[Exalted Side Thread] Promises, Promises

[SalmonMax]

Kestrel sneaked back onto Dawn's Wrath.

,,

She wouldn't be able to explain why, if anyone asked. It was no more in her nature to openly stride back on board than it would be sleep with Janos, or do a jig with a Deathknight. People like Dan wore armor crafted of nanotech and hyper-advanced metamaterials. People like Kestrel wore unpredictability and secrecy much the same way. Keep friend and foe alike guessing, especially since the boundary between the two was thinner than most ever liked to think.

,,

In any event, it was easy. And fun. The mask she'd taken from the sacred trove of Renbash was snug over her face at first. Then it warmed and spread over her in a thin layer, and formed into a precise replication of one of the ship's security personnel. The actual person would be waking up any minute now, but her commbead unfortunately didn't work. Cheap mass-produced crap these days...

,,

On the Wrath she broke away from the squad and queried the ship about the wherabouts of her captain. It was a short march to his cabin.

,,

--

,,

Captain Dan Hawkins eyed the tactical assessment displays as they hovered in midair before him, spread out over most of the volume of his cabin's living area. The moon dominated most of the west wall, the manses outlined in green and yellow starbursts. Overlaid over some of them...too many of them...were rotating red triangles. Sources of power that had been corrupted by the Deathknight.

,,

Scattered in space above, creating a precise grid in high orbit, were the ships of his fleets. Janos' Lintha were further marked by a greenish lightning icon, and the local system defense ships by an iron shield icon. With a wave of his hand and a pinching gesture, he rotated the view to focus on the ships and zoomed in.

,,

Many of those yellow lozenge shapes had orange patches on them. Some had red pocks as well. Mostly the smaller ships that had been conducting screening and harassing duties, but some of the capital ships had suffered damage as well. External damage, mostly...but enough showed red to remind him that people had died, and ships were heavily and deeply injured as the cost of this 'war.'

,,

Considering the opponents, things could have been so much worse though.

,,

The intercom by his door whistled, and a female voice asked, "Captain Hawkins, this is Corporal Marisa Blanks. Permission to enter?"

,,

Dan automatically opened his door monitor in a window in the holodisplay. The soldier outside was in uniform, unarmed, and like so many in his command, a not-unattractive female. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked her over. She didn't seem to see the sensor, and was standing at attention.

,,

Paranoia? "What do you need, Corporal?" he asked.

,,

The woman nodded and looked down for a second, then said, "Sir, I...there's things on the moon I saw that..." she took a deep breath, clearly unsettled, then visibly got her shit together. "I was hoping to ask you something. They say you know things...old things."

,,

The words stirred the memories of Nova, stabbing him one more time with the realization that almost everyone who fought for him was, by his standards, not much more than a child. They didn't have the perspective he did on these things, and likely never would.

,,

Dan nodded and turned slightly away from the door, so his body would hide the now-open holster at his hip. His left hand hovered near it, also hidden.

,,

"Come on in."

,,

The door swished open, and the soldier came in and saluted crisply, then relaxed a little as Dan asked her to be at ease.

,,

"What's your question, soldier?" he asked, glancing at the tactical display quickly. Was there any information on there that enlisted shouldn't be seeing? He risked a moment to clear it away.

,,

Then Kestrel said, "Can you promise me something?"

,,

Dan's head whipped back to look. The thief was standing in the spot the corporal had been in a moment beforehand. The look on his face brought a smile to hers and she held her hands up to chest level. "Easy there," she said with a chuckle. "It's just me."

[Dan Hawkins]

"With the Lintha and a Deathknight presence in the system, it is wise to not be unprepared, even somewhere one feels safe and strong." he shrugged, even as his hand came away. "Besides you and I have not always been on the same side of the law." The last bit was lighter in tone than his first statement, A truth, but said as banter between almost friends.

,,

"You have my word Kestrel, that what is said here remains here. If I can help you in some way, I will." He gestured for her to take the other seat there, as he remained behind his desk.

,,

Nova looked at her and saw his former circlemate, and he knew he meant what he said, he'd help however he could.

[SalmonMax]

Kestrel nodded and got straight to the point.

,,

"You can help by making me a promise. The kind of promise you'll keep no matter what. Not as a Marshal, or a ship captain, or my...warden or whatever they think you are...but between you and me. Personal."

,,

Dan didn't say anything, or indicate that he'd agree, but didn't immediately deny the possibility either so Kestrel went ahead.

,,

"Promise me that no matter what happens you won't let Janos have any of the orbs. Not just to study, not to keep safe..." she started ticking fingers as she walked towards him. "...no matter what Janos says or promises or threatens, even if you have direct orders from the Marshals, or the Loom of Fate itself to do it. Don't."

[Dan Hawkins]

"Of course I'm not going to turn them over to him. I can promise you that. He worries me enough, what he's already capable of. if he ever got his hands on one, I'd be fearful of how he'd Improve it's Potency."

,,

The look in his eyes showed her he meant his promise. "He will not receive them of my hands, or any who serve under me, I promise you that Kestrel." There was some thought behind his words, she was asking alot, she had to have good reason.

"What has you asking this of me Kestrel?"

[SalmonMax]

She shrugged and looked away. "Just doing some thinking lately. The orb was down there in the vault. Among other things..." Kestrel trailed off for a second at that and chuckled at herself.

,,

"Anyway, I went over the sensor readings that came down to the moon during the battle. There were some telescopes that got good views. So I saw him scooting around in that...whatever the hell it was. And I know that thing wasn't on the Lintha ship before, which says to me that he's probably carting it around with him everywhere he goes."

,,

Kestrel got to the couch and sat down heavily.

,,

"And that got me thinking about what he's doing here, with us. It occurred to me that he's in a pretty good spot right now to say, 'Hey, good job securing that orb. I have just the talents needed to make sure it isn't damaged, or to make sure it can't be turned back on. Just leave it with me for a day or two first..."

,,

She scrubbed the back of her hand over her mouth for a second.

,,

"'Course...I don't think that's really what he's up to. But it's good policy to keep them away from him regardless."

[Dan Hawkins]

"He's also on his own ship now, not on the Wrath. There's some solace to be taken in that, even if he's now got two other Infernals with him."

,,

"I saw his Warstrider, and yes it does worry me. Thankfully Karren should be an easy match for it, should the need ever arise, Though something about it tells me it's not finished, or that it's a prototype."

,,

That was a scary thought in and of itself. "You opened the Vault, so clearly you remembered something of the previous Incarnation that walked the halls of the Moon with me."

[SalmonMax]

Kestrel grimaced.

,,

"Yeah. Spoilsport. I tried to get through it myself anyway...I think I could make it if I tried it again. But...yeah, more important that we secure that stuff than me play around with really ridiculously lethal security systems."

,,

She hesitated, then said, "Dan, there's something else I came here for. Are there...records of our old selves? From the days of the War? I mean raw records, not the sanitized stuff from public history vids."

[Dan Hawkins]

Nova nodded. "There are, but not here. I know there is one Archive core, on a world very dear to me. It details my life, and the life of my circlemates, through the war against the Intelligences, to the end of that life, for myself at least. As I've told you before, I lost track of your previous incarnation after some time, but knowing her, I'd be willing to bet heavily that she too made and kept an archive. She was privy to many secrets."

,,

"Althea, perhaps, could look as well within the Celestial Mountain. Aura too, if you ask politely." He looked at her. "Why suddenly do you wish to know about the past, yourself specifically? You've often struck me as someone who would want nothing more than total distance from any previous incarnations, to be utterly your own person."

[SalmonMax]

"Right, well, that's why I want to use records," Kestrel points out. "I want to know more, but I don't want to get it from...her. Or whatever it is these memories are coming from. I figure if I know more about her, I'll be able to tell when what I'm thinking is me, and when it's not. Right now I haven't got much of a basis for comparison, you know?"

,,

She drums her fingers on her knees and adds, "And it's not just me. I want to look up him too. Janos."

[Dan Hawkins]

Nova shook his head. "if it's true, and he was our circlemate then as well, then yes there'd be an Archive. I don't feel the connection to Janos that I do with you though, Kestrel."

,,

"When this mission is done, if the other avenues are not viable, I'll take you to the world I call my home, There perhaps, my Archive has survived, and I'll make it available to you."

,,

"In the meantime, I can tell you what I know of my circlemate."

[SalmonMax]

"You already told me some," Kestrel says, looking over at Dan. "But Janos seems like the odd one out. He wasn't 'infernal'..." she makes air quotes with her fingers at the word, "...back then, right? So what changed?"

[Dan Hawkins]

"There were no Infernals back then. Only Solars. No Deathknights, or abyssals. We Chosen of the Unconquered Sun were Undisputed masters of all. The only perversions of our power were what we would become. Drunk with power, wewere studies in extremes, and the ancient adage, "Power corrupts.""

,,

"I do not know how Infernals are made, only that at his core he bears a celesetial exaltation, as we do, just one tainted, perverted by the Yozi."

[SalmonMax]

Kestrel absorbs that and is silent for a moment, then meets Dan's eyes.

,,

"Who would know more? About the Yozis...about what they do to these exaltations, and how it changes them?"

[Dan Hawkins]

"I would imagine of those you could speak with, Janos would know the most." he knew she didn't like that answer. "Aura will be here within the day, As I've mentioned she might know something of what was done, but entities like Janos didn't exist within my time."

[SalmonMax]

"But they've existed SINCE," Kestrel stresses. "I mean, he can't be the first one ever observed. There must be a history of their abilities...people who've studied them and gathered evidence and information, drawn conclusions."

[Dan Hawkins]

I will put in a request to Marshal Command, with my ranking I should be able to get whatever information that we possess, and I'll turn it over to you, with the understanding that it remains between us. I would like to know more as well. Perhaps there may even be a way of changing him back into a solar."

[SalmonMax]

Kestrel shakes her head at that. "I'm no expert...but I don't think that'll work. He's exactly where he wants to be. Exactly what he wants to be. You can see that just from talking to him. He really thinks he's...pulling one over on them, I think. He honestly believes that he's special, and different, and that he's using THEM, not the other way around. That's what makes him so dangerous."

[Dan Hawkins]

"I could have asked him to craft something to let us fight the ghosts that remain. I hate the idea of owing him, more than I do spending the time to learn. I do not like to owe anyone. With any luck I never will owe him more than my thanks for doing the tasks he is assigned in our missions."

,,

"We are all dangerous, in some regard, Kestrel, though I admit, I worry more regarding Janos. We know he seldom stayed in his quarters when he was on the Void Swimmer, so where is he going?"

[SalmonMax]

"The real question is...why does he go there?" Kestrel replies. "See, I'll tell you why I'm so hung up on Janos. It's because everyone else here, I get. I get you, Dan. I get Karren and her lunar sidekick. Obviously I get me. But Janos...I don't know what he's after, exactly. All I know for sure is that there's no price he wouldn't pay to get it...or better yet, make everyone else pay instead of himself. That makes him the most dangerous man in whatever room he happens to be in, in my books. Even deathknights, I at least understand."

[Dan Hawkins]

"The simplest answer is that it has what he needs. for whatever he does."

,,

"I do know Janos believes in order, in heirarchy. He won't violate it, and even invokes it in his attacks. I am his Commander, he'll obey me so long as I do not risk him, it fits him, and lets him serve his own need for order."

,,

He sighed and sat back. He would have corrected her calling him Dan, but as he opened his mouth to speak he realized the real truth. He was an Anathema of her ideal. In him the Past was all, and the Present had melted away like a candle before a raging flame. Only the barest portions remained, his love for Althea foremost among them.

,,

"Perhaps, it would be worth finding out just what Janos is truly after, why he aids us against his own kind, why he's so eager to be of use."

[SalmonMax]

Kestrel shakes her head.

,,

"You've got it backwards," she tells him. "He doesn't obey you...hell, you know that. And when he does obey you it's because you're ordering him to do something he'd be doing regardless. You're not above him in his hierarchy, okay? No one is. Not even the stellar intelligence he pulls his power from. In his head, there's two kinds of being. Those who are under him, and those who will be."

,,

She stands up and paces away.

,,

"He's using the Marshals, because he needs them for some reason. I thought it might be to get in a position to get an orb or two...but now I'm not so sure. But since he's not openly asking for help with whatever's he's after, we can assume that he thinks we'd probably flip out if we found out. Because otherwise we'd be more useful if we knew."

,,

"I have exactly two problems with that. The first is that I find it really likely that his self-confidence and lust for power are the very things making it possible for him to be manipulated."

,,

"...the other problem is that he may be right about himself, and that he really is going to be able to surpass his...patron, or whatever you want to call it. And then we'll have something with the power of a stellar intelligence, and none of the limitations, all packed into something that looks human."

,,

She pauses, then adds, "Not sure which is worse."

[Dan Hawkins]

"Decidedly the latter, as someone who remembers fighting them." Nova shrugged. Still, I've been given orders to not kill him save the event that he openly and actively turns against us. So far he has been loyal, he has done as asked. Though I do believe my original test for him may have partially insulted him. I asked for something simple, not so much to test his skill, which I know to be impressive. The gauntlet on his hand is proof enough there. it has the power to flatten virtually anything, it is decidedly a wonder on par with one of the orbs. No my request was to see how grand his ego was."

,,

"He isn't an Open threat, and as such, I'm willing to extend certain courtesies to him. Even saying that, he's more than aware of my misgivings. His Infernal nature is totally alien to me, and should he truly become something akin to what he draws his power from, I will do what I must to prevent another hostile unrestrained Stellar Intelligence from forming."

[SalmonMax]

Kestrel mulls over Dan's words, then nods and gets to her feet.

,,

"Alright, I'll talk to Aura. You put in that request. I'll take care of the rest."

,,

She lifted an eyebrow at Dan.

,,

"Anything you want from me in return?"

[Dan Hawkins]

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook his head. "Nothing i'd ask for as a favor in return. I only ask that you continue to use your abilities to safeguard the crews of the fleet. I may not always see eye to eye with you Kestrel, and deal honestly with me, as I always will with you." The fact that she had and was already doing so wasn't lost on him, but he didn't see this really as her asking for a favor, more her expressing concerns to her commander and circlemate, and he in those positions rendered what aid he could.

,,

Many would demand a favor, but that wasn't Nova's way with those who had earned his trust, or in Kestrel's case, reminded him so much of who she had once been.

[SalmonMax]

Kestrel rolled her eyes and scowled.

,,

"Fiiiine," she sighed. "I'll be honest with you." The thief made a mocking salute and spun lightly on the balls of her feet to face the door.

,,

It was a lie of course...a giant one. But she'd never promised Dan the truth...only that she'd help him. A good deal of the help she had to offer was the kind that he'd be better off, and happier, not knowing about.

,,

That was good enough for her.

,,

(and...close!)