"Oh, please."

Zack sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Duchess? May I give my...medical opinion?"

"They're your children," Emilly said, leaning into Hiro. "We've told them no planeswalking either, and look what happened THERE. Hmm? Please," she added, following Hiro's attention and looking over to Zack.

"As I know from shapeshifters, the process of shapeshifting development in children always varies from one to another. Some are learning at a young age and some do at a later age. But all depending also on the shapeshifter's type, and genetics, some of them may also learn to shapeshift, or at least try to do so maybe at age of one or two years old. The important thing for young shapeshifters is to make sure their bodies don’t lack nutrition so they are able to process through the learning healthily."

Emilly nodded. "It's...tricky. The genetics are...well, I mentioned." She reached up, cupping the Duke's face, smiling. "He's fine. I'm something of...an anomaly."

"Well, I do hope that this will prove useful. I know that shapeshifting might be," he paused with a heavy sigh, "well, in my case anyway...it can be...quite painful..."

Emilly nodded in agreement. "At times, especially new forms."

Zack pulled up short. "Why is the door to my office room open? I thought I closed it." He shrugged.

Emilly followed his gaze. "Isn't that your--private quarters?"

"Yes, they are," he said thoughtfully.

"Are the doors kept locked?" Emilly asked.

"It might be just the wind, it can happen. We have not installed a door to the balcony yet. As for a lock, I am still working on it."

"Well," Hiro said, "I need to head back...to the mansion...I need to get a few things written and then redeploy the ships."

"I probably should go back to setting things out," Emilly said, "but...I think tomorrow. Tomorrow will be when everything gets done."

They both thanked the doctor and walked to the door.

"I will keep you both posted if there is anything new on Justine's health during the night. But if everything goes well, tomorrow she should be back on her feet and ready to go back to her regular activities," he said before closing the door behind them.

Zack walked back over to the clinic bed, reaching over to Justine and gently caressing her head. "I will keep an eye on you, dear. Sleep well."

(Continued in part CI.)

say it if it's worth saving me (part XCIX)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XCVIII.)



Lokizen Aeon pulled on safety goggles and a lead lined tunic, just in case, and watched the tests over the Dark Sea and Krakenstorm from the safe vantage point of the Gearhaven lighthouse. If only Justine had been more careful. He pondered the Dark Sea lighthouse ruins, removing the goggles, and sighed.

The door of the clinic opened, admitting the Duke and Duchess, followed by the Bard.

"Doctor," the Duke said, "Is she ok?"

Zack turned to the Duke and the Duchess, nodding politely at them. "Pulse higher than normal, low BP, 3rd degree burns, radiation levels dangerously high...I am currently proceeding to a disinfection protocol of her body before applying other remedies. But yes, she will be okay."

The Duchess frowned, taking in the readings from the pod. "She's in stasis. By definition, that's not exactly okay." Turning to watch the poet rush in, she rubbed her forehead as if struck by sudden headache.

Rusty stopped, taking in the scene, summarising with one word. "Dammit."

Hiro asked the doctor, "Was it Nuclear, Magick or Biological?"

"Radiation level high? At least partially nuclear," the Duchess replied, her eyes still on the pod readings. Then she turned, glaring at the radio playing softly in the corner. "'She's So Cold', really? Right now?"

"Radio Paradise has a dark sense of humor," Hiro said, stepping closer to the stasis pod.

Zack nodded in agreement with the Duchess. "Considering the high level of radiation in her tissues, I would say it was nuclear. Her clothes are there in the corner. She will need more clothes after the dermal repairs."

"But she can be--fixed, right?" the Duchess asked, a rising note of concern in her voice.

Zack smiled reassuringly at the Duchess. "I will do my best to make sure she is."

The poet paced the clinic, nervously chewing a fingernail. "So how does one avoid being killed by a ship that belongs to us?"

Hiro leaned in to the doctor. "We do have her DNA in the Tannhäuser clone lab, if needed."



The Duchess narrowed her eyes at the Duke, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "If any of the children are sick from the upper-atmosphere blasts, we are going to talk, you and I."

Turning to Rusty, Hiro put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Sir Poet...The Ships only fire at anyone without a GH Tag."

"Correction," Emilly added, "One ship. The other ship fires at anyone without Armada's tag."

Zack looked at the scanner beeping and nods. "The disinfection protocol is complete. So all that is needed is to transfer her to the surgery dome here and we will be able to proceed to the dermal repair."

The lighthouse keeper returned to check on Justine’s progress as Zack pressed a button on the pod, moving Justine to a stretcher to transfer her to the surgery dome.

"Hello Duke, Duchess. Rusty," said Lokizen, watching Zack moving the Countess. "I saw the second test, impressive."

"Sadly," the Duke said, nodding to Lokizen, "Justine was too close to the blast."

Lokizen nodded, looking pensive. "I heard and came to check. Will any fallout be a concern?"



"I'll check on the Prometheus," the Duke said, and they all watched, mystified, as he left, flying off towards the larger ship.

Zack initialized the repair procedure on the surgical unit and turned to Emily. "Do you have a sample of DNA that would be compatible with her body, Duchess?"

The Duchess looked at him, concerned, or perhaps appalled, "I'm...not sure we should be involving my genetic line in her structure? It's not, um..." She blinked, tossing over words. "Normal," she finally said. "Wait, do you mean the samples in Tannhäuser? I can go get those if you--"

Zack nods at her. "Then I can take a blood sample from her body. It should not be too hard. It's just to allow the surgery dome to reproduce the correct type of skin for the reparation."

Emilly was about to reply when she paused, tapping her ear. "What do you mean, the Duke's dead again?! It was YOUR job to stop that from happening!" she exclaimed. She ran out of the room.

Zack bemusedly watched her run out, shaking his head. "Okay...time to get the Countess back on her feet before those two get killed."

"Cripes!" the poet spat out, resisting the urge to pace. Lokizen came to stand next to him, watching the machine anxiously.

The doctor climbed the stairs and went into the supply cupboard, grabbing a hypospray from one of the drawers, and putting on a fresh pair of gloves.

(Continued in part C.)

say it for me, say it to me, and I'll leave this life behind me (part XCVIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XCVII.)

For her part, Emilly arrived on Tannhäuser, running at speed for the cloning lab. She quickly found Justine's tissue samples, racing back to her skiff, programming it to fly back to ground level, and stopped. She chewed a fingernail. Justine needed the samples, yes, but--she needed to check on the children.

She docked with the nursery building, having to phase through the wall because there was no external access by design. She rounded the corner and screamed.



"CLEO!" she yelled, falling to her knees. The pale kitten turned towards her voice, wet pink smudges on her cheeks below where her eyes should be. Emilly wrapped her arms around herself and keened in distress. Then the kitten blinked, her eyelids growing to do so, and when she opened her eyes--she was fine again.



"Hello, Mama!" she said brightly. "I was trying to change shapes--"

Emilly gathered her up close, holding her, still half in shock. "Shh, shh, dearest, we'll work on that. But you can't scare Mama like that, all right? I was worried you were--" She swallowed, breaking off.

"Worried I was--what?"

She shuddered. Irradiated, she thought. Damaged. Dead... She shook herself, forcing herself to put her daughter back down, rising again. "It doesn't matter," she said, idly, starting to search the nursery for the others.



She found Enoch first, resting on the floor next to his bed. Typical. But where was Athena?



She found Athena in the other room, stariing fixedly at the wall. At least she was okay. They were all okay. Good.

She raced back to her skiff, and flew to ground level.

(Continued in part XCIX.)

with these broken wings I'm fallin', and all I see is you (part XCVII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XCVI.)



Zack watched the weapons testing from the safety of the skies over Gearhaven in the medical shuttle. He watched nervously as Justine's shuttle flew through the testing grounds. "She's too close to the blast zone," he muttered to himself. "But she would not fly into danger, she would stay clear. Still..."



He made preparations, murmuring arcane words of power, hands drawing sigils in the air. When he saw the flash he knew Justine's shuttle was too close and flew into action, uttering an air spell to hold her until he could position the medical transport and stop her fall. Once he received confirmation she was aboard he immediately raced to the clinic.



Summoning a hover gurney, he transferred Justine to the stasis chamber and began assessing her condition, frowning at the results. At least she was breathing. Heartbeat erratic, blood pressure low. Third degree radiation burns over 80% of her body, and high levels of radiation. "I will need to run a decontamination protocol for the radiation before I can heal anything else," he murmured thoughtfully as the lighthouse keeper entered the clinic at a run.

"Hello, Zack," he said breathlessly, "Will Justine be okay? I heard and came straight away."

Zack kept his focus on the scan until he heard the voice. "This is what I am checking right now...I'll do my best to make sure she is stable and healed."

"Thank you for your care," Lokizen murmured, looking worriedly at the screens above the stasis pod. "I'll leave you to your focus."

"Your visit is appreciated," Zack replied, looking between the screen and the pod, "and it's normal."



Lokizen looked at Justine in the pod once more, and retreated outside.

Zack walked up to the second floor to wash his hands carefully and then looked in the storage cupboard for a radiation suit and long gloves, putting them on to cover both his arms and his hands. He added a lead-lined apron for extra protection. Stepping back to the stasis pod he removed the remainder of her burned clothes, and cleaned her body thoroughly.

"Okay...let's get this started...radiation disinfection protocol initiated. And...now starting." After pressing a few buttons, Zack looked down at the Countess Justine as the decontamination fluid flowed around her body, removing the radiation. His attention shifted between the scan and her to make sure everything went smoothly.
.

"Thankfully it has this function," he said, putting one hand on the glass, he peered in at Justine. "Hang in there. It won’t be long."

(Continued in part XCVIII.)

so, come to me, we can change night into day (part XCVI)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XCV.)

The Duke and Duchess watched missles launch from the platform.

"Hmm....Programming or spellcraft, you think?" She was trying to puzzle out the odd energy signatures she kept feeling.

"Spellcraft," the Duke said absently.

She watched as Hiro instructed Justine to observe the test site more closely, which she didn't think was wise, but she thought he knew what he was doing, surely. She took out a set of long-distance binoculars, fitted with carved amber spellglass lenses. She peered at the cloudless sky.

"Is it lost?"

Hiro looked down at his readings. "Says it detonated."

"Huh," the Duchess said. "In Krakenstorm?"

"Fissionable, but spell-enhanced," he murmured, and they both heard a scream over the comm.

"Justine?" the Duchess said, a heartbeat after the Duke, moving her head and scanning the sky. She saw no trace of her shuttle, but--wait--There. Zack's--medical transport? What--

Hiro hit the comm for wideband. "This is Gearhaven actual," he said. "Due to the aggression from--"

She covered his mouth, using her other hand to tap his comm off. He glared at her.

"You can't say that, Hiro. It wasn't--"

He pulled away. "It could have been!"

She gestured at the platform. "We were right here--"

She watched as another missle rocketed off the platform, striking a ship overhead. "It hit the Prometheus! Is it damaged?" She whirled to Hiro, who seemed unconcerned, murmuring into his data padd.

"Target Dark Sea," he said, and a string of coordinates. Another missle flew up, Emilly following with her binoculars.



She adjusted for distance. "Um...Hiro...that one's awfully close to the kittens..."

"Target Dark Sea Island," he murmured, and another string of numbers.

"Do you mean Darktow?" She flinched as there was a loud crack overhead, and night suddenly fell, thick and cloying. "WHY IS IT NIGHT--" she screamed, and with another loud crack, it cleared. She swayed, unnerved.

Hiro didn't seem to notice. "Not Darktow," he finally replied. "The Dark Sea lighthouse."

She nodded, rubbing her eyes.

"Commencing test--"

She stepped closer, placing a hand on his arm. "I think we've done enough testing."

He launched the last missile almost nonchalantly, and then nodded. "Want to go check on Justine?"

"We probably should."

Hiro shut the rest of the testing equipment down, and they moved to his flyer.

(Continued in part XCVII.)

show me what it's like to be the last one standing (part XCV)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part XCIV.)

The message fired through the comm system.

14 MAY 2021 - WEAPONS TESTING IN THE DUCHY OF GEARHAVEN

There will be a test of a classified Thaumaturgic Weapon system in Krakenstorm Storm @ approx. 2130 GH standard time, 14th day after Beltane, Current Era 201. Please prepare accordingly.

Justine landed her shuttle next to the bunker, ducking her head as she entered through the low door.

"HI!" said Hiro, not looking up from his console, "Weapons testing time." He made a few more calculations and turned to look at her with a smile. "Hi, lover."

She misted up a bit seeing him there so happy and excited and...not lost in the distant past or a far away galaxy. "Hello," she replied, then taking note of the screen behind him, "That...is a lot of nukes."

He grinned and turned back to his calculations. "Need to enter coordinates."

"Don't get it wrong. Where are you going to drop them?"

His hand drew down the map to the southeast saying only, "̴̨͕̽̈́̎͆͊P̶̛̜͙͚̼͔̳̗͚͋͊͑̆i̴̡̛̯̯̭͍͍̲͖̝̬͎̱̭̺̼̲̊̆͒̀̏̾̈̄̓͜͠͝͠g̷̢̡̳̺̙̝̫̙͔͖͇͔̭̤͗̍͗́̑̃̋̄̅̾̂̍͐̉͑͜͝͠͝f̷̳̼̭͌́͂́̈́͂̑͒̾͗̈́͛̇͘͘̕̕s̷̨̪̦̤̘̠̭̭̲̰̆̽̋̀̐̂͝ç̶̡̡̛̛̣̬̫̭͇̹̅̔̽̿̾̓̅͗̊͊͒͒͜k̵̛̛͙̤̻̤͐̀̊͋̑͒̾̿̾̈́̀͐̒͑̓̎̚@̸̨̢̼̟̩̺̦̹̭̪̱̼̫̝̣̩̪̰̈́͌̆̀͜͝ͅŗ̴̨̪̺͔̬̝͇͓͎͍͉͈̈́̎͌̌͐̅̓̂̆̎̊̂́̋̌̈́͂̕͘͝.̵̧̢̧̛̝̼̣͓̺͚̜͕̤̩̺̼̟̬͈͚͊̔̐͛͒̎̄̇̿̿̇͗̎̊̄͜"̸͕̱̺̼͒̔̈͌͌̚ͅ ̶̖͚̣͔̞̖̔̓̈́́͆̾́̿̕̚ ."

Justine shook her head. It was almost like there'd been static in the last word. She walked out to the platform.

The Duchess landed her little skiff on the platform, looking at the array of missiles with wide eyes.



"That is...a lot of firepower," she said softly, looking at the Duke with concern as he walked out of the bunker. He just nodded and stepped forward.

Brief burst of static across the comm channel they all heard, then Zack's voice. "This is GH-MT01, medical intervention is all set and ready in case of emergency."

"Which won't be needed, right?" She looked at the Duke. "Right, Hiro?"

He seemed to ignore her, looking at Justine. "Hey, take some photos of the mushroom clouds?"



"Sure," Justine said, putting on her goggles and heading back to her shuttle.



Over the comm came Justine's voice. "The Gray Area didn't fire at me. Did you turn it off?"

A beat of silence, then--"I'm in position, at the border between Dark Sea and Krakenstorm, looking southeast," Justine commed back to them. She struggled with the camera controls, hearing him enter coordinates and initiate launch.



His voice came over the comm. "Did you see that one?"

"I didn't see it!" Justine said. "Where did that one hit? Drop another one!"



Justine peered through the shuttle's viewscreen. "I don’t see any..."



And then there was only noise. And light. And pain.


(because.)

(Continued in part XCVI.)

Father said that this world isn't for me (part LXXVIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXXVII.)



A frantic message over the comm in the Duchess' voice: "THE WINE KRAKEN ESCAPED!"

There was a pause, and then..."Don't worry, I'm putting it back inside."

Both Zack and Justine, in different zones, looked up in alarm.

"Actually, wait..." came her next words over the comm. "You don't have a wine glass..."

And then the signal cut off.

Justine sent a comm to Zack. "I'm going--"

"I'll be there," Zack sent back, and both scrambled for ships.

Emilly for her part, had fought shifting the entirety of the day, but...as the sun fell, the urge was unavoidable, and she closed her eyes, the change moving through her. It still wasn't as smooth as she was used to, but it was no longer as excruciating, to take a new shape.

She sighed when she saw the dark red skin, faintly glowing as if lit from within. Not...a good night to be around people. Right. She walked around the house, checking the grounds for places that needed work, and saw the wandering tentacle, sending the comm over the wire. Then she lifted into the air, flew into the now-moved Krakenstorm, carefully selected every stick, every pier, every wall and window, every pier support, and slowly, slowly, turned it so the entire village once again faced the land, not the open water. Good. That would help. She flew back to land, just...watching the sun finally sink beneath the waves, breathing.

"Duchess?" she heard behind her. She turned, blinking, seeing the doctor.

"Hmm?" She searched the night behind him. Was he alone? "Hello!" she said, after a pause.

"Justine and I, we heard the comm...we came back as fast as we could."



She blinked again. "Came back--oh. Well, I don't really think it's the wine kraken." She looked around, hearing the faintest sound of discordant bells, her head twitching once to the side. "You've been in the dining room, right?"

She leaned in closer, murmuring. "We have a wine kraken. It's a long story."

He didn't say anything. She turned back to face him, and found him watching her with concern, and an arched brow.

"Are you...all right?" he asked. "You seem a bit...different, than usual?"

She quirked a grin, her eyes glittering in the near-dark, and then she inhaled slowly, blinking. "No," she said, her voice quiet. "I'm fine. It's...fine."

Zack opened his mouth to speak and tilted his head, listening to the comm. He looked up. "Justine," he started. He listened further. "We better go see what it's about."

She nodded. "Ah. Yes. Let's go find her." She took off for the house, walking unerringly to the dining room, where she'd left the thing. By the time she got there, things had changed.



"Now, see, THAT'S the wine kraken!" Emilly said. She heard Justine snort.

"Wine SQUID," she said distinctly. "It's very sensitive about the difference. VERY."

Emilly blinked. "So sorry," she murmured. "Wine squid."



"And what about this?" Zack asked, pointing at the more luminescent tentacle in the wall.

Emilly nodded, walking forward. "Yeah, so, I--oof." She looked down at the coiling tentacle she'd walked into, that had poked out from under the table. "Not now."

Justine rapped the table, and the tentacle slowly pulled back. "Sorry about that. DOWN, boy!"

She walked over to the wall, looking at Justine, then Zack. "It was out in the garden, lurching for water. Or...something. I brought...it in, and...it got...stuck."

"THAT was the table kraken," Justine told Zack.

Emilly didn't seem to notice. "So I figured...if it's not actively...harmful? Or something? We had time to look into it." She looked over her shoulder at them. "Of course, the last time we saw those, all hell broke loose..."



Zack fell to his knees with a sharp cry. Emilly ran to his side. He winced, putting a hand on his forehead.

"What happened?" Emilly said.

"Zack?" Justine asked. "Are you okay?"

(Continued in part LXXIX.)

a vivisection of me yielded the start of a mystery (part LXXVI)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXXV.)



It took a long time to burn. She hovered until there was no trace of purple glow in the room, until even seared and searching senses could not discern a trace of the unnerving hum. Shaking with fatigue, she sank, to the now empty, quiet, tower room.



After weeks of sustained hum, the crackle of eldritch fire, it almost felt...too quiet. She knew the room felt darker, now--not emotionally, per se, but simply no longer lit to a frenzied, virulent glow. She waited to make sure, but finally, she inhaled a slow, shuddering breath, and left the tower room.

She paused, just below the short set of stairs up to the room. Something...wasn't right. She shifted, and it was a slow, discomfiting process, bones grating against bones as her will reassembled her flesh.



Something was wrong. The world...glittered, oddly. She extended a hand, slipped it into n-space, fingers wrapping around a handle, ending up with a mirror she had not set eyes on in over a decade.

She heard Lokii Violet as if it were yesterday. "You are proclaimed Malkavian. There is no hope for the mirror-breakers."

And perhaps no hope for her, as well, each glittering shard of the broken mirror reflecting back eyes that were gleaming, starstruck, solid black pools.

Oh.



She took a port to the sky temple, sitting in the porter's chair, somehow unsurprised to see twin black skulls rise to top the arms. No, though. No. This would work out.



The important part, she thought, was that the rift was gone now. She spoke a minor word of power in a shaking, broken voice, and watched a silver chalice materialize. Another whispered word filled it with wine.



She took a sip and smiled. Nothing of the grape in the cup, after all. It contained a radically different vintage. But that...was just...fine.

Everything...was just...fine.

(Continued in part LXXVII.)

to get out of here is to promise me a kiss (part LXXV)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXXIV.)

Finally, the fire died down. Finally, she could breath air that wasn't smoke and heat. She rose on unsteady legs, weaving, calling something else in she'd hidden away, something she never expected to need again.



Her lip curled. She was calling on too much of the succubus she'd once been, the succubus she'd thought well banished, but she had...to do...this. Tonight, while she was this dark. Tonight, while the land was quiet. Her lip curled, staring at the vessel, at the slow, liquid flames rising and falling inside.

For every request, a sacrifice.

She stabbed two talons on each hand deep into her wrists and held them over the fire in the vessel, watching as her blood fell, hissed, sank, subsumed within the slow-moving flames. Rising up again red, not yellow.

Accepted.



She leaned in, breathing in the offering, the flames returning to gold. Tasting ash and copper on her tongue. Falling into pattern. Sweep left, scream, coat a tentacle with clinging flame. Watch it burn.



One more breath. No time, no will, just action. Sweep right, scream again, coat another tentacle, until it burned away.



Around the room, protrusion after protrusion. Lips cracked and seared. Again and again.

For every sacrifice, an action.



She breathed in the last of the offering, rising, rising. The splintered daggers spinning at her back, faster and faster. She stared into the heart of the rift, could dimly make out the first shoals of the steps she'd taken to retrieve Athena. No more. No MORE.

Another scream, her vocal cords stripping, anguished tone, tasting fresh blood on the back of her tongue. Needed. No other choice. She sent the first gout of flame deep into the odd mirror universe on the other side.



The last of her energy. The last of her will. One last, fiery scream, ending in savage, wet coughing, spattering the crawling liquid fire on the surface with bright red. One...last...push...

And finally, at last, she watched the rift burn.

(Continued in part LXXVI.)

a spider preaching, with poison on its lips (part LXXIV)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part LXXIII.)



Sometimes, when the bad thing happens, it changes people. Sometimes they change those around them. And sometimes, it's not precisely a bad thing, but it changes people anyway.

All she knew was...she'd gone dark in a new way. And she'd promised the Duke, she'd promised him, never to go dark around him again, and...she'd meant that, and she meant to keep it, but...he...wasn't...here.

She was.

And so was the rift.



And she was dark enough now to go find the book she'd hidden in the library. Everything she yet remembered about the overlayering of the fae lands, distilled into making bricks inside of bricks inside of spaces inside of walls...and there, she'd left the book. Snarling, hissing...alone.

She should have left it alone.



And she read. The words lifted off the page and became tattoos on the writhing tentacles she fought to retain long enough. Seared across her neurons until her mind felt charred with the knowledge. It manifested in strange ripples underneath her red skin, in shards of metal protruding from her spine, extruding into daggers, floating at her back.



The last word lit her on fire, drove her to her knees, and everything was glowing gold and red and orange and hurt--

She fought to stay silent, to endure, to process, to focus, to drive the fire forward where it needed to go--but she was slipping on the edges.



Drive it forward, point it, refine it, direct it...but it didn't want to go forward, it wanted to slip to the side. It fought to slip to the side, and she was losing the battle. And if she started screaming now, she knew she'd never stop--



And everything was fire, and everything hurt, and she BURNED--

(Continued in part LXXV.)