Aberrant: Children of Quantum Fire - [Interlude] Dark Star

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Date: July 21, 2027

Location: Deep Space, Science Deck of the Far Star

This thread covers the activity of various Starseeds on one day ...

Starseed #2

This had been a long time coming. The ship had checked out well, and even though she was the first hull spun Star had been building her slowly. There were plenty of lessons learned with the Hiraki Maru and the Yamato. Compared to just a few short months ago she had so much more to work with ...

... of course, all three ships were still of the same design. Without her they were not long term habitats, and most of their power came from her abilities. Where the Yamato and Hikari Maru were rather spartan working class ships, however, the Far Star was a science vessel. The vast majority of the gear was still portable, but it was quite a collection. High quality equipment gained in barter, some rugged but highly effective machines of her own design, generous gifts from Genesis, Cora and Butch ... and the money in the GNS R&D budget had filled out the rest. The lounge on this ship was actually a full science deck - though it still had plenty of comfortable areas to sit and work ... science is group work. Scientists should be able to relax while thinking - and having the lab ready at hand saved time.

All of that was ready weeks ago though, and what she had been lacking was information. Before she experimented on herself she had to be sure. Kamiko's library had provided the last of that. Many aspects of reserach into Novas was secret, but with the vast breath and scope of her library Star had been able to confirm certain things she had suspected. Star had confirmed that it might be possible to intentionally induce stress on a undeveloped MR bundle and shape its development - rapidly so. This occurred during eruption, and was a much studied phenomenon. Of course, finding latent Novas and triggering eruption was not what she was after ... baselines would probably go mad from her intended method. A Nova that still retained the capacity for development, however ... as in a Nova of the second generation ... would likely be kicked into Apotheosis.

[Doctor Varroxxian]

The first equipment payloads were being readied. Most of her selves were working overtime on one payload or another ... though the trials would not be here. Disposable equipment, specially built for each series of trials, would be transported to a remote site on the far side of the Saturnian moon Tethys, a water ice moon. At a particularly nice spot in the Ithica Casma far from prying eyes the experiments will be run.

Each of the trials was a combination of stimuli designed, in clinical terms, to induce tremendous but non-lethal stress on the subject. Which would be Starseed. She had been gathering trusted friends to oversee the research, as she would be injured during each of the trials. The trials were all carefully designed to be non-lethal, and repeatable. Each trial would be run until the services of a healer were required or X iterations were completed. The variable was calculated for each type of trial, which could run for hours.

The only commonalities were that stress needed to be either sensory, systemic, or both ... and during every trial Star would engage in a meditation routine. Taking herself into a trance that did not inhibit the stress but provided internal imagery - an altered state designed to guide her towards apotheosis and hopefully shape the process. She had spent weeks, across multiple selves, just analyzing and testing the internal imagery alone. Hundreds of hours had gone into integrating the various processes. In some trails, which would be separated and sequenced for maximum effect, the imagery was the same but used in combination with different stimulii.

The net result, hundreds of sequential isolated events each on the order of eruption level stress...

At that moment Ichiro and four of his assistants materialized, and took off their pressure helmets. In hand they had yet more equipment, of a particularly advanced nature. Ichiro Mishima had money, that was for sure. One of the few people from Star's past she had been able to track down. A student of Father's, Ichiro was a capable healer and a master of entropy. He could bring systems to peak perfection, or break them down ... controlling the subtitles either way. He could confuse the reality of two spaces to effect teleportation ... though his mobility was limited when compared to Star's. His power even extended to emotion and thought itself, though he made a rather poor psychic compared to the well known nova mentalists. Before meeting Father he had been on a destructive path, with a noticeable amount of taint and powers that lent themselves to a nihilistic outlook. Icihro was, and is a philosopher ... even in those days when his moods were dark. Father had taken him in, and shown him how to reverse his power ... to heal instead of harm.

(Speech in Japanese unless otherwise indicated.)

"Hello Star. Fine day, and looking forward to the trials. Apologies, the last shift of technicians had calibration troubles with the packages sealed data recorders. Sensor feedback issues that have since been corrected." he said

"Thats fine, uncle. We are still on track. We went ahead and set up the site, the dome seals and foundations won't last very long on that slowly shifting ice ... but it will be stable for months. More than long enough. The power systems and fuel cells are working brilliantly. Are you sure you made it out alright? The trip was not too long?" said Star

"Everything went as expected. It is a fair way out, at the edge of my capabilities. Still, the sights were pleasant. I stopped along the way to show my staff the belt, and Jupiter." he said, and in unions the assistants enthusiastically added - almost in unison "We have a great boss!" and then went back to work.

Ichiro was a friend, but more than that he was the 'Ghost President' of Osaka ... a shadowy figure known in the upper echelons of Japanese business ... and in the underworld. A man with literally more money than he could spend. He was always shadowy, and even with his cunning, his connections, and his ethereal powers he was forced underground by the attack on the family. It had taken them this long to reconnect ... and Star suspected that it was her power he anticipated. He was looking for more than a family friend, he was looking for an ally - a powerful nova of the second generation.

"How is Arachnia?" asked Star. Ichiro smiled and replied "Oh, she's in a bit of a dark mood this week. Her painting is not going well, and she is considering a different path. After that nice lunch we had a few weeks back at the Villa she was impressed that you had decided to take up the arts. She's never considered it ... and didn't think of you as an artist. Plus she's been wanting to explore the nuances of ancient Japan as you have been. She was very impressed with you, and as she said ... she did try brush painting. The problem, as usual, is that she sets her own standard too high."

Star replied "Oh, well she'll find something. I briefly tried classical music ... but nothing good came of it. My progress with swordplay is faring much better."

"Very good. We shall have to have a match at some point. I never thought you would be interested in anything but test tubes, machine shops, or space planes. Perhaps one of us can best my wife. I've not done it in a fair fight yet." he said, chuckling. "It took a special bottle of very potent sake procured at great expense."

Violet Arachnia is Ichiro's wife. Has been for almost fifteen years now, and once a best friend of Mothers - though Father and her were never very close. There was some sort of history there, but Star didn't know anything beyond the fact that Father had known her before meeting Mother. It probably wasn't romance, Star really didn't know. Still, she was auntie Arachnia ... and Star thought she was great despite her mysterious history.

Star saw that the schedule was slipping further - the time for pleasnatries was over "Lets get back to work. Captain, your project team. We need those resonators installed. Beam throughput tests at oh-nine-fifty." Star said in a commanding tone.

The tables had indeed turned since the days of uncle Ichiro and little Star. Secretly, he was in awe of how powerful she had become in such a short time ... and this was before apotheosis. He had voluntarily taken on a GNS commission as Captain of the Yamato ... and responded with a sincere salute "Admiral. Aye ... you three, ready cylinders four through seven. Takeshi ... get those calibrations verified."

... the science deck instantly transformed into a well oiled machine. Captain Ichiro could organize and motivate people, of that there was no doubt. Likely a key to his massive success behind the scenes of Japanese business. Star observed him ... there was more to do before he could be trusted. Father had earned his trust, and Ichiro had respected his subtle power. This would cement her own power, and his loyalty. With him, aunt Arachnia, and her new circle of friends working together the future would be bright.

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Location: Ministry of Extraterrestrial Affairs, Kikwit, Congo

Starseed #3

Odd that the main EA facility for the Congo ended up being a disused, deep mine five kilometers outside of Kikwit. It had been a logical choice though, as penetrating the stable, dense metamorphic formations above with any signal let alone an attack would be very difficult. Comms to the surface was via fiber optics, and the emergency shelters that once housed deep workers were ideal points to build out the current complex. It wasn't anything terribly fancy, no extensive research labs, no extravagant equipment ... but plenty of room to train people. Plenty of room to stockpile the basic equipment, components, and supplies that were shipped out via a rail-pusher through the gates. The massive conveyors that once brought ore out could bring cargo in, right from the convergence of major rail and road networks. Return gates for partially refined and refined minerals were placed right on the doorstep of the businesses that needed them.

The economic impact had been almost immediate, as early orders for rare earths and lanthanides had hit the markets like a bomb. Precious metals were depressed as markets recieved large quantities, but ground side industry had an endless hunger for industrial minerals Novas had brought small loads in from the system before, but that was all individual effort - small stuff. It paled in comparison to setting up mining camps with organized labor and heavy equipment. Mars would be a bit longer of a pay off, but the Congo and Japan were doing well. Star had been very careful to insulate the efforts against what might be coming ... against war. Out there, infrastructure was distributed and robust. Her philosophy of rugged, repairable technology not only made for good economics but it mean that miners could stay out long term. Sure, conditions might be harsh ... but they were trained.

There were dozens of crews here in isolation pods - getting ready for life in the cramped, hard conditions of space. They would operate trucks, or work-hab platforms. Hundreds more were in classes, or working the stations. The occasional shouts of people training for emergency situations, doing Immediate Action drills over and over again, could be heard in the distance. There were a few new warpers too, going through the paces. You didn't have to be an all powerful elite to make a difference in either GNS or with the Congo EA. Working strictly as a non-profit NGO GNS was able to ethically contract with the EA, and Star could avoid any conflicts of interest. It didn't matter to her though, as the research that joint venture funding fueled was slated for the public good anyway. Similar arrangements had been worked out in Japan, but Star had realized that people were following her lead. It felt good, natural ...

"Kelechi ... how is it coming? Star asked the young Nigerian nova who passed her in the hall."Very good Minister! I'm very tired though, so very tired but I reached Neptune in one go!" he replied. Star smiled at him and said "So then next evaluation, I might owe you a steak dinner?" ... the young fellow grinned from ear to ear "You can count on it Mum." saluting her on the way by.

... and she continued to the main gate terminus. Hopefully they would be able to hop the next rail-push to the belt. If they were even close to being on time ...

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Location: The Saturnian moon Tethys, the Ithica Casma science dome

Star Prime

Everyone was gathered round, waiting for the scans. Star was in excellent health, but she had become very very pregnant over the last twelve days. Much as Lindi had predicted the child had become much more physical - material and substantial that it is - in a very short span. There were still problems with imaging the infant though, because it could be best described as quantum powered biological chaos. It was much like Star when she was shifting between forms, and still fluctuating between matter and energy by large degrees on top of that.

The banks of sophisticated equipment worked away, casting the varied and shifting glows of a hundred plus indicator lights across the room dividers of this dome section. Muted beeps and a collective hum filled the room. This was a tense moment because a fail on any of these scans would halt the apotheosis experiments for at least a week. Maybe more if the tests contraindicated Star being put under stress - let along neural shocks and what some might classify as mental trauma.

It had been making Star tense all morning. That, plus fasting, no shifting, and a prolonged period of no intercourse ... a standard regimen intended to facilitate clear test results. Star was snacky, and just generally feeling deprived ... which would be fine, but it all compounded the prospect that her experiments may not even be able to run...

The open concept area had Star on an examination table, with dozens of scanners, hundreds of sensors, and even probes inside of her ...uncomfortably so. A better medical examination there could not be. Meh'Lindi was processing the results along with three other Stars and Dr. Loshe.

Everyone else was observing, and most of the observers were trusted GNS medical staff or close friends. Not everyone had shown up, some few had declined because the experiments were likely to be intense ... but it was sort of a party atmosphere. This same space, and some of the currently unused equipment around would later stimulate Star in Apotheosis. In theory. These same scanners and sensors of bewildering variety would hopefully capture the process.

The examination table was quite uncomfortable ... on purpose. Later, this would contribute to carefully controlled stress induction.

[Shosuro Miren]

Puck was standing by, exerting every ounce of self control he had not to be pacing and pestering everyone in the room to make sure that Star was okay. He was nervous for her and for their child and it fairly thrummed off him. As it was, he'd extended every sense he had over Star, watching the monitors and set to act if something seemed to go wrong. He was all for inducing directed evolution, but he didn't want to lose her or the baby.

Sara put a hand on his arm and said softly in Bodhi, "Deep breaths, Puck, or you'll have all of us jumping at shadows in here."

He nodded and pulled himself a little apart from the others, concentrating on exuding an air of calm confidence, even if he didn't feel it.

[WhiteRain]

Meh’Lindi was absorbing her amazement with her usual stoicism. It was quite bracing to see just how much the second generation children were creating in the quiet places when nobody was looking.

Being around so many people was still fairly new for her, but she accepted Starseed’s offer as a matter of scientific interest. Observing an apotheosis – hopefully – and compiling full data on the process was a worthwhile endeavour and nobody had yet managed to do so.

Given the environment she was in her humanoid shape. She was actually quite beautiful in this form, with pale, soft-looking skin and lustrous black hair that felt down to the base of her spine. She was slender, firm, not least because the softness was all in the look. Her skin was just a woven husk over the hard chitin underneath, and a thin one at that. She was wearing a lab coat, with a black silk veil over her mouth, which was wide and full of rending teeth. Her eyes were yellow and red, unnatural and feral. The other researchers were giving her a wide berth where they could.

It didn’t bother her. Her attention was either on the data coming in before her or on Juliette and Skinthinner back in the lair. Qi Meng had been the crowbar which let them start talking again. Things were still rocky, might always be, but the rage was lessened, and might one day be reduced just to anger.

Besides, Puck’s Dr. Loshe and the Star copies were more than enough company. Loshe even complimented her veil.

Sometime soon Meh’Lindi expected to be getting invited to a moonbase or to some terraformed world deep in the universe. It was hard to feel relevant in a world with Novas like Puck and Starseed. But thanks to Coraline, I will be, she thought. If we can only harness that energy I’ll have made a true scientific discovery.

“How am I looking?” One of the Stars slid up beside her and checked over the graphs on Meh’Lindi’s screen and the rotating image of Star Prime on the research bed.

“Healthy enough,” Meh’Lindi replied, her voice a harsh, animalistic growl punctuated by the sound of her pointed teeth clicking together. “Some of the readings don’t match what we know, though.”

“Like what?”

Meh’Lindi tapped the screen, indicating a graph showing the recorded quantum levels in Star prime’s body. “Your quantum readings are far off the norm.”

“Isn’t that just because of the child?”

“Unless your child has the power of Jeremiah Scripture right out of the womb, no,” she replied.

Star smiled. “Is that so unlikely?”

“Yes,” Meh’Lindi hissed. There was no ill-intent behind it, but in this shape every word of hers sounded like a threat. Her mouth stretched into a horrible smile beneath her veil as she remembered the way Skinthinner and Juliette used to fuss over her, trying to hide everything that would tip the baselines off to Meh’Lindi’s true nature.

Star was used to her voice and her presence, so the seeming harshness did not move her. A nearby researcher recoiled, though, and backed away as one might from a rabid wolverine. “What do you think’s causing it? Is it my apotheosis?”

“It could be the beginnings of it, yes. We’ve never recorded one in a lab environment before. It would make sense if the node were to make small quantum fluctuations in advance to prepare the body for the change. It’s notable that despite the power surge no post-apotheosis Nova has ever picked up taint during the process.” Meh’Lindi tapped a few keys and adjusted the readouts, comparing the quantum emissions to the biological readouts.

Star nodded. “Isn’t that because our nemocytes are better distributed? Children are just better adapted to channel quantum, right?”

“Yes, that’s the other explanation. Still, one would think there’s a limit to what they can take in one moment. There’s surely a reason that every child isn’t Mal Junior.”

Star moved off to check the data on another terminal.

Meh’Lindi observed as the other researchers, Star and Dr. Loshe ran their own tests and fed their data between the other terminals, her own included. She zeroed in on the biological data. Even in this age of new geniuses, her specific area of expertise was largely still her own. Most Novas focused on pure quantum research or variants of it, Meh’Lindi was always more interested in exploring the ways quantum redesigned the body. It was that expertise which made her certain that their child was not giving off the quantum spike. The spike was simply too large.

It was observing that data which gave her the beginnings of a hint of what was really going on. “Dr. Loshe, can you send me some up-to-date ultrasound scans?”

“If you like, but there’s really not much on them.”

They popped up on her screen a moment later and Meh’Lindi put the other data aside for a moment. She examined it and then brought up the quantum readouts. The ultrasound scans showed nothing you would expect, mostly whiteness and the outline of Star’s organs and the inside of her womb. Occasionally they moved as part of the mass of energy within solidified. “I believe I have solved our mystery,” she announced.

Star all but bounced to her side. Puck gave her a calm, studied look, but she felt certain that it was one hundred per cent fakery. “What is it?”

“There’s more than one child in that energy cloud,” Meh’Lindi said. “Watch.”

She began to divide the quantum signature. On its own it was a gigantic blob, close to the emission one would expect of a member of the Pantheon. But as she sub-divided it and made separate ‘individual’ quantum signatures, it became clearer and clearer.

Star caught her breath. “Is that… you can’t be serious.”

Meh’Lindi nodded, then announced in a loud, clear voice, “You aren’t going to have one child, Starseed. You’re going to have five.”

[Toby Lupin]

Darrik looked as impressed as everyone else at the proof of Star's fertility. Puck looked ever a bit more overwhelmed, though his expression didn't seem to waver too much. Darrik knew what he was thinking. The sheer amount of children he would be bringing into the world, plus the mothers being largely erupted... Darrik was certain it would be only a matter of time before the hammer came to Exalt. Still, this moment was to be a happy one, right?

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Star prime was uncomfortable now ... damn table, she'd designed it well ... like some sort of slow and subtle torture how the angles were just a touch out of alignment with her body, how lying there forced her to flex just a bit in ways that were giving her tiny cramps ...

Not only was it psychical discomfort, the purpose of all this gear was to give quick and decisive analysis. This was taking far too long and Star knew it better than anyone there save perhaps Lindi. Her senses easily picked up the reactions of each researcher, her other selves, and even the beeps and humms of the equipment she had largely designed - or at least integrated into this nexus of scientific sensing tech. It all weighed on her, there was something going on, and it could be bad ...

...the children sensed her discomfort too. She had a brief telepathic contact with what she thought was her 'child', and the 'child' was both interrogative and trying to comfort her. That was just strange, and didn't serve to comfort her at all. As had happened once before, the 'child' in her was reacting to the energy of the active scans. He? liked the stimulation, almost as much as he liked music when she did a music therapy session for him?. There was that telepathic contact again, but different ... it was surely female. Yet Star had been sure of the male nature several times before ...

Oh no! she thought ... would her child have to go through the adjustment she had? Her androgyny was a long dealt with issue, but it had been a source of childhood angst. What if her child were completely sexless? Was that bad? ... now her mind was racing, the researchers were talking more and more ...

Thoughts RACED through her mind... Meh'Lindi mentioned to another of her selves that there were much higher quantum power level sthan their should be. SHIT ... am I unconsciously burning quantum somehow? Has the pregnancy become unsustainable? If my node is remapping to synchronize fetal nova biology to my own what happens with quantum depletion? I am SO HUNGRY! Dammit, I could EAT METAL right now ... what if my clones destabalize?! Will I leave an expedition team stranded? ... ohhhh, my boy ... girl ... is kicking hard ...

... and then the fear she had lived with came to light: What if the motherhunters get me? What if they come right now? I can't defendmyself! Fuck! ...no this is NOT RATIONAL! .... the child kicked again, hard ... they sensed something ... they ... it was multiple minds ... two, three ... three children reached out to her with their minds ...THREE?!?!?!

Then she heard the word, in the building chaos of her mind the word struck like a bomb "Five".

It was too much, Star prime became a blinding point of light. Pure, absolute white with delicate patterns of gold and azure that only Nova senses and the scanners could distinguish as separate colors at this intensity. It was so bright, it cast a warm feeling, like sunlight.

FIVE

A baseline researcher, Cathleen, screamed as the light temporarily overloaded her retina and caused her mobile to literally explode in her pocket with a little 'crack' that did no real damage but did leave a nasty little burn.

Star's science gear was all double space rated, so the EMP didn't affect the function of the scanners. Everyone else who had a mobile not so shielded didn't far so well ... the circuits fried from the inside as waves of EM rolled out from Star.

On the quantum level, Star's energy flared. Data rolled in and Meh'Lindhi kept her cool ... guiding the active re-calibration matrix through the process. Even though her eyes were not overwhelmed with radiance, the saturation of light in the area made the displays of the gear unreadable, the features of the scene were shrouded in sheer radiance. Still, Lindi could feel the vibrations of the gear and instantly deduce the control functions required. The rough results would show that Starseed's quantum signature had briefly resembled that of a high order quasar. Then, all that energy turned inwards ... and collected itself. Star's body, along with the children had briefly become pure energy ... in fact it had become quantum so deep into the dimensional spectrum that she seemed to vanish - just for a moment - from what is defined as this 'physical reality' and into the quantum layer.

Then as the blinding radiance faded, most people were in the dark for at least a moment as their senses recovered. It had happened so fast, and Star still lay there on the table. The only difference was that she resembled something like an astronomical nebula, as she was still reweaving her form, along with the forms of the children.

Even the alternate Star's were different somehow, their skins had a slightly different luster. There were also about forty of them in the dome now, and more that had formed outside the dome itself. Most of the new Starseed were quite confused, looking around ... on the verge of asking questions but instead taking stock of the situation.

Star prime asked, as she finished getting herself together "Five children?"

[Quantum Fire]

It was the first time someone got full readings for apotheosis of a 2nd generation nova, quantum levels jumped, then jumped again, it was like watching a star go supernova, for a moment it seemed based on the readings, that enough quantum energy was present to suggest all possibilities were engaged, the process was both similar too and dramatically different then the Chrysalis of the path of teras. Quantum energies were integrated into the nova's nature as a whole, and from the readings that Meh'Lindi was getting, the actual mental processes and thoughts of the nova were affecting the ultimate results, it seemed that Star's own personality, ideas, concerns, fears and beliefs were integrated into the final result.

Of course, there were points when, even with all of the data being recorded, that the equipment couldn't actually collect the data, it was beyond the limits of even insturments this complex, but even so, the data was invaluable.

Welcome to Apothesis, Star..

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Star waited for a few scan cycles to catch exotic quantum residuals as they decayed. The scans had to be complete, for the sake of the scientific record. As she lay on that damn torture rack of a table ... that was no longer all that uncomfortable ... she said with an incredible, reassuring, soothing presence ...

"Cathleen, please don't be afraid." and Cathleen was not afraid ... "Your vision will return in seventeen to nineteen minutes if you keep your eyes closed. You are experiencing flash blindness, specifically an overload of your optic nerves. You were too close, I am sorry I could not hold my energies in during the apotheosis event."

Still contrasted with the old Star by her new, awesome presence, she sat up on the table ... saying "That was unexpected. On both counts."

The one thing that was still utterly familiar to everyone was her smile. Star was all right, it all came through her peaceful smile.

She reached a hand to Puck.

[Lady Metaphase]

Meanwhile ... In a Pearl Spire City of another realm

Metaphase was considering the last few weeks. She'd been spending more time at Heartland and finally figured out what was going on ... the baselines there were experiencing cognitive dissonance over her actions. She had helped a number of them, but she had also been very frightening. Then, when some reacted with apprehension towards her, she accepted their peace offerings ... and had continued her pattern of behavior. She had reinforced their behavior in classic style ...

The thing that most of the baselines didn't realize was that she had been angry with some of the more incompetent Terats at the lab. You could barely call them Terats ... she had learned more about Teras in her brief time with the movement than some of those clods had managed to soak up in years. The Apothecary tolerated them because they were poorly adjusted to their own bodies, and because they helped with the research. They resented her because they felt threatened ... they aren't great researchers and those meager talents are all the have.

Then she found the shrine. The baselines at heartland had twisted themselves into some sort of worship towards her, and built a semi-secret shrine. Like she was some sort of terrible angel that could bless or destroy and thus must be appeased. Some had begun asking for visible body modifications, after they realized that Leviathan had been mildly approving of a test subject of hers. She had been experimenting with the classic Minotaur look, to see what sort of extra functionality she could grant a baseline combatant. The man had agreed because he would be cured of terminal cancer.

This was something she hadn't expected, and Heartland needed its baselines to remain a viable cover ... so she'd been upgrading them in ways they could hide or show as they wished. That had brought Leviathan back. Sure, it was for a hunt and they brought in some rough and tumble biker types plucked from the back hills somewhere ... but both Leviathan and the Apothecary had wanted to see what she could do with them. Hunting a pack of Minotaurs in the back woods turned out to be great fun and got the three of them - Metaphase, the Apothecary, and Leviathan - together.

The long talk had happened sort of spontaneously. Everyone who went on the hunt was still riding a bit of a high. Zia had even come along, to observe ... and had a good time. One of the twelve Minotaurs had even made it to the safe zone. So, she had healed him and with a little work might fit in somewhere at Heartland ... somewhere out of sight, but still. This all led that long talk, which had been brewing for months before either had entered chrysalis. There were deadlocks between the two leaders. By the end of the talk they had effectively called on her as a tie breaker for several issues, and everyone found that this worked ... it worked well.

Then her daughter, Starseed, had finally contacted her. That meeting went ... well enough. Metaphase just didn't have the mothering instinct that her old personality had. Those facets of her mind had been suppressed to allow new things to emerge, new ways of seeing herself and others. It caused a constant subtle tension with Starseed though, and it had made the meeting mildly uncomfortable for them both. Now Star wanted her to come to an apotheosis experiment. Interesting methodology, and it should have been something that drew her ... but there were substantial risks. Metaphase had felt those risks, emotionally. It was as if Nancy Reid were bubbling back to the surface and Metaphase would not tolerate that sort of bedlam again. So she hadn't gone ... she was a half hour late for the pick up already.

That was a selfish choice though, even as one Terat to .. a prospective Terat ... she should go. She should be supportive of an attempt at directed evolution. Scientifically, it would be interesting ... "Damn, I should go."

With that, she put down her tablet and powered off the projection-grid in the lab. Standing up, it only took her an instant to find the right dimensional nexus and make the jump. A quick teleport from there, and she could contact Star. She might have to catch a ride with a GNS crew, being this late. "Well, better late than never..."

[Shosuro Miren]

Puck slid into his energy form, his flesh shedding its solidity so he could slip through the walls and the mass of Star clones around their prime. Five....is she going to be okay?

Once at her side, he switch back to a solid state, jostling several of the clones around him. He took Star's hand, gently freeing her from the self-made torture table; he held her up and scooted on to the table, situating her on his lap so he could wrap his arms around her and lean her again his chest.

"Hey," he murmured in a Bodhi word that carried his concern and love and amazement of her. "Are you okay?"

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Star just smiled at Puck, then enjoyed his embrace and nuzzled into his chest. After a moment she said "I am, alright. Its all so ... clear now."

She took Puck's hand and guided it to her belly, to the children. Star didn't need to say anything as Puck could feel the five now. They had reached some sort of stage, now they were all there ... individuals who were truly realizing themselves even now. They weren't so much kicking, but with his level of perception Puck could easily feel their movements.

"I think they want to meet you ... I don't know for sure, but I think they know you Puck." Star said, adding "I do know they are fine ... so wonderful."

[Shosuro Miren]

He shifted her so he could bend down and kiss her over her womb. For a brief moment he wished for the kind of telepathy his male progenitor had had, so that he could touch their minds and know them without waiting for their birth. But only for a brief moment. He brought Star back to a sitting position and kissed her deeply. "You are amazing, you know that?" he whispered in her ear.

He grinned and pressed his forehead to hers. "I don't envy you over the next few months." He glanced around at the all the Star's filling the dome and outside. "I think you'll have enough helpers on hand, though." He motioned to all of the clones, drawing her attention to them.

His hand had drifted back down to touch lightly over where the five people-in-progress were still shifting around, placated that their mother and themselves were safe, but still agitated a little from all the changes. He teased her lightly with, "Neither of do anything by half-measures, do we?"

[Doctor Varroxxian]

- Under Construction -