Aberrant: Children of Quantum Fire - [Interlude - Monitoring aST: Dawn] A Single Step [Fin]

[z023]

June 22nd, 2027

The Crèche

Sakura had paused when they stepped out of the elevator. She hadn't been back since Scrambler's attack and phantom images of that horrible day floated through the room like negatives from those old film-reel movies. She shivered and start when she felt a hand squeeze her shoulder in reassurance; Shiv, still bound in her peculiar way, retracted her hand into her breast.

Sakura took a breath and said softly, "Thanks. Sorry...it's just..."

"You must not forget what happened," Shiv's tone was emphatic, almost commanding, "but you must learn how to move past it; make it a part of yourself and then grow from that." She stepped forward, pulling the Blossom Princess along by sheer force of will. "Remember it, each time you come here. Remind yourself of why the crèche is so important and that even those that would not harm the bodies of nova children can still shatter or enslave their minds with hate and zealotry."

Sakura nodded, then remembered that Shiv at least seemed blind. "I'll...I'll try." She took another deep breath and pushed the lingering fear of Scrambler aside; she had enough trepidation from being formally in charge of the crèche now anyways. "You called him?" she asked.

Shiv nodded. "He is already here, waiting in your office. He has been given access to the internal network so that he could familiarize himself with the progress we've made and what more is needed." Her blood-red lips pressed into something that might have been smile, but just as easily could have been a grimace of annoyance. "Most likely he already knew most of it. He is...clever, Sakura. Do not underestimate him. Or under-use him. That is why he is here."

The bondage-clad nova stopped just outside the door of the plushly appointed office. She gave her odd curtsy to the newly official mistress of the crèche, "I will be upstairs with the Mirror Queen. If you have any need he cannot provide for you, Meh'Lindi and Lucrezia are both near. Simply call out for them."

Sakura swallowed nervously one last time, then squared her shoulders and nodded sharply at Shiv. "Thank you. For everything."

Shiv returned the nod and glided back down the hallway in her mincing steps. Sakura stared at the closed door for several heartbeats, then shook her head, gathered her courage, and stepped inside.

[WhiteRain]

Darion Mográine was sitting at the OpNet terminal in the corner when Sakura entered.

He had been hard at work, sifting through the network and the data Shiv made available to him. A lot of it was new, some of it was known from leaks out of Chang’s inner circle. Namely him, and the fact that people just loved talking to him. There were advantages to being flashy in an incredibly boring way. People found his magic tricks cute, or quaint, fascinating on occasion. But they weren’t the sort of quantum mystery of the universe that the average Terat occupied their thinking time with.

He was dressed casual, as he always did, but not in his traditional trenchcoat get up. Today he had gone for Japanese casual, knowing that Sakura herself hailed from his former homeland. His long, flowing silver hair was tied back with a strip of white silk, tied off so one end trailed lazily down the front of his shirt. The shirt was open, a mixture of green and black with a leafy design, over a white sleeveless undershirt that had a deep neckline. With that he wore blue jeans and white shoes.

Sakura took his breath away. While all he had to show his Novadom was weird hair and eyes, she was a veritable nature goddess, as natural as a Nova could be which was not very natural at all no matter how hard they tried to fool you otherwise. Sakura was trying very hard indeed.

“Sakura,” he said, kicking away from the OpNet terminal. His chair floated across the floor, turning slowly so that it came to a perfect stop and he completed his revolution at the same time. “I was just doing some reading to catch up on your operation. You’ve come a long way from rather humble and moleman-like beginnings.”

“Moleman?”

Darion pointed up. “Rainbow Room. Up above. You never saw that movie? There was a whole series, starting with ‘MoleMan: It came from below’ and ending with ‘Revenge of the Flying Molemen 2: Turkey for Dinner’. I am not making this up. So what can I do for you that doesn’t involve pointless movie trivia?”

[z023]

The modern Japanese-casual look went completely over Sakura's head; the last time she'd been in Japan kimono's and hakama had still be the primary style of clothing, and even more so in the Imperial Palace. She liked the ribbon holding his hair, though. She hid a small smiled as she admitted to herself that she just liked his hair. He probably got that a lot. She'd been more in her natural skintone lately, making her Japanese heritage more obvious; it was an attempt to ease herself into dealing with the wounds of her past. She didn't want have a part of herself that she couldn't bear to share with her children, and despite the way her family had treated her, Japan was a part of her children's heritage. It wasn't comfortable, but she was trying.

She made her way to the plush couch just a few feet from where he'd come to a stop and gently lowered herself onto the cushions, her ankle-length maternity sundress flowing around her as she reclined and lengthening enough to cover her feet. Like one of those awful Snuggie things that somehow were still on shelves twenty years after worming their way into the general market, but her dress was far more attractive and didn't end in footies that made everyone look like they were twelve. She made a sour face as she wiggled around on the couch, her tone a whine but with an undercurrent of fond teasing. "Y'know, I'm gonna sue Chang for ruining furniture. All of it." She got herself adjusted as comfortably as she could and smiled over at him, distracting her nervousness with inane chit-chat for the moment. "Moleman, eh? I never really watched many movies growing up. My mom and dad kept me pretty busy and we lived a good twenty minutes away from the nearest speck on the mountain of a town. One theater there and it was usually showing weird foreign films for the tourists that came through for the hot springs and spas. Maybe you can show me sometime? It sounds dreadfully awful and great for one of those 'take a drink when' games. I've never done that either, but I've had several people say it's a great way to waste a night laughing and getting drunk." She chuckled, "I'll have to pass on the latter, but I could really use a silly night sometime soon."

She took a breath and made herself focus. "So, what do you think so far? Any suggestions? I have to admit, I feel like I'm several leagues over my head at this point. I mean, my part was supposed to be just getting people pregnant. I know how to do that. All the rest of this...it's a little scary." Lucrezia had warned him that Sakura was far more intelligent and manipulative than she seemed at first, but right now she looked like nothing more than a lost young woman at least a little overwhelmed by the situation.

[WhiteRain]

Darion laughed. “Silly nights I can absolutely do. You should see my card tricks. Best in the world,” he winked. He wasn’t foolish enough to be reeled in by appearances. Sakura seemed nice enough but he had heard enough from Chang, Lucrezia and Shiv to know that Sakura was more than a defenceless girl. She was easy to open up to though. “I lived on the outskirts of Osaka for a good few years, but I went into the city plenty of times. Don’t think I ever got to the level of being accepted by the general populace, but my wife loved me plenty.”

Sakura blinked at him. “You’re married?”

“Sort of. I did use the past tense deliberately. I’m a widow. Poor me.”

“Oh.” She didn’t seem to know how to answer that.

“It’s fine. Scars might never heal, but they do stop hurting. Everyone’s got a sob story, and everyone’s lost something. Seems to come with the powers, and I’m long past the point of expecting people to stop what they’re doing to marvel at the world’s fabulous injustices. Let’s focus on business.”

Sakura smiled and nodded.

“I’m afraid there’s no amount of money that’ll persuade Chang to provide the furniture for the entire facility but I will ask her next time I see her just in case. As I understand it the crèche facility is close to but no longer connected to Meh’Lindi’s lair. The sole entrance is through a telephone kiosk in the street outside Meh’Lindi’s bar and grill, which is very secret agent but not quite what you want for a legitimate business operation like this. Or maybe you do. Depending on your own preferences I think your first step would be to procure the property in and around that – fake – kiosk and build a shop front.

“The crèche itself is pretty operational. It’s all structurally sound, it’s equipped well enough to house about thirty parents at once. Now what you really need are clients. I can put you in touch with Terats who’d like to meet you, my connections outside the Teragen aren’t so good I’m afraid. I know a guy who knows a guy, though, who can get you in touch with some fringe Utopian elements. As I understand it you’re in pretty tight with the Aberrants already, or you’re making overtures of your own. Either way it’s likely to be an easy thing.

“Really it depends on what you want to do. If all you want to do is make babies, then all you need are connections. If you want to do something else with this place… well, it gets more complex. Is this a job to you, or is this the thing that will define your life going forward? Is this something you do to give a little back to the world, or is it something you do because you can’t fathom doing anything else? I know how Chang is, she’d probably like it were option two, but that doesn’t mean it’s so. Talk to me. Tell me what you want to do here, and then I can tell you how to do it.”

[z023]

Sakura closed her eyes and considered what he'd said very carefully. The part about living in Japan had caught her a little, her heartbeat and breath elevating from a moment of childhood panic, but she pushed it aside. He was saying important things, and even more, asking important questions.

Why do I want to do this?

Before, it had just been what she'd done. Redressing some of the cruelties of chance and, she knew now, human fear. Then had come the motherhunters and the Congo and meeting Chang. The crèche had started as another safe place for her own children, and then also for the children and families of other novas being hunted because they weren't baselines. She knew she'd gotten caught up in the excitement of having something useful to do again and something she could do for one of her few friends in the world. That wasn't enough now. Now was when the real work, the long-term you-could-do-this-for-as-long-as-you-live work. Or it could just be something she finished starting and then handed to someone else to run while she just dropped in to share her gift as needed.

Her hands played over her womb. I know why I want to do this. Because people, nova or baseline, should be able to have families. To have children and love them and raise them.

Okay, so how much of my life do I want to give to that?

"I...I think...I think that this is really important to me, but I have two other things that are also really important to me. The Body Shop, the company Cyndi helped me set up, and the work I've started with the Tiresias Foundation, I want to do that too. Not just make babies, but also make people lives better with all of the other things I can do beyond just fertility and conception. And the other project...I've been making plants, tree-like amalgamations. They're as big as buildings now...some of them are even being used as buildings. There are variations I'm making to be living arcology starships and terraforming templates. I want to work on that as well." She glanced over at him, biting her lip in thought. "I have all this power, these gifts, and I want to help. Each of those projects, they help, but....Do you think I can do all of that without making each project suffer because I'm not dedicated completely to one of them? I have to sleep, not as much as baselines, but I can't go 24/7 like a lot of novas. And I'll have the children to take care of once they're born, too."

[WhiteRain]

Darion leaned back in his seat. Dressed in formal or business wear he would have cut the perfect look of an executive considering a proposition. He was aiming for more of a concerned but friendly look, though. His data on Sakura suggested she would find it more amenable. Seemed he’d guessed right, too.

It was quite hard to avoid getting lost in her beauty. She was one of those truly unearthly creatures that made looking at them so pleasant that looking at anything else was like having your eyeballs scraped with razors. But unlike most other Novas, Darion was better equipped to protect himself from the mixture of pheromones and raw quantum want-me that she was projecting. Plus he spent several hours meditating in advance.

When she finished talking, he took a moment to actually process everything she’d said. He nodded and rested his hands in his lap, letting himself settle down again. Pretty voice, he thought, and his voice sounded a bit fogged even in his own mind. Bleurgh. ‘Pretty voice’. Me Darion, me have cave. Come now to Darion’s cave pretty hair/voice woman. Uga buga. Ah, that’s better. There’s nothing like a bit of self-disgust to clean the psychological palette.

He nodded, hiding his thoughts, and took a few more moments to think through what she said. “I’d say you might be reaching too far, yes. The problem is really that you’re proposing three different projects only made possible by your abilities, but you don’t want to invest fully in any of them. Might even be you can’t because you’ll be a mother soon, and you intend to be the best mother you can be. Can you really take your kids to work at all three of your jobs?”

Sakura gave a wan smile. “They’re all very personal jobs, though.”

Darion nodded. “That’s true. You’re a very personable woman. That has problems of its own, though. Once there are Novas using the crèche you’ll be regularly interacting with other mothers, fathers, and children. Are you detached enough that at no point will you feel as though their problems are your problems? That’s the problem with being a nice person in a world of people who need help, and contrary to popular opinion Novas need help too. The people coming to you won’t know the first thing about being parents. Most Terats go off, have sex with Bounty and that’s it. She has the baby, it’s raised by Mal and Scripture and her. The ones coming to you are going to be diving into a scary, scary world, and the only people they can turn to for advice are those three people, you – who’ll be nearest to hand on a regular basis – and me, who only raised a baseline child. And even that didn’t get too far.” His mouth hardened for a moment as he remembered his son’s mutilated body. How’s that for irony; I end up helping other Terats have kids when it was Terats who murdered my kid and I murdered theirs in retaliation. There was something a little absurd about it, now that he considered the circumstances in all their glory. “If they turn to you for help, will you turn them away? And if you don’t, their problems become yours… and I think you can extrapolate the horrors from thereon out.”

Sakura didn’t seem sure of how to answer. Though the way she was looking at him suggested she was reading plenty into that lip twitch.

Well, it’s not like you didn’t expect it. “Anyway, my point is that you can see how this job can spiral out of control. Proteus is still around. Those parents are going to be scared, and that’s before their kid starts causing earthquakes every time they’re burped. Realistically you’re going to come under some form of attack before long. Heck you already have, for which I apologize on behalf of the entire Teragen and Scrambler who hasn’t the class to do it himself. You’ll need to be vigilant, or you’ll need to find someone else who’ll be vigilant on your behalf, preferably twenty four seven. Given your personal skills, that might not be hard. But unfortunately you want to take no side and play no part. It’s a tough line to walk.”

Sakura gave a grave nod. “I know.”

“No you don’t.” Darion said it coldly, but with utmost honesty. “Everyone says ‘I know how complicated X issue is’ when you try to tell them, but until they’re there, in the middle of it, they don’t have a goddamn clue. You and I both know that the issue of Nova fertility is the issue of our time. And you, Sakura, are the solution. Whether or not you wanted to be, whether or not you feel like you are, that’s what your powers make you, and there will be meteoric pressure on you from multiple angles to make this the focus of your life. Some of it will be from people desperate to have the family they thought they could never have. Some of it will be from people who want to kill you to prevent that from happening. And some of it will be from people who mean the best in the world for you, who are terrified that someone will indeed kill you, and the Nova race won’t be one again.” He went quiet for a time after that.

Sakura’s gaze gained strength then, and she sat more upright. “People have tried to kill me already, mr. Mográine. I know it’s serious, and I know what I’m getting into.”

He raised a hand. “I’m not saying you’re naïve, and I’m not questioning your intelligence. All data on you suggests you outstrip me significantly on that score, and I hope you get mileage out of it. All I’m saying is that the crèche is going to be far more important to the world at large right now than your other projects. It’s also going to be the one that’s in danger. If you don’t at least put in some focus at the start, it will be destroyed. Nobody gives a crap about terraforming other worlds. You announce that, everyone will jump with joy and throw money at you, or they’ll shrug and ignore it completely. Who doesn’t like the idea of living on Mars? Over-population is still an issue, and terraforming’s been in the news ever since the Daedalus League was formed. I’ve no doubt they’ll back you up, and I have some contact numbers if you want to get in touch with them. Your Body Shop will most likely be a steady source of revenue and while you’ll get protest groups and some pressure, nobody’s going to kill you over it unless you start merging people into flesh and bone monstrosities. I assume you don’t intend to do that?”

“No!”

“Good. So that leaves you with one non-contentious issue, one semi-contentious issue, and one that is going to instantly make you powerful enemies. I won’t have the Chang talk. I know she’s talked to you about this. But I also know you have powerful allies. So I would suggest you either seek out a completely independent number of Novas to help you staff and protect the crèche, or engage the assistance of those factions whom you don’t want to ally with and try to get their support, and risk all the difficulty that comes with such negotiations. I believe Chang let you into the Teragen network a little so you could read up on our rather chequered – by which I mean violent – history with the Aberrants?”

Sakura nodded. “It’s pretty disheartening. I always thought it was so petty. I still do think it’s pretty petty. But I understand why everybody’s angry. I had no idea about what happened to Caroline.”

“Indeed. Imagine if it was one of your best friends that happened to, and then a couple of years later one of the rats who caused it to happen comes running to you begging for help. You’d probably listen because you’re a kindly person. Not everyone is so inclined, especially those with a strong sense of justice.”

“Most of the Teragen wanted to, though. It was just that a few of you weren’t willing. It’s so stupid.”

“Sakura meet Geryon, Geryon meet Sakura. Caroline might be able to soothe things a little if she ever speaks out on the subject but thus far she hasn’t and honestly I doubt she’s going to. There’s a flipside, though: if you want a stalwart protector for this place, you’ll find none better than James Booth. He’s fertile himself and has fatherhood issues due to measures we’ve taken to try and resolve the Nova breeding population. Up to you if you want to take the risk, but you can be assured if there’s an issue he’ll take it outside. He’s not a madman, just a stand-up Terat who doesn’t back down on his beliefs. Ever. After meeting Chang, I’m sure you can understand both the ups and downs of that mentality. If you pursue Geryon, obviously André Corbin is out, but as far as I know nobody in the Teragen has any particular issues with Sophia Rousseau. Well, she’s annoyingly enigmatic but we can hardly complain while we have sir cape-a-lot hanging over us.”

She blinked at him several times, and looked like she might laugh. “Do you mean… Mal?”

Darion gave a wink and a smile.

[z023]

Scars might never heal, but they do stop hurting. That echoed in her mind, finding it's way down to the wounds of her heart. She wondered when that would be true for her. Perhaps he could show her how, but that wasn't the topic at hand.

And sometimes is doesn't. He'd had a child.

She set the painful thoughts and memories aside. They were neither here nor there for the topic at hand; her brow furrowed as she thought over his assessment. He was right; the crèche would need the most of her time and the most resources if it was going to be successful. The Body Shop was pleasant and she'd wrapped up her work with the Tiresias Foundation into it, at as suggestion from Cyndi for it to be a charity tax break for the company. And the ships, the work with Star....The systems she was creating were well on their way to needing testing on an actual non-Terrestrial environment; the uses Earth-side were pretty much all put in place, with alterations needed only in specific situational needs. She'd need to finish the growth catalyst to allow her to step away from power-growing the trees herself, as well as few other static microbes for balancing the whole system and tying it all together for self-sufficiency at nearly every level...but much of everything else was already integrated and ready to go with her from now on.

How to make it all work, though? She didn't want to abandon projects that others were depending on her for, but she also knew she'd need to give the crèche her primary focus or step away from it as anything other than a power-donor.

The treeships....Star needs time to work on the physics of all of that anyways. I can still take time to learn what she's teaching me, but I think I can safely put that project in the "personal hobby" list and still do it justice. She's got Exalt! Japan and the Congo post and her personal life to look to as well, so I think we can both handle a slower pace there without feeling like we're abandoning it.

She chewed on her lip, her mind working furiously to find just the right way to balance things so that she could do what she needed to and what she wanted to. And after a few minutes of silence, and elegant solution presented itself. She smiled at Darion, hoping he would like it as well. "The shopfront, to replace the superhero-phonebooth....why don't we make that the physical location of the Body Shop? It can serve as the known location for my business, as well as masking the entrance to the crèche. High security there, and lots of people coming and going all the time would be expected, given the nature of my work and the level of clientele many of my offered services would garner. And the other project....there's a lot that has to be done by others, those who know a lot more about space travel and physics than I do, before it can much farther anyways. I can spend less time on that, make it a hobby I do to relax than my main 'job' in the world..."

"How does that sound? I know I haven't really said anything about how I'll deal with getting involved with the other parents and families, but I don't know. I won't until I'm there and then we'll just have to deal with however it turns out." She bit her lip again, but her voice was resolute. "And this is my rule: I will meet with anyone, with proper security, who applies for fertility and conception treatments. Baseline, independent nova, Terat, Aberrant, Utopian, anyone. The existence of this crèche will not be made known to them unless I, Chang....and you, approve. I may not like the politics and the vitriol, but I know I can't just ignore them because of that. As the Body Shop generates revenue, other crèches, safehouses here on Earth and places made habitable off-planet by other efforts, can be made and made available on a less strict basis. Everyone should have a place to raise their children in safety and," her expression was annoyed but resigned, "since people can't seem to get along because of history or zealotry, then we'll just have to make multiple homes. Maybe in time the children can learn to be better than than their elders."

[WhiteRain]

Darion nodded, mulling over the idea.

“Enough years in the Teragen will make anyone paranoid, so in respect to that I’ll have to be hesitant and say that sticking the Crèche and Bodyshop next door to each other – so to speak – is incredibly dangerous. The issue I’m having is that you’re known. I mean, you were attacked by Proteus once. So they know for sure that you’re capable of impregnating other Novas? Or was it just because you were pregnant?”

“I think it was just because I was pregnant. I don’t know what they know about me.”

Darion nodded. Seems a bit more reasonable, then. “Well, if they don’t have a full profile on you then it might work. Let your more… uh… controversial work fly under the radar while you do your Bodyshopping. Ibiza’s a good town for it, too. So many Novas about that a swanky, classy, Nova-operated body alteration joint could fit smoothly into the landscape. Best of all, you could get a deal going with Meh’Lindi to get discount coupons.”

Sakura giggled. “I don’t know her that well. She looks scary from a distance.”

Darion waved her off. “She’s a sweetie. Bit bitey though. Get her to go human if you find her intimidating, or just don’t like craning your neck at a ninety degree angle to talk to her. Amazing cook. Most Harvesters eat raw, but she told me that she has no need of food, so it falls into the category of either comfort food, or pleasurable activity. If it’s either of those then it’s only logical to get the best taste experience she can. Makes sense to me.

“Anyway, it’s your call. If you think that you’re not being watched, that your enemies don’t know what you can really do, then yes that sounds workable. It’d also combine two of your jobs into one and that would certainly make your life easier. If you think you are being watched, I recommend switching to Darion’s patented survival technique number two.”

“What’s that?” There was another of those little smiles on her face. It seemed to him she was warming to his presence. That was good. And tingly.

“Assume that your enemies take killing you as seriously as you take staying alive, and go from there. Hasn’t failed yet.”

“That sounds very reasonable,” she said. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure. You may find this an odd suggestion, but when it comes to approval conditions I’d recommend cutting Chang out of the loop. Hear me out on this one,” he said, holding up his hand. She had that look people often got when you suggested not trusting Chang Zha-Yang. The woman was infectious like that. “Chang’s a lovely woman. Hell she’s my boss. But she’s very honest. And when it comes to incredibly secret operations that could get someone killed if they’re known about, honesty suddenly looks like less of a virtue than it normally is. There’s a flipside to this, but follow me on this scenario and see what you think.

“Let’s say Nova A and Nova B want to have kids.” Darion fetched a pair of pencils from a nearby holder, and stroked them against one another. “Oh yes, there’s some rubbing going on. Nova A and Nova B, with Sakura’s special quantum medicine, manage to produce a rather straight, pointy and suspiciously clone-like child.” He slapped the table in just the right way so the tremors focused under the stationary tray, launching a third pencil into the air for him to catch. He lodged all three pencils in the fingers of one hand.

“Now, during their non-Crèche time, the eeeeeevil Project Pencil Sharpener gets wind of this unheard of occurrence.” He rapped his knuckles on the table, causing a large rotary pencil sharpener to bounce into the air just high enough for him to catch it. He moved it around in the air like a space ship hovering around the poor, defenceless pencil family in his other hand. “PPS know that Nova A and Nova B cannot have pencilly children due to their hijinx, and they get mightily suspicious as to how this happened. They’ll start to follow our intrepid heroes, of course, and sooner or later they’re going to join the dots and figure out that the trail leads to Ibiza. At that point it just becomes common sense to try and get what you can out of Chang.”

Darion looked at himself, then at Sakura. “You know, where I ended up made a lot less sense than where I started.” He put the pencils and sharpener back down. “I think it’s the kid talk making me do the play act. Or temporary insanity. Regardless, please don’t tell anyone I did that because I’ll never hear the last of it.”

Sakura put on a very serious face and held two fingers to her breast. “On my heart, your secret dies with me.”

“Good thing. It’s a risk, is my point. I have an instinct towards minimizing risks at every turn. I could of course be completely underestimating Chang, which you’d think would be impossible but I’m sure we do it anyway, let alone her wife. I’m safer. Nobody looks twice at me. As Novas go and especially as Terats go, I’m nobody. I’m just a guy who does bit parts in Hong Kong action movies and gets hired to do a lot of dancing gigs. Plus, while I’m not very impressive, I’m damn hard to control, read, manipulate and or cajole into doing anything I didn’t want to do anyway. This makes me a safe man to have in the loop. As always, it’s your call. I’m here strictly speaking as an advisor, though I do have other talents if you need them. Like miming with pencils.”

[z023]

She shook her head, "No, about Proteus, they know what I can do now. If they watch TV at all, at least. And any other of the groups that are out there. I've had to change my OpMail address three times now because I keep getting death threats from the Church of Michael Archangel. They seem to think I'm the Whore of Babylon." There wasn't anger in her voice, just a soft sadness and even a touch of pity. Her cheeks pinked a little, "And there's this group that seems to think I'm the incarnation of Gaia or Mother Nature or something. It's not all that coherent, but the OpMails were....nice, flattering, at first, but they kept getting weirder, so I've been avoiding them too."

She considered his other points, watching the pencils with a little smile. He was good at putting her at ease, which was very much appreciated right now. "Well, then we could set up The Body Shop somewhere else in Ibiza and....maybe hire some warpers that we trust to move anyone that comes in for fertility treatments that wants to live in the crèche or coming to us for safety from being hunted to the actual crèche. We could build a private club over the actual entrance, maybe? Make it look like another exclusive nova club, like the Rainbow Room, but restrict it to an invite-only membership? That way people coming in and out, even the same people, wouldn't look odd and we could even make the above-ground portion usable for the Anavasi so it's not just residents and staff of the crèche coming and going. And the warpers, they could move residents from place to place if they wanted to leave Ibizia for excursions, too. We just need to have enough trustworthy people on hand to make it viable."

"And Chang....I don't want her to feel like she'd getting pushed out of this, you know?" She pulled her eyes up to his, her expression concerned. "We had a bad fight about things after Scrambler attacked...I don't want to - to make her feel like that again. You've known her longer, so I'll trust what you say about it, I just..." She trailed off, plucking on of her blossoms from her and fiddling with. "Part of it too is that she's very good at reading people and getting to the truth of their motivations. I want that. I want to help, but I don't want to make children that are going to be abused or just plain used for their power by the people that should be loving and caring for them."

She smiled, a bit of the mischevious in her look that belied the innocent sweetness that usually so easily beguiled those around her; the scent of cherry blossoms having finally filled the office. If he closed his eyes, he could almost feel like he was walking the streets of the temples in Kyoto during the spring again. Her tone matched the sweet-but-mischievous quality as her smile, honeyed and teasing, "And since you're offering, what are these other talents that you're offering up? Beyond the pencil miming, I mean. Though I'll keep that in mind, especially once the children start filling up the crèche. You'd make quite the sitter, I'd think."

[WhiteRain]

Darion grinned. “Oh, no, you’re not locking me down on that. I had a kid of my own, remember. I know how much work children take. Try that on some other sucker. Plenty of Novas who are too honourable to back out once they’ve made a deal but have no conception of what a Nova baby is like. I’ve visited The Nursery a few times. I’ve seen it. The horror,” he said, “the horror.”

Sakura gave him a sulky looking pout.

“Joking, joking,” Darion said, holding up his hands defensively. “Really I’m just going to be busy. You were at the meeting and you know the role I fill now. Doing go-between work for two hundred Novas or so gets taxing.”

She nodded. “I understand. You did a good job keeping everyone in order. People seem to really listen to you.”

Darion shrugged. “Giving orders is really just about having a straighter spine than everyone else in the room. Artists aren’t used to being ordered about, but they’ll jump to like anyone else if you shout loud enough. Speaking of which, as I said about Chang, it’s your call. You know she won’t be offended and trust me everyone gets into a fight with Chang sooner or later. She can be very abrasive at times, especially concerning matters she has strong opinions on. But can’t we all? What Chang wants is for the crèche to succeed. This isn’t about her being able to crow to everyone else about how she’s saving the Nova race. It’s about making sure that you are able to do that in safety. You think you upset her by saying nasty things? Imagine how much more upset she’ll be if something goes wrong because of her. I don’t disagree with your assessment of her. She’s extremely good at getting a read on people. I think you’re probably better, given how much you like to hide behind your often doe-eyed and placid exterior. You’d have died years ago if you weren’t a lot more capable than you let on, and a whole hell of a lot more cunning. As I said, though, I just want you to understand all the factors before you make your choice. I’m here as your advisor, that’s my job. I don’t take the decisions for you, but I inform the ones you make as best I can.”

Sakura smiled at him, and he felt his heart melt a little bit. “I appreciate that, really. You seem to be really professional. I’ll think about it. What about my club idea?”

“It’s good, but it could do with some tweaks. Nobody blinks twice at clubs in Ibiza. We’re the Nova party capital of the world after all. Just make sure it’s not obviously Terat-associated and you’ll be fine. A lot of The Anavasi who live here now will probably be moving out of Ibiza once we’re set up in the Exalt! Nation, so that should help you fly right under the radar. I don’t think a Nova-exclusive club is a good idea though, and would recommend having a mostly baseline audience with Novas turning up as and when or on invite. That way you don’t even get noticed by the Rainbow Room crowd, and when Novas who know what you’re really all about turn up you’re even safer.”

Sakura frowned. “But isn’t it a huge security risk to have baselines everywhere?” She grimaced a little, as if she hated talking this way. “Well, you know what I mean. More people, more places to hide.”

“Yes, but if you open a Nova-exclusive, invite-only club, what do you think is going to be the first thing everyone does?”

Sakura let out a grown. “Investigate the invitees.”

“Got it in one. And once that process is begun you end up a hop, skip and a jump away from learning that x suspiciously pencil-shaped Nova has been having fatherhood worries for years and might have a solution. Not everybody you invite is going to be smart enough to keep their happiness hidden, or smart enough to know when someone they think’s their friend is fishing for answers on behalf of Project Douchebag. You want public attention, honey, you got it. But that means Proteus and all those other people who want you dead – and I’m pretty sure they have TVs – are going to be watching you like a hawk. An open club like this, though? Nobody’s going to look twice. Well, maybe twice. But they’re not going to assume you’re hiding the entrance to the crèche here and anyone who tries to snoop that far is likely to get caught. You’ll then have all kinds of interesting methods to dispose of them. The Rainbow Room is run by the world’s official gayest man, so it’s glitz and glamour personified. Vance wants everyone to watch and want. You, on the other hand, are seeking the exact opposite.”

Sakura leaned forward, the picture of consideration. But now her lips curved in a perfect smile. “And those other talents of yours?”

Darion laced his fingers and leaned onto the desk. “Let’s just say I’ve been around the block a few times. I’ve picked up bits of everything over the years. Engineering, various sciences, demolitions, fought in a war or two, killed some folks. Not all of its good, but it’s available for a price. These days I make myself useful mostly by knowing as many people as possible and listening in as much as I can. Nobody gets upset at the man who gives them phone numbers. It’s a peaceful life. If you want information on just about anyone, I can probably get it for you inside forty-eight hours or even faster if it’s not something hidden. I also look great on people’s arms as a date to a party. It’s the hair.” He gestured, in case she missed it. “Very shiny under ballroom lights. Oh, and I can do bitchin’ martial arts scenes in the movies.”

[z023]

She smiled again and murmured, "It is very nice hair." I will not try to touch his hair. I will not try to touch his hair. Work. I'm working. She managed to keep her hands under control and focus her mind on the task at hand, but as usual, the delicate medley of smells that bloomed from the blossoms in her hair and off her skin betrayed her less-than-professional emotions.

"Mmm...then for now I'll take your advice, on Chang. She's going to have a bunch to do anyways with the Anavasi." She propped herself up on the couch and drummed her fingers on her womb, thinking. "About the club...what about making it where the very nature of the club is distracting?"

Darion quirked a brow at her. "What do you mean?"

"Like a bondage club or a swingers club? Or even a regular "gentleman's" or burlesque like club with "special membership" for various....appetites." She blushed as she spoke, but kept going. "An open club, but with several different levels of membership, from a walk-in that pays a door fee to platinum VIP whatever memberships. We could set it up so that higher memberships have greater access to the building, and that would help mask the area that we're using for the crèche entrance. Also, most media interest is going to be on who's doing what with who and which toys than on looking into the club for anything else. We can hide the people using the crèche across the various memberships so that they can come and go from the club easily and they won't be clumped awkwardly together if someone does manage to get the membership files."

She took a breath and gave a small shrug, "People might look twice at a club like that, even in Ibiza, but they won't be looking twice in the right way."

[WhiteRain]

She’s… into me, Darion realized with a start. He had already given an elegant flick of his head before he could properly process the thought. His hair flew and then settled down around his shoulders once again, with a hefty strand of it down his chest over his left shoulder. His shirt felt rather hot all of a sudden. Oh yes, Darion. Very classy. Saying that, it took less than that to seduce the last Nova I really went for so maybe I’m being too self-critical. He studied her, masking it under his thinking face. She is a lovely shade of green.

Her talk of bondage and appetites did not make him feel any better. In fact it probably made him feel considerably worse. But ‘worse’ was rapidly becoming a subjective, vague descriptor that contained no information. Indeed it was a near non-sequitor. After all, he was feeling ‘worse’ insofar as his level of attraction was growing, but nothing bad was inherent to that feeling. It was quite nice in truth. He preferred it greatly to the towering heights of vengeful rage and grief which drove him for most of a decade to hunt and murder those who killed his family.

However there were severe issues of professionalism at stake, and in that case he was distinctly feeling worse. He glanced down. Holy Christ I wrote my phone number. She’s already got my fucking phone number. Darion calmly moved his elbow to cover the sheet of note paper. This is my ‘not thinking of this ludicrously beautiful woman in bondage’ face. Fear the power of this face. Many women have been the opposite of impressed by this face.

“I like your club idea. It’s got legs. And toys. It’s disreputable and slightly scandalous and exactly the opposite of your actual plan. Love it. If you want to maintain the Chang connection you can always invite a couple of Lucrezia. She’s famous for being a stripper and pole dancer, but she’s also an enthusiastic and very sexy dominatrix.” It occurred to him that he sounded altogether too certain about that. “Or so the legend goes.”

Sakura smiled at him. There is evil behind that smile, Darion thought. Evil that puts the idea of this woman in bondage in my mind.

“Anyway,” he said, “Lucrezia has the advantage that slipping a trick on her is practically impossible and she’s one of the best at pretending to be the opposite of what she is. In other words she can pretend to be a sexy baseline dancer or low-powered Nova as opposed to a second generation Terat who’s in love with and married to a member of the Pantheon. Boy, people get red in the face if they find out about that mistake. If. Oh, and I suspect she can handle burlesque, too.”

[z023]

Sakura laughed. "Legend. Uh huh," she teased. But even as she laughed, he could see the depths of calculation in her eyes. Not directed at him, but thinking about the topic at hand. "That's a really good idea, actually. Lucrezia would get a kick out it, I think, and she's really really good at knowing what's going on in a place. A star attraction and another security measure all in one."

She tapped a finger to her chin, looking somehow both innocent and utterly evil at the same time. "I like the burlesque idea for the main, walk-in area. Mmm....I miss dancing. I mean, I still can, but it's mostly comic relief at this point. After the children are born....maybe I could dance in the burlesque show sometimes? Except that I can't really hide who I am. I'm not a 'shifter and the green lips and flowers everywhere pretty much give me away. I can change my skin-tone, though. And wear a wig, maybe? And make-up? It does sound really fun. What do you think? Mmm, maybe Lucrezia could give me tips. On how to make a disguise and how to dance...."

"Sorry, getting distracted." She waved her hand, trying to clear her mind. Which was getting a little difficult. Stay focused. Stop flirting, because now he's making it harder to stay focused and that is your fault. Remember what happened with Darrik?

Mmm...quite. And this one doesn't have two pregnant girlfriends in the wing.

Wor-king.

We are never going to get laid again at this rate. When did we become such a prude?

I am not a prude. I'm trying to work - be professional, y'know?

Pft. Professional. Our job is sex and babies and we're putting together a glorified titty club. Get laid. It's practically a business plan at this point.

Shut up!

See? We'd have so much less tension if you'd just jump the gorgeous guy with the great hair. Or the king. Ooh, or both! Think they'd do a threesome?

I hate you. So much.

You'd love me if we were getting laid....

Her argument with her libido didn't register on her face, though she did fidget a little on the couch and resettle herself. She smiled at Darion, desperately hoping he wasn't a closet telepath. "So, sexy sex-club over the entrance, and another building somewhere in Ibiza for The Body Shop." I can't believe I just said it that way...moving on! "The crèche will be my top priority, at least for now - we can reassess once things are up and running - and then The Body Shop for revenue so we can build more crèches, and then the treeships because I have a lot of fun with them and Star and I have already put so much work into them. So, we'll need to talk to Lucrezia and Cyndi; she's been handling my money so far. What's next? Um, you said you get a hold of people in the Teragen that want kids....perhaps we could start the interviews and find out who's going to want to use the crèche and who just wants fertility treatments?" She bit her lip in thought, "Anything else? Any other ideas, issues, or just things that haven't been brought up yet?

[WhiteRain]

Darion considered. He wanted to magic something up in part to just be around her, but his brain was drawing a blank. “No, I think that’s plenty to be getting busy on. It’s a solid scheme, you know where you’re going and the steps you’ll need to take to accomplish it. Lucrezia’s very good at disguise even without using her considerable shapeshifting tricks. She should be able to help you out.

“I’ll draw up a preliminary list of possible Terats, send out feelers, see who answers. I know of at least three who are likely to jump at the chance, and if a couple succeed and have joy out of it then there’ll be others. One I know will just want fertility, the other two are more likely to want to use the Crèche but you can’t be sure. If we’re done here I can go and get to that straight away.”

Part of him really hoped he wasn’t done here. Part of him felt he really needed to be.

[z023]

"Tell about the three? Your opinions and their situations? You're right, a couple of successes right off the bat really will help things get going." She gave him a tiny shrug, "I have to admit, though, I'm kinda nervous. This is much larger than the clinic Caroline and I set up...more permanent. Just a little, and then we can set up the meetings? The one that just wants fertility, we could just meet somewhere....the process only takes a couple of seconds. The others...the crèche isn't completely ready yet, what with the Superman booth and all, but we could start getting to know them. Well, me getting to know them since you already do."

She bit her lip and fiddled with the flower again. "Look, I know you've got a lot to do with the Anavasi stuff, everyone does, but....could I ask you stick around a bit? I could use a perspective on all of this that isn't...." She sighed. "Lucrezia and Shiv and everyone I've been working with are great, but they're....entangled with Chang in a way that you don't seem to be. You said it yourself. She's your boss. Everyone else would have said something else. Friend, lover, wife, mentor....they treat her like she's some Teragen prophet of wisdom. And that's fine, but...it'd be nice to have a friend that's not so... enamored of her. That will see her...more clearly."

She huffed at herself in annoyance. "This isn't coming out right, but you know what I mean, don't you? I need help, and Chang and the others will help, but it's all biased in certain ways. And you seem different, and that could keep us all from making mistakes that get us and the families killed. Will...will you stick around for a bit with this?"

[WhiteRain]

Darion chuckled. Sakura was pushing the Chang button a bit. He shook his head. “Enamoured… yes I suppose so. But isn’t the way with all leaders? You hang around with Einherjar in the Congo. Is he any different? The guy’s surrounded by toadies and worshippers even if they don’t use the word to describe themselves. Do you discount those opinions because they’re biased, or take them as a measure of the person they hold them about? Me I try to take a little from column A and a little from column B. As for Chang, if she’s not a Teragen prophet of wisdom then what is she? It wasn’t your idea to build the Crèche, now was it?”

Sakura shook her head.

“Chang has done a lot for those closest to her, and she has genuine vision. The vision’s the important part, the ability to see outside the box and the guts to actually push for it. You have no idea how dangerous this whole endeavour could have been for her, or how much she could have lost. She gives so much of herself and asks for nothing in return. Even this whole ‘Mirror Queen’ thing was done by Shiv, and Chang resisted it for the longest time. She never wanted to break away from Narcosis, either, never thought of herself as a leader. Yet she’s managed to quietly inspire close on two hundred Terats to pack up their collective gear and set up camp around her. She did a lot for me, too.” He remembered that figure she made for him, the warrior who put his sword down.

They were quiet for a time after that. Sakura didn’t seem quite sure what to say or it could be she felt it was better to let him talk than to interrupt. Darion wrestled with his own mixed feelings for nearly a minute before finding something like a coherent thought.

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘different’ if I’m honest. Yes, I call her my boss. I haven’t said that about another Nova in over ten years. Maybe it’s just another word for the same thing. But what I like about her most is that she says she wants us to be ourselves as best as we can be and means it. That’s what this is all about to her. Putting you on your feet in a way that helps everybody, giving more freedom to the Nova race to live as… god intended?”

Sakura nodded. “Or something. Who knows where we come from? Gaia, maybe,” she smiled at him then.

“Ah yes, why don’t you tell us why you created Novas?”

“I woke up very confused one day,” Sakura said, and nodded firmly.

Darion laughed again. I can do worse than devote some free time to helping out around here, I suppose. “People like you, like Chang, like Einherjar… there’s no such thing as a clear perspective. Everyone’s got a bias. But hell, maybe the fact I know that puts me above the ones that don’t. If you want me…” he nodded. “Yeah, okay. You can call on my help if you need it. Understand that my Anavasi duties take priority though, simply because I am a man of honour and I owe Chang a lot. She helped me out of a dark place one time, back when I felt like I’d never climb out. I’m sure that at least makes sense.”

Sakura gave him a very understanding, sympathetic smile. “I like her, too. So yeah, I understand. Really I just think I gave the wrong impression. It was you who told me not to talk to her, anyway!” She pouted at him a little then, though her glowing green eyes were sparkling. “I think I probably like her more than you do.”

Darion inclined his head. “You never know.”

She went back to her business face. “So who are these three Terats you have in mind?”

“Ah yes, hang on.” Darion opened his right hand and held it over his jeans pocket. With a TK surge he yanked his DA out of the pocket and pulled it up into his grip. Without skipping a beat he tossed it overhand and caught it in his left then hit the button to boot it up.

The small device clicked and unfolded before thrumming up. It accepted his fingerprint and password and moved to his OS. For the background he chose a picture of his wife and daughter. Normally he went for more esoteric pictures since he didn’t want anyone to know who he had been married to in case they put two and two, then three and four together and realized what he had done way back when.

He booted up the first file. “Well, first up is Hedron. Hedron is the man to go to if you’re after a Chang bitching session. You will have seen and heard him at the Anavasi meeting trying very unsuccessfully to stir up a kids revolution and stick Puck and Darrik at the head of the Anavasi. He cares enough about the issue that he’s now quit and gone back to the Pandaemonion. He feels all the elders – Chang included – are out of touch and that only the next generation of Terats can really lead the way. Hence his blatantly idiotic plan of putting Darrik and Puck in charge. Nice fella aside from that though. Bit rocky. Sandstone usually. He’s been jonesing to have a big strapping Terat baby boy for years, as you might expect with those beliefs. Since he lives in Ibiza, he’s a lock to use the Crèche if he doesn’t pack the kid off to the Nursery. I think he can easily be convinced to try fatherhood himself. He’s a prideful man and Chang’s little speech about fatherhood being a true trial by fire and how Terats run screaming from the challenge will provoke him to try and prove her wrong. In other words, he’ll want to do it himself. Sounds like a win-win for you.”

Sakura nodded and made thoughtful noises.

Darion used his thumb to flip across to the next file and quickly boiled down the ludicrously detailed information to a more useful proportion. Sakura probably didn’t need to know what the Terats ate for breakfast. Next up we have Darkchylde and Karine Carstein – no Nova appellation on the latter – who have a theory if not blind desperate hope that gender is not a barrier to Nova breeding. They’re an Anavasi pair, and old friends of Shiv’s from her Primacy days. Darkchylde and Karine are both still fighters, though, and heavily associated with Vigilance. The Crèche will make sense to both of them as a place to keep their kid. No way they’ll want to give it up to Bounty. Besides, they listen to Shiv and Shiv listens to Chang, so I suspect they’d be guilted into trying parentage themselves.”

He thumbed across one more time.

“And finally we come to Puppetmittens.”

Sakura blinked rapidly. “I’m sorry, did you say… Puppetmittens?”

Darion nodded, without so much as smirking. “Puppetmittens. He ended up with that appellation because the cooler variants were already taken and he refused to compromise. All he’ll likely want from you is fertilization treatment. He’s a dominator and despite his hilarious name he’s very rich and well connected. I don’t know if he can keep his kid safe on his own, but he’s a reasonable candidate for a man who can and he’s clever enough to know how to keep such a secret. He also has a fondness for cats.”

[z023]

Sakura laid her hand out and a tendril of her silk snaked across the room and wrapped around the pillar of the chair that let it adjust up and down. A gentle but insistent tugging pulled it over to the couch where she could peer at around him at the summary files he had pulled up on his OpPhone. She studied each of them, Puck's stinging words about the negligence and abuse of his own parents and the difference at the Nursery still ringing in her ears.

She glanced up at Darion. "You think they'll make good parents? Not just keeping their children safe, but really caring for them?"

He nodded. "I wouldn't have brought them up otherwise. Consider me your first line of screening. You made it pretty clear what you're willing and not willing to do at the meeting."

"Does..." Her brows knit as she frowned. "Does that make me like Bounty? Is Puck right?"

Darion took a breath, but answered truthfully. "A little, yeah. But that's just how it is. Puck is also right that you have some responsibility in all the lives that you help make. This screening, your rules about what you want from the parents, that's your way of being responsible. Of doing the best you can for the kids without turning the Crèche into another Nursery." He reached out and squeezed her hand, smiling at her. "Bounty...she's not a bad person. I think she's abused her position and her powers, but I also think she's done it with the best of intentions. What you're doing..." He shrugged, "You've made your rules, but you're still letting parents be parents and not locking the kids up in some Teras boot-camp. So don't beat yourself up just because you've got some morals of your own that you're holding on to."

She still seemed a little dubious, but she went back to looking at the files; she kept a hold of his hand. "Okay. Well, Hedron will either need a partner will to provide the other half of the genetic code - I can use my own DNA if he doesn't have a partner and doesn't want a clone or near-clone child. I've done that before for a few singleton parents. I can make a clone or near-clone child, but that usually just gets eerie for the parent. He'll also need someone with a womb to carry the child. That I can't do at the moment. As for the two women, that's more than simple enough; they'll just need to decide who's going to carry the child or if they both want to carry a child. And the fertility for..." she couldn't quite keep the giggle in "...Puppetmittens, it will only work for a small window of time, so he'll need an ovulating partner. If he has a partner, I can ensure her fertility at the same time."

She frowned again and looked up at Darion; he could feel the unease in the way her fingers laced with his. "You said he's a dominator....he wouldn't force a woman into this situation, would he?"

"No," the answer was sure and firm. "He's got far too much pride for that, and has enough money and influence to have dozens of women more than willing to carry his child and be a mother for the wealth, if not out of genuine love. I can't guarantee that she'll be perfect mother material, but Puppetmittens wants to be a father. He'll provide his child with everything they could ever want, including enough love for a dozen parents."

She still seemed a bit hesitant, but in the end she nodded. "Okay. ...And...I wasn't bitching about Chang. She's probably my best friend, certainly the one who's made me think the most and never let me get away with...with getting my way all the time. That was scary at first, but...I really value it now. It's just that I see how the others are around her and I worry that I could get caught up in her...she's like gravity, sometimes. Everywhere and...and...I don't want to lose my own perspective. And you seem to have kept yours around her. To...to follow her without....You know that parable, the cave one? About the shadows and the man that stepped into the light? Sometimes I feel like that, like I'm wandering around in the dark, thinking that the shadows are everything. And Chang's like the light outside....beautiful and terrifying and just plain blinding at times." She leaned her head against their hands, the tendril of silk keeping the wheeled chair from sliding away. "She showed me how much I play shadows games with others, sometimes knowing it and most of the time not really, and I just don't want to...to disappoint her - and myself - by...by losing myself in the shadows that she casts. You seem to be able to see the shadows for shadows and not get blinded by the light either."

[Quantum Fire]

End of Thread

XP: 2 Standard, 2 Baseline, 2 Nova

NOTE: Normally I'd only grant about 4 to a thread involving just 2 player characters, but some really good roleplaying and plot involvement involved here..