![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalThe final part of my little fan epic. Rated PG.
Previous Entries:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Leeza sat across from Captain Blake in the conference room, sipping her first cup of coffee in a week, trying to keep her head from exploding from sheer cognitive dissonance. “So you thought the best solution was to drop a salvo of nuclear weapons down on your target, since you couldn’t get at him directly?” It was less than twelve hours since they’d rendezvoused with the Suhayar, which was now well out of Bolt Hole’s system, heading towards the Terran Federation border. When they had reached the little fleet, she’d thought they’d finally found safe shelter. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
“It worked,” Blake replied tightly. “We have our target and a major pirate warlord is dead.”
“Dad must be proud of you,” Leeza said, smiling fixedly. She set her coffee cup down before she could do something really foolish with it.
Rufus who was sitting next to Leeza and had been listening to the exchange with a sour expression on his face, said, “I assume, given this… success, that you are going to release young Mr. Townsend and both Lances from custody then. Not to mention release our Terinu from confinement in his cabin.” Captain Blake had very nearly thrown the boy into the brig next his twin, apparently on general principles. However she had been shouted down by both Leeza and Rufus, after they pointed out that he’d been integral to their rescue and helping preserve the life of Rufus’ brother, who was still unconscious in sick bay.
“Lance and Lance conspired to enter falsified data into my ship’s secured computer system. Mr. Townsend has been tried in absentia for participating in acts of piracy and therefore…”
“Is not subject to prosecution because he was under the age of eighteen at the time they were committed. The same goes for your Terinu as a matter of fact. Null argument,” Leeza said flatly. “Unless things the laws here are different of course. If not, you and Dad don’t have a legal leg to stand on.”
“Sexual assault doesn’t have an age limitation,” Captain Blake pointed out.
“You have no proof of that.”
Blake’s expression turned frosty. “The ship’s surgeon begs to differ.”
Unfortunately on that point the captain was likely right. In the brief time she’d had to speak to Matt, she hadn’t pressed him on the details of the relationship between himself and the other Terinu. Though it was obvious going by what happened to Mavra Chan that the boy cared deeply for his human friend, there were undercurrents to it that that disturbed her and upset her own Terinu badly enough to take pleasure in mutilating his twin’s tail. “I think you’d agree that pressing charges on that matter is Matt’s prerogative.”
“I don’t.”
Rufus cut in sharply. “Then if you believe him to be a victim, would you kindly explain what he’s doing in the brig?”
“I don’t want him going anywhere. Bluntly, if his mind is as confused as any other victim of long term abuse, he might try something foolish and attempt to help the Ferin to escape. I will not allow that.”
Leeza waved Rufus down before he could try a counter-argument, trying to gather her thoughts. Frell, the woman sitting across the table was herself, at least on the genetic level. If she’d been raised by Vonnie as Leeza had, that had to mean that there was integrated BS detector in her brain somewhere. “Look, have you asked Dad why he wanted Terinu so badly and what he intends to do with him?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Captain Blake leaned forward in her seat, templing her fingers together. “I’m a naval officer. I don’t question orders.”
“And the fact that he gave you command of a three ship fleet in order to capture a single pirate didn’t seem the least bit curious to you?”
“Of course it did, but my curiosity cannot compromise my mission’s security. If the Admiral wants that boy that badly, I can only assume there’s a good reason. If he has the same energy generating ability as your Ferin though, I can make a reasonable guess.”
“Look, you just can’t hand him over to Dad’s pet science team. He wants nothing more than to dissect the boy to see what makes him tick.”
Blake nodded in seeming satisfaction. “Well then, it’s a good thing I’m giving him two to play with.”
Leeza felt the blood drain away from her face in shock. “No! You can’t do that!”
“Ms. Blake,” the captain said calmly, “I have achieved mission success only by the slimmest of margins. One third of my fleet has been destroyed. Between the loss of the Wilson and the failed ground assault we suffered over three hundred casualties. Even if we did succeed in cutting off the head of one of the largest pirate fleets in the disputed territories in addition to capturing the Ferin, that still leaves me with a very high price for success. One of them might be enough to satisfy the Admiral, but two would give him much more than he was expecting.”
“Out of the question!” Rufus said. “He was never your target, we’re all here by accident! You have no authority to hold any of us!”
“If the Ferin are as big a threat as Admiral Blake believes, I would be incredibly foolish to let an additional example just go wandering off,” Blake said firmly. “The rest of you, of course, will be free to go once you’ve signed the necessary Official Secrets documents.”
“We are not leaving without Teri,” Leeza said. “That’s final.”
“Why are you assuming you have a choice in the matter?” Blake touched the conference table’s integrated com pad. “First Officer, have ship’s security come to the conference room and escort Ms. Blake and Lord Brushtail to their quarters. They are to remain there until the sick bay gives me assurance that the other Vulpine can be moved safely. Then they’re all leaving.”
“I can’t leave here without Terinu,” Leeza said, rising up from her seat. “I’m his legal guardian, and leaving him here with you is as bad as permitting his murder!”
Captain Blake looked her and let out a tired sigh, but before she could say anything further the com pad beeped and she answered it, “Blake here.”
Captain, we have four ships approaching us on an interception vector, the XO reported. They’re each approximately twice our size and power output.
Blake straightened up in her seat, her attention fully engaged. “Have they transmitted any identification?”
Negative. They appear to be of a design that the ship’s computer can’t identify. But they’re putting out enough power to overtake us easily.
“Pipe the data down to the conference room’s main display.” The holographic projector in the center of the table flared to life and a graphical display of the unknown ship’s approximate shape and power curve appeared. “What the hell is that?” Blake wondered aloud.
“I don’t think either of us are going to be keeping either your Terinu, or ours,” Rufus said softly, as Leeza felt her blood run cold.
“You know that design?” Blake demanded.
“Oh, yeah,” Leeza said. “It’s a warship. The last time we saw ships of that type, they were escorting a cannon ship to attack a Creo asteroid colony.”
Message from lead ship being transmitted to us, Captain.
“Pipe it through,” Blake ordered. She cleared her throat and said, “This is Captain Leeza Blake of the Terran Federation. Identify yourselves and state your intentions.”
The image in the holoprojector changed, revealing a stern, golden eyed, reptilian face.
“This is Administrator Oryon Gisko of the Varn Dominion,” the Galapados said. “Please cease acceleration, power down your engines and weapons and stand by to receive our boarding party.”
* * *
Terinu paced back and forth across the floor of his cabin, wishing he could start tearing up the furniture to cut loose his frustration. But Leeza had said, Stay here and don’t cause a scene, so he was stuck in this cabin and had to keep quiet. Fragg “cabin”, it may as well be another cell, he thought. Why the fragg hadn’t they had just cut and run instead of coming back to this ship?
Lance could’a found his way out on his own. But Rufus’ brother had been in a bad way and Terinu had to admit he was lot happier with his own twin in a nice tight cell. If only Leeza’s double hadn’t been such a ram arse about Matt being stuck in there with his twin, he would’a been happy to stay right here.
He figured that was what burned the most. That bastard with his face was safe, with his Matt. Meanwhile the boy that Terinu had shared half of his life with was still stuck on their universe’s Celestial Marauder and there wasn’t a fragging thing he could do about it.
On top of all that, he was still trying to shake the horrible connection he’d shared with Rufus’ brother when he’d amputated the poor sod’s arm. All that horrible pain, mixed in with the fear of living and risking failure all over again. He wanted to die, Terinu thought. He’d wanted a nice, heroic death and I went and screwed it up for him by givin’ him an out. He wondered if the Vulp would ever forgive him for that.
There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t fix Rufus’ brother’s arm, he couldn’t rescue his Matt, he couldn’t even leave this fraggin’ cabin without Leeza saying he could. He was fragging stuck.
Well, it could be worse, he reflected. At least he was in a comfortable cabin, unlike his twin’s cell. Nothin’ worse than being locked inside of a box, with no way out.
The cabin’s door chimed and heard Leeza’s voice call out, “Teri, are you okay?”
“If that’s really you and not Captain Stick-Up-Her-Arse, I’m all right. Can I come out now?”
“Uh, yeah, Teri, you can come out.” The worried tone of her voice made Terinu’s spurs prick up and his tail rise in wariness. He stepped away from the door and back into the middle of the cabin, leaning forward on the balls of his feet, giving himself as much room to maneuver as he could.
“Open the door then. I can’t do it from in here, remember.”
“Right.” The door slid back, revealing Leeza standing in the corridor. Beside her was old looking human male, with grey eyes and wisps of white hair puffing out from his head, dressed in a dark grey and black robe with a golden DNA helix pin over his heart. He hissed when he saw that behind them were a pair of Galapados warriors, armed with holstered pistols.
“Teri, don’t fight them!” she said. “Things are… a little strange right now.”
“Hello there, young man,” the geezer in the robes said, smiling at him. “You have no idea how pleased you are about to make my master.”
Terinu glanced at the two scaly goons behind him and snorted. “I got a good idea, I think.”
* * *
Matt curled up in his corner of the cell, covering his ears in protection as Terinu continued to rant. The other boy had woken up about fifteen minutes ago, a little after the guards had moved Lance and Lance to another cell, and had been shouting hysterically ever since.
“This is all YOUR FAULT, Matt!” Terinu shouted, pulling forward as far as he could against the cables binding him to the wall. “Why the fragg couldn’t have LISTENED TO ME?” He banged his head against the wall’s unyielding steel, trying vainly to dislodge his inhibitor collar.
“Teri, it’s not that bad…”
“Not that bad! Don’t you get it? We’ve lost everything! Chan is dead! There’s no one to protect us! The fraggin’ GSA is gonna sell us to some corp to crack rocks in an asteroid mine, or muck out toxic waste in a chem plant. But it woulda never have happened if you’d just DONE WHAT YOU WERE TOLD and not talked to anybody. But no! You had to listen to that bitch’s sob story and let her out of her cell. If you hadn’t done that, Chan wouldn’ had any reason to stick you in the brig! She wouldn’ told me to try and kill you! And then I wouldn’ had to BLOW HER FRAGGIN’ HEAD OFF!” He thrashed against his restraints again, hissing in anger.
“Yeah, great life we had on the Marauder,” Matt finally snapped back “If Brooks hadn’t tried to kick the sh*t out of me last year, you wouldn’t have blown his head off either and nothing would have changed. I’d be working for Cookie and you would have been still mucking out the waste traps. We’d be happy little pirate slaves, instead just prisoners!”
“You stupid, oversized, blond idiot! They’re gonna take you away from me! I won’t be able to PROTECT YOU!”
“Protect me? Protect me?” Matt stood up, angry, hating himself because for all of Terinu’s selfishness he could still see the fear behind his once-a-friend’s eyes. “Maybe I never wanted to be protected, Teri. Hu? How’s that sound?”
“Shut up,” Terinu muttered, hands clenching around his restraining cables. “You’re an idiot, you don’t know anything about how stuff works.”
“I don’t want to be protected by you, Teri,” Matt said, every verbal thrust making Terinu flinch. “I never wanted to be protected by you. I don’t want to be with you anymore!”
“Shut up!” Terinu hissed. “You don’t mean that, you don’t know nothing’, so just shut up!”
Matt felt his face grow heated, the blood pounding in his head. “No, not this time. This time you shut up, Teri. For once in your fraggin’ miserable life would you just sit down and shut up!”
Then, to Matt’s astonishment, Terinu did just that. The Ferin boy sat down on the floor, tail lashing, spurs back, his mouth clamped tight, eyes wide in absolute terror.
“Terinu?” The Ferin boy kept silent. “Terinu, talk to me, what are you doing?”
Terinu swallowed hard. “Sitting down and shutting up.”
Matt blinked. “Why?” Terinu lowered his head and stared at the deck, breathing heavily. “Terinu, tell me why?”
He answered, his voice strained. “Because... because you told me to...”
Matt's mind flashed back to the awful, chaotic scene when Lady Chan had confronted them during the second escape attempt. Brushtail's brother lying semi-concious on the floor, Terinu's hands at Matt's throat, the Ferin boy looking as scared as he did now, his Bion starting to burn Matt's throat, as Mavra lorded her control over him. And Terinu's twin, screaming.
You're always have a Master, but you can choose who they are!
“Oh,” Matt said, feeling giddy. “Oh...” He felt a weird, wild grin cross his face and fought the urge to laugh.
Terinu, still staring at the deck, clenched his jaw, then opened his mouth, the words coming out as if he had to fight for every one of them. “Matt... please... don't...”
“I told you to shut up.”
Terinu's jaw clamped shut again.
“Stand up.”
Terinu stood.
“Look at me.”
Terinu's eyes locked with his, still wide with fear over this revelation. His spurs were still down and his tail flat on the floor. He looked more vulnerable than Matt had even seen him before, even after one of Brooks' beatings when Matt had carried him back to his cabin, tended his bruises and held him tight.
“You can't hurt me anymore,” Matt said with wonder. He cleared his throat and said with more authority. “I order you not to hurt me anymore. Never touch me without permission, ever again. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“'Yes', what?”
Terinu swallowed hard. “Yes... Master.”
“Never hurt anyone else either. Um, unless they're trying to hurt you first and you need to defend yourself.”
“Yes, Master.”
Matt nodded, then said, “Don't move.” He walked over to Terinu and reached out, his hand brushing the younger boy's cheek. Terinu didn't even flinch, though his eyes were now the size of spotlights almost and his breath was coming hard and fast.
He let his hand drop down to Teri's chest and let it sit there, over the boy's heart. “I'm not you, Terinu. I'm not going to make you stay locked up in your cabin all day except for your duties. I'm not going to hurt you when you get out of line. I'm never going to...” He swallowed, suddenly ashamed, and let his hand drop away. “Okay, that's enough, you can talk and everything now.”
Terinu fell back against the wall, slumping down to the floor, eyes closed, tears running down his cheeks. Matt stepped back, giving him room, dropping down into a squat and trying to think.
“Hello, boys. Am I interrupting something?” a voice said. They both jumped up again, turning in its direction. Standing outside their cell was an elderly woman in dark grey and black robes, a golden pin with a DNA helix over her heart. Her face was dark and wide, and she was smiling slightly. Behind her were two... well, Matt wasn't sure what they were, aside from tall, green, scaly and armed. She touched her hand to her lips, looking at Terinu in something close to wonder. “Oh, they weren't kidding, there are two of you on board. I could cry, its been so long since I've seen anyone like you, son.”
She motioned to one of the lizards, who nodded and touched the door controls. The cell opened and she stepped inside, still looking at Terinu. “I've been informed that you're rather feral, young man.”
Terinu hissed, some of his aggressiveness returning. “Who the fragg are you?”
Her eyes grew wintry. “Oh, no one important these days.”
“What do you want?” Matt asked.
“Oh, I want your friend, young man. Or rather, my master does. You can both come with me though. I'm sure he's going to be delighted to meet you all.” Another motion to the lizards and Terinu's restraints were unhooked from the walls, though they left the cables connecting his wrists and ankles on.
“Um, you might want to leave those on him,” Matt cautioned, then said to Teri, “Sorry.”
Her eyebrows rose. “If you think so. Come along boys, there's someone who has been waiting to meet you for a very long time.”
* * *
“Hail, hail, the gang’s all here,” Leeza muttered to herself, earning a dark look from Captain Blake, who was sitting across from her in the Galapados transfer shuttle’s passenger cabin. Terinu and Terinu were also glaring at each other, though Matthew was sitting next to his universe’s Ferin with much less anxiety than before. Lance and Lance were there as well, having been released from their cells at Leeza’s urging, over the loud objections of Captain Blake, with the simple argument that they were friends of Terinu. This seemed to be enough to satisfy the two elderly humans that seemed to be in charge of the Galapagos boarding party. Finally, Rufus sat alone in a seat, his brother being in no condition to leave the sick bay of the Suyahar just yet.
And who are you two? she wondered. They hadn’t bothered to introduce themselves, except to tell them that everything would be explained on board the Galapagos fleet’s flagship. The elderly woman in particular was bothering her greatly. She was a native Australian, going by her features and her accent, and Leeza couldn’t shake the feeling that she aught to know who she was.
The last of the Galapagos warriors boarded the shuttle and it soon released its docking clamps, jetting over to the flagship. Captain Blake glanced in Leeza’s direction and asked softly, “You’re certain these Galapagos are a product of the Varn Dominion?”
“Yes, Gisko in particular is the general of their army in my universe. They were designed to be warriors, genetically engineered to be loyal to the Dominion.”
Blake shook her head. “The Varn Dominion. I’m still not sure I believe it.”
“Dad does,” Leeza told her. “Ask him about them and there’s a chance he might even give you a straight answer.”
Blake glared at her again, nodding towards the Terinus. “And what do those two have to do with the Dominion?”
“I think that’s going to be explained to us shortly.” Perhaps it was wrong of her to keep the secret of the Ferin’s origins and purpose from Blake. There was a good chance that the Gene Mage would want them both for the same purpose in Leeza’s universe, to jump start the Dominion’s power base. Frell, there’s nothing I can do to change what’s going to happen. Let her find out on her own. She supposed that she should be grateful that Blake hadn’t tried anything suicidally stupid, like destroying her ship to prevent her prisoners from being taken. Apparently the Admiral hadn’t bothered to tell her exactly why Terinu was such a tremendous threat to the GSA, which was fine by Leeza. Compared to dealing with my Evil Twin, I think I’ll take my chances with the Gene Mage.
Except that she couldn’t damp down the nagging worry in her mind about exactly what kind of Gene Mage they were going to encounter. Leaving aside Lance, every one of their doubles in this place seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. The Gene Mage in our universe and in this one ordered the attack on the Earth that killed billions of humans. What could he do that would be more heinous than that?
She felt the shuttle’s maneuvering jets fire, turning it on its axis and then shortly thereafter she could see a large shuttle bay swallowing their ship, before the landing gear came down and they settled on the deck. Then there was a heavy vibration towards the rear as the bay door closed and then a loud whoosh as the entire hanger bay was pressurized. The shuttle’s passenger door cycled open and another elderly human entered, this one a male of Arabic extraction, Leeza guessed as the alarm bells in the back of her brain started sounding a loud chorus.
“Ah, good, everyone is here,” the Arabic man said. He looked at the passengers, his eyes widening. “Did we intercept a convention of identical twins?”
The other old man, who’s accent Leeza now was certain was American, laughed and then answered, “Believe me, it was a surprise to us too. Almost gave me a heart attack when I realized there were two Ferin on board.”
“He’ll be so pleased,” the Arabic man said, grinning. He motioned to the Leeza and the other “guests”. “Come along everyone, there’s someone who is quite eager to see you.”
Captain Blake stood up, glaring at him. “We’re not going anywhere until I get some answers. Who are you people and what is your connection with the Dominion? Why are humans working for the Varn? You’re traitors to Humanity!”
“Oh, we’re not traitors,” the American said, looking wistful and a little embarrassed.
“That’s a very complicated question,” the Australian woman answered, seemingly unoffended. “But if you come with us, all should be made clear.”
Leeza stood up and placed a calming hand on Blake’s elbow. “Let it go,” she advised.
“But they’re…” Blake began.
“Not traitors, I don’t think. But I am pretty sure I know who they are.”
“Who!”
Leeza frowned at her. “Figure it out.” She, Captain Blake and the rest of their party exited the shuttle, bracketed by the Galapagos, with the trio of elders leading the way down wide corridors with tall, arching ceilings, so very different from the narrow, utilitarian corridors of the Suhayar.
“Why did you intercept us?” Blake demanded, striding up next to the Arabic man. “The GSA won’t stand for this, it’s an act of war!”
“We meant no harm,” he replied. “Courtesy of our friends the Ardactavians, we received reports of your upcoming mission to Bolt Hole to intercept that vile pirate’s ship and take the young Ferin. When we informed our wise master of this, he was quite frantic that we reach Mavra Chan first. As it happened we were unable to launch the mission on such short notice, but we did manage to reach your ships after you successfully rescued the child.”
“This is not how we intended to announce ourselves on the galactic scene,” the elderly woman continued, “but we could not afford for the boy, boys rather, to be handed over to the same people that may have slaughtered the Ferin in the first place.”
“What do you mean? What are those alien boys to you?”
“Redemption, in a manner of speaking,” the American man finished, looking quite sad. “For you see, I think I was most responsible for their destruction in the first place.”
“How could you possibly… be…” Captain Blake looked at the old men and woman. Really looked for the first time, Leeza suspected.
“’They’ve got a power source that… well, I don’t know if I believe it or not, but it’s the weirdest thing you ever saw,’” Leeza quoted.
Captain Blake, wide eyed now, began to sputter. “You aren’t… that’s not possible. You’d be over five hundred years old!”
“The Varn are not truly gods, despite what our Galapagos friends think,” her ship’s namesake said with a smile, “but they have a most excellent health plan.”
That succeeded in shutting up a stunned Blake until they went down a spiraling ramp and were ushered into the garden.
That was the only way Leeza could describe it. It was too large to be called an arboretum, and her engineer’s mind balked at calling anything housed on a ship a “park”. The space appeared to open from one end of the ship to the other, taking up three entire decks. High trees with wide, spade shaped leaves soared over their heads, reaching for a bright blue, holographic sky, while the ground was covered in gentle grass and flowering bushes. Strange birds with long flowing tails darted overhead, zipping between the trees and singing strange alien songs.
They followed a gravel path that curved around a sculptured rock outcropping, entering a sort of grotto that made a private space in the immense open habitat. There, Gisko, wearing flowing robes similar to what the three elderly humans wore, motioned them to gather at the massive, green skinned, horned form that sat on his throne before them.
“Our Wise Master, the Varn Gene Mage, ruler of the Varn Dominion,” he announced formally, sweeping them a bow.
Terinu was the first one to ask the thought that had immediately crossed Leeza’s mind. “Why does he look so old?”
It was true. The Gene Mage sat slumped in his high backed padded chair, his dark robes seeming to almost swallow him. His face was as deeply lined as the three humans that served him, and his eyes were nearly closed. Leeza realized with a start that he was actually asleep.
“My lord,” Gisko said softly, touching his master’s shoulder. “My lord, they are here.”
“Mmm?” The Gene Mage blinked and sat up, looking at them with rheumy golden eyes. They fell upon Terinu and his twin and his forehead wrinkled in confusion. “There are two of them? With identical DNA patterns?”
“Yes, Wise Master,” Ari Suyahar said. “The situation was… vastly more complicated than we first believed.”
“We will explain it to you at length, later,” Rachael told him gently.
“Ah.” With pained effort, the ancient Varn pushed himself to his feet, taking hold of a thick walking staff made of what looked like black iron that had been leaning against the chair. He hobbled over to where the two Ferin boys waited, looking down on them with confusion. His mouth opened, then closed. Turning to Gisko, who was hovering at his elbow, he asked in a desperate tone, “Are they real?”
Gisko bowed slightly to him. “Yes, Lord Gene Mage. They are as real as I am. Both they and I are products of your vast wisdom, skill and patience.”
“Ah.” Gisko moved forward quickly to steady the Gene Mage as he kneeled down, reaching out to brush his fingers across the cheek of Terinu’s twin. The boy looked terrified, but he withstood the touch, as Matt kept a steady hand on his shoulder. “Why are you bound so cruelly, child? Why is your beautiful tail spade so terribly mutilated?”
“This is the Ferin who was held by the human pirate, Milord,” Mark Wilson told him. “From what we have been able to gather, he was treated with vast cruelty during her years with her. It has left him… undersocialized.”
“I see,” the Gene Mage said doubtfully. “What of the other?”
Terinu, who had probably had more fear in him for his universe’s Gene Mage, rather than the elderly, sad figure before them, answered for himself. “I ain’t from around here. This rat next to me is me, if everything in my life was more screwed up than it already was.”
“I… don’t…” The Gene Mage shook his head. “It does not matter. My Ferin, my beautiful, sweet limbed Ferin are restored to me. All is in balance once again.” With Gisko’s help he rose to his feet again and made his way to his chair to address his guests. “For this gift, there is nothing I would not be willing to give you. Please, seat yourselves. Let there be food and drink brought out to celebrate this wonderful event.”
Leeza sat with everyone else in a semi-circle in front of the Gene Mage, on cleverly sculpted rock formations that served as comfortable chairs. As Galapagos servants brought out the food, Lance leaned over towards her and whispered, “Lee, I’m not sure what his scarier, the Gene Mage looking like a mummy out of a bad horror movie, or the fact he’s acting so damned senile.”
“It’s a trap,” Captain Blake muttered. “They’re trying to lure us in, make us complacent.”
Lance’s twin, who was sitting nearby, pressed his palm to his forehead. “Lee, get a clue, would you? If they want something from us, all they have to do is grab it, the boy included. They don’t have to make nice to us to get what they want.”
“There’s one thing I don’t understand. From what we know of Varn culture, there appears to be little pity for the weak within it. How is it that the Gene Mage has survived in this state and not been eaten alive by his contemporaries?” Rufus asked, drifting over after accepting a plate from a servitor. It was filled, Leeza noted with surprise, with a perfectly human looking dinner of barbequed chicken with recognizable vegetables on the side. Or maybe that wasn’t so surprising given the three notable individuals who had brought them here.
“I think I can answer your questions,” Rachael Namatjira said, approaching them. She seated herself cross-legged on a nearby rock, keeping an eye on the two Terinus, who were both wolfing down meals of fresh vegetables, while Ari spoke to them and Matt. “I fear there aren’t any other Varn to worry about.”
“What do you mean?” Leeza asked.
“They are all dead. Our Lord Gene Mage is the last one.”
Captain Blake looked at her in disbelief. “So what happened to them? We know the Varn escaped us during the end of the Twenty Year War. They couldn’t have all died of old age since then.”
Rachael frowned. “Oh, not of old age. You see, the slaughter of the Ferin that was conducted by the rebels was quite thorough. The only ones that were left were onboard the ship the remaining Varn were using to escape, housed in the ship’s power cell.”
“How do you know this?” Blake demanded.
“We were there. The Gene Mage chose to take us with him during the final evacuation. Even then he was still holding onto the hope of finding some kind of reconciliation with the rebels, though I fear he was the only one. During the escape two things became apparent. One, ship was being pursued with a vengeance by the rebels, permitting no chance to rest, and two, there were not enough remaining Ferin to maintain the normal cycle of service and rest that was needed to preserve their health. They were being, quite literally, worked to death.” Rachael’s face drew down in a frown, remembering.
“The Gene Mage argued that it was necessary to find a safe hiding place, so his precious Ferin could recover their strength. The other Varn, particularly Dream Stalker, disagreed. They voted to keep running for the Ardactavian border at full speed, to cross into territory the rebels dared not enter. When the Gene Mage, finding no allies for his plan, attempted to disengage the power cell and release the Ferin, the other Varn had him and his servitors confined to his suite.” She paused, a dark expression falling over her face. “Up until that point, I had seen him in many states of mind. Gentle, arrogant, loving, condescending, he was as capable of as full a range as any other being. But until then, I had never seen rage or fear.”
“What happened to the Ferin in the power cell?” Leeza asked.
“They died,” Rachael said flatly. “When they had been... used up, Dream Stalker allowed the Gene Mage out of his suite, to allow him to salvage their DNA and clone their replacements. Apparently the process of Ferin gestation is too complicated to allow for conventional cloning however, and so they couldn't be restored in that way. So they were really dead, the entire race, thousands of years of nurturing on the Gene Mage's part, destroyed in a few short weeks.”
“The Gene Mage was distraught at the thought of all of his precious Ferin being dead. Distraught and profoundly enraged. He blamed Dream Stalker in particular for what happened. He... he went a bit crazy I think.”
“As opposed to now,” Lance said sotto voce. Leeza spared a moment to jab him in the ribs with her elbow before turning her attention back to old Rachael's tale.
“So what happened to all the other Varn?” Captain Blake asked.
“He engineered a virus,” Rachael said. “You have to understand, they may have fancied themselves gods, but if they were it was of the Greek variety, with all the tendency towards backstabbing that implies. So I think the virus was something he'd already had cooked up. It was supposed to, he said later, just kill her. Instead it went wild throughout the ship and killed them all.”
“Except for him of course,” Blake said, disbelief apparent.
Rachael shrugged. “Our Wise Master was not an idiot. He'd set the containment seals in the ship's labs in place and sealed us all inside before he let the virus out. When it became apparent that the thing had mutated during its years in storage and gone wildfire, he nearly opened the seals up again to try and help his kin, but we all ended up tackling him to stop him from killing himself. Later he stayed inside while we went through the process of decontaminating the ship and disposing of all the bodies.”
“Why the frell didn't you just let him die?” Blake demanded.
“Well, for one thing the ship's navigation controls were locked to a genetic scanner, so only a Varn could alter her course. We didn't fancy flying onward for fifty or a hundred years until her recycling systems broke down and we starved to death. For another, we just pitied him at the point. Losing the Ferin, and then realizing he'd just killed the remainder of his own race, broke the Gene Mage. For all the evils that he had perpetuated throughout the millennia, for all the dead children that were scattered across the Earth from the Mantle Cracker's weapon, we could not help but feel sorry for the sad figure he'd been reduced to.”
Leeza glanced over to where the Gene Mage sat, asleep on his throne again, a half-eaten plate of food forgotten in his lap. Gisko stood station at his right side, watching over his master, an apparently familiar position from the calm look on his lizard face. “So his aging, is that part of the virus' effects?”
“No,” Rachael said. “Varn immortality requires a certain amount of preventive maintenance. When the Gene Mage realized that the remainder of his race was dead, he elected to cease taking the necessary anti-agathic treatments to stave of the aging process. As you can see, he's almost at the end of what would have been a normal Varn lifespan, before they altered themselves towards supposed genetic perfection.”
“So what happens when he's gone?” Lance asked.
“That will be the end of the Varn Dominion,” she said. “What remains of it, mostly just the Varn databanks now, will pass on to the Galapagos. He created them to be servants, when he realized that the anti-aging gene hacks he'd placed in my, Ari and Mark's DNA codes weren't going to hold out forever. Instead they're going to be his successors, inheriting what the Varn had created.”
“And what about the Ferin?” Leeza asked.
“Ah,” Rachael said. “That's a different matter.” She gestured over to the two boys. Terinu looking deceptively bored by the whole proceeding, hiding his usual caution behind a wall of cool bravado, Leeza suspected. His twin, on the other hand, was looking close to catatonic again, having been exposed to a Varn and their overwhelming air of authority over their little grey servants for the first time. “There is… something… about the Ferin that requires a live specimen to make any hope of restarting their species even a possibility. That one secret the Gene Mage has kept to himself, even as we helped him prepare the necessary equipment to begin maturing cloned Ferin embryos in the birthing tanks. And the only living Ferin that have been seen in the past five hundred years are sitting right over there.”
“That presents a bit of a dilemma,” Rufus said. “I’m certainly not going to let our Terinu be handed over to the Dominion, and I’d hesitate before even giving his brother.”
“I’m not handing either of them over,” Captain Blake said firmly. “They both belong to the GSA.”
“They both belong to themselves, Captain,” Leeza said. “Why don’t we talk to them about it?” Not waiting for an answer, she stood up and walked over to where the boys sat. Well, Terinu sat. His twin was curled up into a ball, leaning against Matt, who was petting his hair gently.
“Things didn’t go well?” Rachael asked Ari, having followed Leeza and the rest of the little group.
“The young man seems overstressed,” he replied mildly. “I’m afraid he isn’t ready to grasp the implications of his role just yet.”
“What role?” Leeza asked.
“Restoration,” the Gene Mage said, having woken up. He hobbled over to the two boys, his eyes seeming a bit brighter, his stance straighter, though Gisko still hovered protectively beside him. “Young ones, you have nothing to fear from me. I only wish to restore your race. Without your aid, it will remain lost, dead, thousands of years of effort stolen away by the forces of destruction. With it, the Ferin shall live again.”
“To get stuck in tanks to power up Galapagos ships instead’a Varn ones? Thanks, but no thanks,” Terinu said defiantly, tail lashing.
“No,” Gisko said. “The Galapagos have our own sources of power. Wind and tide serve well enough on our homeworld, as does fusion in space. We have no need of the power cells of ancient pasts.”
“What do you want us for, then?” Terinu's twin asked in a small, quiet voice, head still hung low, as Matt kept petting his hair.
“I explained that, child,” the Gene Mage said. “To give back what was lost to the universe. Your uniqueness.”
“And after? What are ya goin' to do with all this uniqueness you'd cook up?”
The Gene Mage tilted his head, in respect for the question. “Afterward... I do not think I will be able to guide you. Whatever path you choose, will be your own. I simply… want you to be.”
Terinu perched on his seat rock, sitting on his haunches, frowning at his broken twin and the broken Varn. Finally his gaze turned towards blond human boy, twin to his best friend in the universe. “It’s your call, Matt.”
Matt looked up at him in surprise. “Not mine!”
“Yeah it is. Haven’t you figured out what you are to your Terinu yet?”
“I… how do you know that?”
Terinu smiled. “Out of everyone else in that cell bay, who else could it be?”
“What are you two talking about? Townsend has no say in this!” Blake interjected, to be met with a general call of Shut up! from everyone aside from the Gene Mage, Gisko and Rachael.
“But what are you saying? Should we go with the Gene Mage?” Matt asked.
Terinu shrugged. “Ya wanna go with Captain Nuke-em-all, instead? Ya can’t make it on your own, not yet, and I know we’d have a hard time protectin’ ya both in our universe. Here, it looks like the Gene Mage and Gisko might be your best bet.”
“Yeah, but… You don’t understand. I can’t keep Teri, my Teri, locked up like he is now 24/7. And he needs... help.”
“You won’t be doing it alone,” Lance’s brother said. “I’ll help you out.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Lance. You’re coming home to face charges,” Captain Blake said. “You go with them it’ll be an act of treason.”
Lance shrugged. “I’m gonna get thrown in the poke for disobeying orders anyway. Adding on treason wouldn’t be that bad.” Leeza covered her mouth, fighting the urge to put her two credits in. Really, it was amazing to watch the man politely dismiss all of his cousin’s demands, like a rock watching the waves try and drown it.
For the first time, a look of genuine worry crossed Blake’s face. “Lance, they’re aliens, they’re the Dominion. You go with them, you might not ever be coming home.”
“Yah, that part I’m not too fond of. Can’t imagine Mum and Dad will be happy about it, but I think they’d want me to be doing the right thing.”
Blake’s voice became pleading. “But Lance, what am I going to tell Vonnie?”
“You may tell them that their offspring is now an ambassador of the Galapagos,” Gisko said smoothly. “You do have the custom ‘diplomatic immunity’ still, do you not?”
“Yeah,” Lance said.
“Well then, we will need someone to represent us when the Galapagos choose to enter the larger galactic scene. Having someone who knows the Gal Sapiens Alliance as a native would help us immensely. If you are genuinely interested of course.”
Lance brightened. “Oh, that’ll work fine. Thanks mate!”
“I don’t believe this is happening,” Blake, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose, as if she had a terrible headache coming on. “Well, at least we’ve still got the other one to give to Dad.”
“No, I really don’t think that’ll do,” Rufus interjected. Turning to Gisko and the Gene Mage, he asked politely. “You do, I hope, only need one of the boys for your little project, correct?”
The Gene Mage opened and closed his mouth, as if unsure as to what to say, but Gisko answered for him. “I believe one will be sufficient, yes.”
“Excellent,” Rufus said. “Then I would like to ask you, as a noble of the House of Brushtail and a secondary member of the Council of Vulpine Lords, to give us a lift to the border of Vulpine territory. After retrieving my brother from the Suyahar’s sickbay and all three of our fighters from her hanger, if it is convienient. From there we should be able to find comfortable accomidations until Leeza can use her scanner data to calculate where that damnable gravity anomaly is going to show up next.”
“I believe we can accommodate your wishes quite easily,” Gisko said with a smile. We'll disable their engines and communications gear as well, to give ourselves a nice head start.”
The Gene Mage looked down on Matt and his Terinu. “Young man, child of my skill, come with me. There is much I wish to show you.” Matt helped Terinu's twin to his feet and together, accompanied by Gisko and Rachael, they walked out of the grotto and into their future.
“So this is how it ends?” Blake asked, sitting heavily on a rock, looking worn out. “A third of my fleet destroyed, over three hundred casualties, my own cousin turned traitor and not one damned thing to show for it.”
“Look on the bright side,” her Lance said. “We killed Mavra Chan, cutting the head off the biggest pirate fleet in the Disputed Territories, and we've also got proof that the Dominion is no threat to either Earth or the GSA. That ought to make Uncle Erwin a little happy, don't you think?”
The annoyed stare she returned was enough to shut her cousin up from further speculation.
“What aout you, Terinu?” Leeza asked. “Are you okay with everything?”
Terinu looked away from the grotto's entrance, where Matt and his twin had dissapeared. “Yeah, I guess,” he admitted. “I wish I could have gotten my Matt away from Mavra, but at least one of them did.”
“What about your twin?” Rufus asked in turn. “You don't mind the idea of the Gene Mage taking him in?”
“Better him than me. I think between Matt, Lance and the Gene Mage, he should toe the line pretty quick. If not, I'll know where to find him.”
“Seems so weird though,” Lance said, looking thoughtful. “For all the messed up lives our doubles were living through, it turns it has a better shot at living peacably with the Dominion than we ever will.”
“Everything balances out in the end,” Leeza said, “and when it doesn't, you find a way to tip the scales.”
* * *
“To absent family,” Rufus toasted, then touched his tea mug to Lance’s and sipped.
“Hear, hear,” Lance agreed softly, leaning back in his seat in the open café in Vulpine Secondus’ Station’s main concourse. He watched the people, the crowds of Vulpine and other sentients passing by for a few moments, before inquiring, “You going to be all right, Ru?”
“Yes, I suppose,” Rufus agreed, leaning his chin on his hand and sighing. “I know my brother is likely... more content... where he is. I just wish I could have done more for him. We’ve been flipping between universes easily enough, why can’t we go back in time as well and get a chance to set things right?”
“Can’t choose a man’s path for him, mate,” Lance said.
“Mmm, true.”
The human took another sip of his tea. “There’s something else on your mind, isn’t there?”
“Someone else, rather,” Rufus agreed.
Lance set his tea down. “I can’t imagine it would be that hard to figure out where Melika is in this world. Even if she isn’t at Madame Cher’s, all you have to do is contact her sister-in-law to find out where she went to.”
“Oh, it’d be easy enough, I’m just not certain I want to.” Rufus set his cup down, frowning. “That’s the thing about this place. It’s like our universe, but bent… cracked somehow. All virtue in our persons seem to have been reduced to dross. Terinu becoming the monster our Mavra Chan wanted to shape him into, Leeza being molded by her father into the dutiful, obedient soldier-daughter, Matt warped from steadfast friend to cringing lackey, my own twin ground down from honorable noble to a wretch only seeking empty, soul destroying pleasures. You...” Rufus paused for a moment, and smiled wanly. “All right, maybe the analogy doesn't hold completely. But can you blame me for being a bit cowardly, and not wanting to find out the truth?”
Lance nodded soberly. “With all the pressures she was under in our universe, it's a wonder she didn't crack there. Here.” He took a reflective sip of his tea and shook his head.
“Well, whatever her fate, may the Holy Den Mother's blessings be upon... her...” Rufus' voice trailed off and he laid his cup carefully on the table as he stared openmouthed at the group coming down the concourse. Lance turned in his seat to find out what caught his attention, to see Melika, dressed in a Vulpine noblewoman's finery, striding down the concourse towards them, an unfamiliar looking Vulpine male by her side, with a pair of energetic cubs looking about six and nine years old respectively tumbling ahead of them.
Rufus got up out of his seat as they approached, saying, “Forgive me, madam, but you are the Lady Softpaw, are you not?” He bowed formally to her.
Surprised, Melika grabbed the shoulder of one of the cubs who threatened to keep barging ahead and replied, “Why yes I am. But I fear you have the better of me, good sir.” She looked him over curiously.
“I am the Viscount Ru-ofanius Brushtail, at your service, Milady, and this is my friend Marine Lt. Lance Freeman,” Rufus replied, bowing again. “Forgive my intrusion, but I always thought it good policy to greet another noble under House Brushtail’s aegis if I see them.”
“Why thank you, Milord,” she said, then gestured towards the male beside her. “This is my husband, Rolas, and these are my children, Teria and Sam. Children, say hello to Lord Brushtail. The cubs gave him a bow and a curtsey respectively, along with a bright “Hello, Milord!”
“Rolas, be a dear and keep the cubs occupied while I speak to our lord and his friend,” Melika asked. Her husband nodded and gathered up their children, vectoring towards a sweet shop across the corridor.
“What brings you out here, if I may inquire?” Rufus asked, once they had left. “I wasn’t aware that the Softpaws had any holdings on Vulpine Secundus.”
Melika nodded. “Not currently, but I’m on a bit of business trip on behalf of my sister-in-law’s farm on Alevela Prime. She’s considering exporting drezil to here, and I was sent to sound out the markets. It seemed a good opportunity for a little family sightseeing as well.”
“Ah, I see,” Rufus said, then added carefully, “I’m glad that you are doing well. I thought I heard a rumor or two a few years ago that your family’s holding on Alevela was having financial difficulties. Forgive me for repeating gossip.”
Melika’s face turned grim. “A little more than gossip, though I’m sorry that it seems to have escaped into the public air. I dislike speaking ill of family, but my brother proved to be… less than suitable for the management of a large agricultural facility. He did begin to run up a debt, but I caught it when I did an early audit. My father arranged to have him moved to a less critical position in management.”
“My apologies for bringing up such a sensitive subject,” Rufus told her.
“Not a worry. It’s all in the past now,” she replied, then looked at him curiously. “I am happy to see that you are doing well. Forgive me, Milord, but some of the most appalling rumors have filtered back to Vulpine Prime about you. Judging from your appearance I’m glad that they don’t seem to be true.”
“Thank you, Miss Softpaw,” he said, smiling. “Unfortunately, much like your tale, there is truth to the rumors concerning myself as well. Amends are being made, but I fear that it will be some time before they are completed.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, looking disturbed.
“Please don’t be. I fear all of my troubles I brought on myself,” he said. “But it gladdens my heart to see that you are doing well. I hope your family brings much joy to you.”
“Thank you, Milord. Good day to you.” Looking a little confused, she gave him an acknowledging nod and then left to intercept her husband, who was emerging from the sweet shop with two very satisfied looking cubs carrying large bags.
“Better?” Lance asked.
“Yes, I suppose I am,” Rufus answered thoughtfully, staring at the retreating family. “How strange, to think those children might have been my brother’s.”
“Hey, don’t forget, mate, they might be yours one of these days.”
“True. Very true,” he replied, and sipped his tea.
* * *
Rufus stepped out of the autocab and onto the flagstones leading up the manor’s portico. “Stay,” he told it. “I won’t be long.”
He looked over the brick and marble entrance to Brushtail Manor, meticulously recreated from architectural records that his ancestors had managed to keep hidden during the Varn Dominion’s wholesale demolition and reconstruction of Vulpine Prime’s cities during the Time of Subjugation. Much of the past five hundred years in turn had been spent yanking down the Dominion’s architecture and replacing it with styles more suited to Vulpine sensibilities.
The hand carved double doors featured heavy brass knockers shaped to the resemble the heads of snarling grass striders. Surely it was only his imagination that the heavy bang they made when he brought one down echoed all the way back up into orbit.
This is a mistake, he thought as he waited before the thick wooden doors. It would have been more sensible to just handle things over the comm. Better, just quietly deposit the two credit transfers in his pocket to their waiting accounts and not say a word. More sensible indeed. Also more cowardly. Face them, you fool, if only to end things and move on.
The doors opened. Whitebrow, the family’s chief bodyservant since Rufus was aware enough to notice him, stepped out and bowed to him. “Welcome home, Master Ru Ofanius.” The old fellow’s sense of sang froid must have been coded into his DNA, for he made no reaction at all to either Rufus’ careworn appearance or his right shirt sleeve, which was pinned up neatly against his shoulder. “Shall I take your bags from the cab?”
“That’s all right, old boy. I won’t be staying long.” He glanced uncertainly inside. “Er, is Mother home?”
Before Whitebrow could answer, he heard Bethany’s voice call from inside and his heart turned over in his chest. “Whitebrow, who is at the door?”
“Master Ru Ofanious, Milady” the old servant answered.
Well, there was no backing out now. Rufus braced himself and stepped through the doors into the manor house's entry hall. Bethany was just stepping through the door from the eastern wing, dressed in the style of a proper young noblevixen, wearing a split skirt dress in the House's colors and with a garland of dried flowers circling her ears. Holy Den Mother, she was just a gawky teenager when I left home seven years ago. Where did this young lady come from?
She let out a cry of “Rufus, it's you!” and rushed over to him, skirts flying. She stopped just short of an undignified collision, her mouth still open in surprise. “Oh, it is you! It is you!”
In the face of that undisguised delight he could not help but smile. “Yes it is, Beth. How are you?”
“I'm just fine, but...” The delight fell from her eyes, replaced with shock. “By the Holy Den Mother, Rufus, what happened to your arm?”
“Oh, I just had a little argument with a pressure door,” he said. “Oh, oh don't cry, Beth.” He wrapped his good arm around her shoulders as she hugged him tightly. “It's not that great a concern. The Den Mother gave me two for a reason, eh? Just in case I needed a spare.”
“But what happened to you?” she demanded, letting go of him. “Rufus, you look so different from the last time we talked.” Politely, she didn't expand on this description. He had lost another five kilos in the sick bay just from being semi-concious on pain drugs and being fed through a glucose tube for several days, never mind the very suddden weight loss when that poor Ferin boy had amputated his arm. Added to the general air of seediness and dessication he'd acquired over the years and he was a far cry from the clean cut, upstanding appearance of his brother from that other universe, whom Beth had seen during that comm call. I'll bet I look like something a Morrow Wolf hunted down and then spat out for being too stringy.
“It's all very complicated, Bethany, and I'm not sure I can explain the reasons why without sounding like an utter madman. You spoke to me, but it wasn't exactly me that you spoke to.”
“Ru, that doesn't make any sense.”
“I know, I'm sorry.” The doors leading the main part of the house opened and he stiffened in surprise as his mother entered, along with Whitebrow, who had politely faded out of the room to apparently find her while Rufus and Bethany greeted each other.
“Hello, Ru Ofanius,” she greeted coolly, unreadable, no hints of either warmth or anger on her face. “You should have called ahead.” She didn't show any of Bethany's shock over his appearance, Whitebrow probably having given her fair warning.
“Hello, Mother,” Rufus greeted in return, giving her a polite bow. “I'm sorry about that, but until the cab actually drove onto the grounds I wasn't sure if I was going to have the courage to walk through those doors.”
She nodded fractionally “I see. So what brings you here?” Well, he hadn't expected wild enthusiasm from her about his unexpected arrival, but his cool politeness of hers was disconcerting. Was he welcome here, or would it be wiser to just get things over with and make a dignified retreat?
“Well, ah, actually, I've got some things for you and Bethany.” He pulled the two voucher cards from his vest pocket, handing the first to his sister and the other to his mother. “There, that is a full repayment of the credits you loaned me, dear Bethany. Mother's is a start on the amount I owe to the House proper.” A very large amount, he thought ruefully. Still, he would find a way to pay it, all of it.
“When did you loan Ru Ofanius money, Bethany?” Mother asked, her face darkening.
“Don't be angry with her, Mother. It was done for a good cause and full payment has been made,” he told her. “Given that the amount she gave to me from her own funds was a far higher percentage than what I had...” Borrowed, stolen, wasted... “...taken from the House finances proper, I thought it best to pay her back first.”
“But how?” Bethany asked. “The last time we talked you made it quite clear that you wouldn't be able to pay me back.”
“Yes, well.” He cleared his throat and stared at the marble floor tiles for a moment, feeling a pain run through him that had nothing to do with the fading medication he'd taken this morning for his aching shoulder. “After.... after selling the White Knight I had a rather comfortable amount of money in my accounts.”
Bethany's mouth opened in shock. 'But Rufus, you loved that fighter of yours! How could you sell it?”
Rufus shook his head. “It was a machine, Bethany, just a machine. I placed... too much value on it. I won't claim that I won't miss her, but she should not have had a hold on my heart greater than the one my family had for me.” Still had? Perhaps. “Well, anyway, I should take my leave of you now.”
“Leave! But you've only just arrived!”
“Yes, well, I'm sorry. You see, I've got to find an apartment in town, and then set up a doctor's appointment at the local clinic. The first of a great many doctor appointments, I fear.”
“Don't be ridiculous Rufus, your place is here,” his mother said firmly. “I'll have Whitebrow open up your rooms.”
Rufus blinked. “You kept my rooms for me?”
“Of course we did. Did you think we wouldn't?”
“Well, yes, I certainly wouldn't have blamed you.” He shook his head. “Mother, I must warn you, I have a great many problems besides my missing arm that have to be dealt with. I will in all probability be very short tempered, whining, and quite objectionable to live with. I will not, in other words, be good company.”
His mother gave him a short nod of aknowledgment. “Perhaps not. Nevertheless, you will be here, part of our House, as you should be.”
“Oh,” was all he could say, as Bethany gripped his hand and smiled in delight.
“I'll have Whitebrow get you bags from the car. Dinner is at the usual time. Please don't forget to dress properly.”
“Yes, Mother.”
She leaned over to buss him gently on the cheek. “And welcome home, Ru Ofanius.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
The End
Previous Entries:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Leeza sat across from Captain Blake in the conference room, sipping her first cup of coffee in a week, trying to keep her head from exploding from sheer cognitive dissonance. “So you thought the best solution was to drop a salvo of nuclear weapons down on your target, since you couldn’t get at him directly?” It was less than twelve hours since they’d rendezvoused with the Suhayar, which was now well out of Bolt Hole’s system, heading towards the Terran Federation border. When they had reached the little fleet, she’d thought they’d finally found safe shelter. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
“It worked,” Blake replied tightly. “We have our target and a major pirate warlord is dead.”
“Dad must be proud of you,” Leeza said, smiling fixedly. She set her coffee cup down before she could do something really foolish with it.
Rufus who was sitting next to Leeza and had been listening to the exchange with a sour expression on his face, said, “I assume, given this… success, that you are going to release young Mr. Townsend and both Lances from custody then. Not to mention release our Terinu from confinement in his cabin.” Captain Blake had very nearly thrown the boy into the brig next his twin, apparently on general principles. However she had been shouted down by both Leeza and Rufus, after they pointed out that he’d been integral to their rescue and helping preserve the life of Rufus’ brother, who was still unconscious in sick bay.
“Lance and Lance conspired to enter falsified data into my ship’s secured computer system. Mr. Townsend has been tried in absentia for participating in acts of piracy and therefore…”
“Is not subject to prosecution because he was under the age of eighteen at the time they were committed. The same goes for your Terinu as a matter of fact. Null argument,” Leeza said flatly. “Unless things the laws here are different of course. If not, you and Dad don’t have a legal leg to stand on.”
“Sexual assault doesn’t have an age limitation,” Captain Blake pointed out.
“You have no proof of that.”
Blake’s expression turned frosty. “The ship’s surgeon begs to differ.”
Unfortunately on that point the captain was likely right. In the brief time she’d had to speak to Matt, she hadn’t pressed him on the details of the relationship between himself and the other Terinu. Though it was obvious going by what happened to Mavra Chan that the boy cared deeply for his human friend, there were undercurrents to it that that disturbed her and upset her own Terinu badly enough to take pleasure in mutilating his twin’s tail. “I think you’d agree that pressing charges on that matter is Matt’s prerogative.”
“I don’t.”
Rufus cut in sharply. “Then if you believe him to be a victim, would you kindly explain what he’s doing in the brig?”
“I don’t want him going anywhere. Bluntly, if his mind is as confused as any other victim of long term abuse, he might try something foolish and attempt to help the Ferin to escape. I will not allow that.”
Leeza waved Rufus down before he could try a counter-argument, trying to gather her thoughts. Frell, the woman sitting across the table was herself, at least on the genetic level. If she’d been raised by Vonnie as Leeza had, that had to mean that there was integrated BS detector in her brain somewhere. “Look, have you asked Dad why he wanted Terinu so badly and what he intends to do with him?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Captain Blake leaned forward in her seat, templing her fingers together. “I’m a naval officer. I don’t question orders.”
“And the fact that he gave you command of a three ship fleet in order to capture a single pirate didn’t seem the least bit curious to you?”
“Of course it did, but my curiosity cannot compromise my mission’s security. If the Admiral wants that boy that badly, I can only assume there’s a good reason. If he has the same energy generating ability as your Ferin though, I can make a reasonable guess.”
“Look, you just can’t hand him over to Dad’s pet science team. He wants nothing more than to dissect the boy to see what makes him tick.”
Blake nodded in seeming satisfaction. “Well then, it’s a good thing I’m giving him two to play with.”
Leeza felt the blood drain away from her face in shock. “No! You can’t do that!”
“Ms. Blake,” the captain said calmly, “I have achieved mission success only by the slimmest of margins. One third of my fleet has been destroyed. Between the loss of the Wilson and the failed ground assault we suffered over three hundred casualties. Even if we did succeed in cutting off the head of one of the largest pirate fleets in the disputed territories in addition to capturing the Ferin, that still leaves me with a very high price for success. One of them might be enough to satisfy the Admiral, but two would give him much more than he was expecting.”
“Out of the question!” Rufus said. “He was never your target, we’re all here by accident! You have no authority to hold any of us!”
“If the Ferin are as big a threat as Admiral Blake believes, I would be incredibly foolish to let an additional example just go wandering off,” Blake said firmly. “The rest of you, of course, will be free to go once you’ve signed the necessary Official Secrets documents.”
“We are not leaving without Teri,” Leeza said. “That’s final.”
“Why are you assuming you have a choice in the matter?” Blake touched the conference table’s integrated com pad. “First Officer, have ship’s security come to the conference room and escort Ms. Blake and Lord Brushtail to their quarters. They are to remain there until the sick bay gives me assurance that the other Vulpine can be moved safely. Then they’re all leaving.”
“I can’t leave here without Terinu,” Leeza said, rising up from her seat. “I’m his legal guardian, and leaving him here with you is as bad as permitting his murder!”
Captain Blake looked her and let out a tired sigh, but before she could say anything further the com pad beeped and she answered it, “Blake here.”
Captain, we have four ships approaching us on an interception vector, the XO reported. They’re each approximately twice our size and power output.
Blake straightened up in her seat, her attention fully engaged. “Have they transmitted any identification?”
Negative. They appear to be of a design that the ship’s computer can’t identify. But they’re putting out enough power to overtake us easily.
“Pipe the data down to the conference room’s main display.” The holographic projector in the center of the table flared to life and a graphical display of the unknown ship’s approximate shape and power curve appeared. “What the hell is that?” Blake wondered aloud.
“I don’t think either of us are going to be keeping either your Terinu, or ours,” Rufus said softly, as Leeza felt her blood run cold.
“You know that design?” Blake demanded.
“Oh, yeah,” Leeza said. “It’s a warship. The last time we saw ships of that type, they were escorting a cannon ship to attack a Creo asteroid colony.”
Message from lead ship being transmitted to us, Captain.
“Pipe it through,” Blake ordered. She cleared her throat and said, “This is Captain Leeza Blake of the Terran Federation. Identify yourselves and state your intentions.”
The image in the holoprojector changed, revealing a stern, golden eyed, reptilian face.
“This is Administrator Oryon Gisko of the Varn Dominion,” the Galapados said. “Please cease acceleration, power down your engines and weapons and stand by to receive our boarding party.”
* * *
Terinu paced back and forth across the floor of his cabin, wishing he could start tearing up the furniture to cut loose his frustration. But Leeza had said, Stay here and don’t cause a scene, so he was stuck in this cabin and had to keep quiet. Fragg “cabin”, it may as well be another cell, he thought. Why the fragg hadn’t they had just cut and run instead of coming back to this ship?
Lance could’a found his way out on his own. But Rufus’ brother had been in a bad way and Terinu had to admit he was lot happier with his own twin in a nice tight cell. If only Leeza’s double hadn’t been such a ram arse about Matt being stuck in there with his twin, he would’a been happy to stay right here.
He figured that was what burned the most. That bastard with his face was safe, with his Matt. Meanwhile the boy that Terinu had shared half of his life with was still stuck on their universe’s Celestial Marauder and there wasn’t a fragging thing he could do about it.
On top of all that, he was still trying to shake the horrible connection he’d shared with Rufus’ brother when he’d amputated the poor sod’s arm. All that horrible pain, mixed in with the fear of living and risking failure all over again. He wanted to die, Terinu thought. He’d wanted a nice, heroic death and I went and screwed it up for him by givin’ him an out. He wondered if the Vulp would ever forgive him for that.
There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t fix Rufus’ brother’s arm, he couldn’t rescue his Matt, he couldn’t even leave this fraggin’ cabin without Leeza saying he could. He was fragging stuck.
Well, it could be worse, he reflected. At least he was in a comfortable cabin, unlike his twin’s cell. Nothin’ worse than being locked inside of a box, with no way out.
The cabin’s door chimed and heard Leeza’s voice call out, “Teri, are you okay?”
“If that’s really you and not Captain Stick-Up-Her-Arse, I’m all right. Can I come out now?”
“Uh, yeah, Teri, you can come out.” The worried tone of her voice made Terinu’s spurs prick up and his tail rise in wariness. He stepped away from the door and back into the middle of the cabin, leaning forward on the balls of his feet, giving himself as much room to maneuver as he could.
“Open the door then. I can’t do it from in here, remember.”
“Right.” The door slid back, revealing Leeza standing in the corridor. Beside her was old looking human male, with grey eyes and wisps of white hair puffing out from his head, dressed in a dark grey and black robe with a golden DNA helix pin over his heart. He hissed when he saw that behind them were a pair of Galapados warriors, armed with holstered pistols.
“Teri, don’t fight them!” she said. “Things are… a little strange right now.”
“Hello there, young man,” the geezer in the robes said, smiling at him. “You have no idea how pleased you are about to make my master.”
Terinu glanced at the two scaly goons behind him and snorted. “I got a good idea, I think.”
* * *
Matt curled up in his corner of the cell, covering his ears in protection as Terinu continued to rant. The other boy had woken up about fifteen minutes ago, a little after the guards had moved Lance and Lance to another cell, and had been shouting hysterically ever since.
“This is all YOUR FAULT, Matt!” Terinu shouted, pulling forward as far as he could against the cables binding him to the wall. “Why the fragg couldn’t have LISTENED TO ME?” He banged his head against the wall’s unyielding steel, trying vainly to dislodge his inhibitor collar.
“Teri, it’s not that bad…”
“Not that bad! Don’t you get it? We’ve lost everything! Chan is dead! There’s no one to protect us! The fraggin’ GSA is gonna sell us to some corp to crack rocks in an asteroid mine, or muck out toxic waste in a chem plant. But it woulda never have happened if you’d just DONE WHAT YOU WERE TOLD and not talked to anybody. But no! You had to listen to that bitch’s sob story and let her out of her cell. If you hadn’t done that, Chan wouldn’ had any reason to stick you in the brig! She wouldn’ told me to try and kill you! And then I wouldn’ had to BLOW HER FRAGGIN’ HEAD OFF!” He thrashed against his restraints again, hissing in anger.
“Yeah, great life we had on the Marauder,” Matt finally snapped back “If Brooks hadn’t tried to kick the sh*t out of me last year, you wouldn’t have blown his head off either and nothing would have changed. I’d be working for Cookie and you would have been still mucking out the waste traps. We’d be happy little pirate slaves, instead just prisoners!”
“You stupid, oversized, blond idiot! They’re gonna take you away from me! I won’t be able to PROTECT YOU!”
“Protect me? Protect me?” Matt stood up, angry, hating himself because for all of Terinu’s selfishness he could still see the fear behind his once-a-friend’s eyes. “Maybe I never wanted to be protected, Teri. Hu? How’s that sound?”
“Shut up,” Terinu muttered, hands clenching around his restraining cables. “You’re an idiot, you don’t know anything about how stuff works.”
“I don’t want to be protected by you, Teri,” Matt said, every verbal thrust making Terinu flinch. “I never wanted to be protected by you. I don’t want to be with you anymore!”
“Shut up!” Terinu hissed. “You don’t mean that, you don’t know nothing’, so just shut up!”
Matt felt his face grow heated, the blood pounding in his head. “No, not this time. This time you shut up, Teri. For once in your fraggin’ miserable life would you just sit down and shut up!”
Then, to Matt’s astonishment, Terinu did just that. The Ferin boy sat down on the floor, tail lashing, spurs back, his mouth clamped tight, eyes wide in absolute terror.
“Terinu?” The Ferin boy kept silent. “Terinu, talk to me, what are you doing?”
Terinu swallowed hard. “Sitting down and shutting up.”
Matt blinked. “Why?” Terinu lowered his head and stared at the deck, breathing heavily. “Terinu, tell me why?”
He answered, his voice strained. “Because... because you told me to...”
Matt's mind flashed back to the awful, chaotic scene when Lady Chan had confronted them during the second escape attempt. Brushtail's brother lying semi-concious on the floor, Terinu's hands at Matt's throat, the Ferin boy looking as scared as he did now, his Bion starting to burn Matt's throat, as Mavra lorded her control over him. And Terinu's twin, screaming.
You're always have a Master, but you can choose who they are!
“Oh,” Matt said, feeling giddy. “Oh...” He felt a weird, wild grin cross his face and fought the urge to laugh.
Terinu, still staring at the deck, clenched his jaw, then opened his mouth, the words coming out as if he had to fight for every one of them. “Matt... please... don't...”
“I told you to shut up.”
Terinu's jaw clamped shut again.
“Stand up.”
Terinu stood.
“Look at me.”
Terinu's eyes locked with his, still wide with fear over this revelation. His spurs were still down and his tail flat on the floor. He looked more vulnerable than Matt had even seen him before, even after one of Brooks' beatings when Matt had carried him back to his cabin, tended his bruises and held him tight.
“You can't hurt me anymore,” Matt said with wonder. He cleared his throat and said with more authority. “I order you not to hurt me anymore. Never touch me without permission, ever again. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“'Yes', what?”
Terinu swallowed hard. “Yes... Master.”
“Never hurt anyone else either. Um, unless they're trying to hurt you first and you need to defend yourself.”
“Yes, Master.”
Matt nodded, then said, “Don't move.” He walked over to Terinu and reached out, his hand brushing the younger boy's cheek. Terinu didn't even flinch, though his eyes were now the size of spotlights almost and his breath was coming hard and fast.
He let his hand drop down to Teri's chest and let it sit there, over the boy's heart. “I'm not you, Terinu. I'm not going to make you stay locked up in your cabin all day except for your duties. I'm not going to hurt you when you get out of line. I'm never going to...” He swallowed, suddenly ashamed, and let his hand drop away. “Okay, that's enough, you can talk and everything now.”
Terinu fell back against the wall, slumping down to the floor, eyes closed, tears running down his cheeks. Matt stepped back, giving him room, dropping down into a squat and trying to think.
“Hello, boys. Am I interrupting something?” a voice said. They both jumped up again, turning in its direction. Standing outside their cell was an elderly woman in dark grey and black robes, a golden pin with a DNA helix over her heart. Her face was dark and wide, and she was smiling slightly. Behind her were two... well, Matt wasn't sure what they were, aside from tall, green, scaly and armed. She touched her hand to her lips, looking at Terinu in something close to wonder. “Oh, they weren't kidding, there are two of you on board. I could cry, its been so long since I've seen anyone like you, son.”
She motioned to one of the lizards, who nodded and touched the door controls. The cell opened and she stepped inside, still looking at Terinu. “I've been informed that you're rather feral, young man.”
Terinu hissed, some of his aggressiveness returning. “Who the fragg are you?”
Her eyes grew wintry. “Oh, no one important these days.”
“What do you want?” Matt asked.
“Oh, I want your friend, young man. Or rather, my master does. You can both come with me though. I'm sure he's going to be delighted to meet you all.” Another motion to the lizards and Terinu's restraints were unhooked from the walls, though they left the cables connecting his wrists and ankles on.
“Um, you might want to leave those on him,” Matt cautioned, then said to Teri, “Sorry.”
Her eyebrows rose. “If you think so. Come along boys, there's someone who has been waiting to meet you for a very long time.”
* * *
“Hail, hail, the gang’s all here,” Leeza muttered to herself, earning a dark look from Captain Blake, who was sitting across from her in the Galapados transfer shuttle’s passenger cabin. Terinu and Terinu were also glaring at each other, though Matthew was sitting next to his universe’s Ferin with much less anxiety than before. Lance and Lance were there as well, having been released from their cells at Leeza’s urging, over the loud objections of Captain Blake, with the simple argument that they were friends of Terinu. This seemed to be enough to satisfy the two elderly humans that seemed to be in charge of the Galapagos boarding party. Finally, Rufus sat alone in a seat, his brother being in no condition to leave the sick bay of the Suyahar just yet.
And who are you two? she wondered. They hadn’t bothered to introduce themselves, except to tell them that everything would be explained on board the Galapagos fleet’s flagship. The elderly woman in particular was bothering her greatly. She was a native Australian, going by her features and her accent, and Leeza couldn’t shake the feeling that she aught to know who she was.
The last of the Galapagos warriors boarded the shuttle and it soon released its docking clamps, jetting over to the flagship. Captain Blake glanced in Leeza’s direction and asked softly, “You’re certain these Galapagos are a product of the Varn Dominion?”
“Yes, Gisko in particular is the general of their army in my universe. They were designed to be warriors, genetically engineered to be loyal to the Dominion.”
Blake shook her head. “The Varn Dominion. I’m still not sure I believe it.”
“Dad does,” Leeza told her. “Ask him about them and there’s a chance he might even give you a straight answer.”
Blake glared at her again, nodding towards the Terinus. “And what do those two have to do with the Dominion?”
“I think that’s going to be explained to us shortly.” Perhaps it was wrong of her to keep the secret of the Ferin’s origins and purpose from Blake. There was a good chance that the Gene Mage would want them both for the same purpose in Leeza’s universe, to jump start the Dominion’s power base. Frell, there’s nothing I can do to change what’s going to happen. Let her find out on her own. She supposed that she should be grateful that Blake hadn’t tried anything suicidally stupid, like destroying her ship to prevent her prisoners from being taken. Apparently the Admiral hadn’t bothered to tell her exactly why Terinu was such a tremendous threat to the GSA, which was fine by Leeza. Compared to dealing with my Evil Twin, I think I’ll take my chances with the Gene Mage.
Except that she couldn’t damp down the nagging worry in her mind about exactly what kind of Gene Mage they were going to encounter. Leaving aside Lance, every one of their doubles in this place seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. The Gene Mage in our universe and in this one ordered the attack on the Earth that killed billions of humans. What could he do that would be more heinous than that?
She felt the shuttle’s maneuvering jets fire, turning it on its axis and then shortly thereafter she could see a large shuttle bay swallowing their ship, before the landing gear came down and they settled on the deck. Then there was a heavy vibration towards the rear as the bay door closed and then a loud whoosh as the entire hanger bay was pressurized. The shuttle’s passenger door cycled open and another elderly human entered, this one a male of Arabic extraction, Leeza guessed as the alarm bells in the back of her brain started sounding a loud chorus.
“Ah, good, everyone is here,” the Arabic man said. He looked at the passengers, his eyes widening. “Did we intercept a convention of identical twins?”
The other old man, who’s accent Leeza now was certain was American, laughed and then answered, “Believe me, it was a surprise to us too. Almost gave me a heart attack when I realized there were two Ferin on board.”
“He’ll be so pleased,” the Arabic man said, grinning. He motioned to the Leeza and the other “guests”. “Come along everyone, there’s someone who is quite eager to see you.”
Captain Blake stood up, glaring at him. “We’re not going anywhere until I get some answers. Who are you people and what is your connection with the Dominion? Why are humans working for the Varn? You’re traitors to Humanity!”
“Oh, we’re not traitors,” the American said, looking wistful and a little embarrassed.
“That’s a very complicated question,” the Australian woman answered, seemingly unoffended. “But if you come with us, all should be made clear.”
Leeza stood up and placed a calming hand on Blake’s elbow. “Let it go,” she advised.
“But they’re…” Blake began.
“Not traitors, I don’t think. But I am pretty sure I know who they are.”
“Who!”
Leeza frowned at her. “Figure it out.” She, Captain Blake and the rest of their party exited the shuttle, bracketed by the Galapagos, with the trio of elders leading the way down wide corridors with tall, arching ceilings, so very different from the narrow, utilitarian corridors of the Suhayar.
“Why did you intercept us?” Blake demanded, striding up next to the Arabic man. “The GSA won’t stand for this, it’s an act of war!”
“We meant no harm,” he replied. “Courtesy of our friends the Ardactavians, we received reports of your upcoming mission to Bolt Hole to intercept that vile pirate’s ship and take the young Ferin. When we informed our wise master of this, he was quite frantic that we reach Mavra Chan first. As it happened we were unable to launch the mission on such short notice, but we did manage to reach your ships after you successfully rescued the child.”
“This is not how we intended to announce ourselves on the galactic scene,” the elderly woman continued, “but we could not afford for the boy, boys rather, to be handed over to the same people that may have slaughtered the Ferin in the first place.”
“What do you mean? What are those alien boys to you?”
“Redemption, in a manner of speaking,” the American man finished, looking quite sad. “For you see, I think I was most responsible for their destruction in the first place.”
“How could you possibly… be…” Captain Blake looked at the old men and woman. Really looked for the first time, Leeza suspected.
“’They’ve got a power source that… well, I don’t know if I believe it or not, but it’s the weirdest thing you ever saw,’” Leeza quoted.
Captain Blake, wide eyed now, began to sputter. “You aren’t… that’s not possible. You’d be over five hundred years old!”
“The Varn are not truly gods, despite what our Galapagos friends think,” her ship’s namesake said with a smile, “but they have a most excellent health plan.”
That succeeded in shutting up a stunned Blake until they went down a spiraling ramp and were ushered into the garden.
That was the only way Leeza could describe it. It was too large to be called an arboretum, and her engineer’s mind balked at calling anything housed on a ship a “park”. The space appeared to open from one end of the ship to the other, taking up three entire decks. High trees with wide, spade shaped leaves soared over their heads, reaching for a bright blue, holographic sky, while the ground was covered in gentle grass and flowering bushes. Strange birds with long flowing tails darted overhead, zipping between the trees and singing strange alien songs.
They followed a gravel path that curved around a sculptured rock outcropping, entering a sort of grotto that made a private space in the immense open habitat. There, Gisko, wearing flowing robes similar to what the three elderly humans wore, motioned them to gather at the massive, green skinned, horned form that sat on his throne before them.
“Our Wise Master, the Varn Gene Mage, ruler of the Varn Dominion,” he announced formally, sweeping them a bow.
Terinu was the first one to ask the thought that had immediately crossed Leeza’s mind. “Why does he look so old?”
It was true. The Gene Mage sat slumped in his high backed padded chair, his dark robes seeming to almost swallow him. His face was as deeply lined as the three humans that served him, and his eyes were nearly closed. Leeza realized with a start that he was actually asleep.
“My lord,” Gisko said softly, touching his master’s shoulder. “My lord, they are here.”
“Mmm?” The Gene Mage blinked and sat up, looking at them with rheumy golden eyes. They fell upon Terinu and his twin and his forehead wrinkled in confusion. “There are two of them? With identical DNA patterns?”
“Yes, Wise Master,” Ari Suyahar said. “The situation was… vastly more complicated than we first believed.”
“We will explain it to you at length, later,” Rachael told him gently.
“Ah.” With pained effort, the ancient Varn pushed himself to his feet, taking hold of a thick walking staff made of what looked like black iron that had been leaning against the chair. He hobbled over to where the two Ferin boys waited, looking down on them with confusion. His mouth opened, then closed. Turning to Gisko, who was hovering at his elbow, he asked in a desperate tone, “Are they real?”
Gisko bowed slightly to him. “Yes, Lord Gene Mage. They are as real as I am. Both they and I are products of your vast wisdom, skill and patience.”
“Ah.” Gisko moved forward quickly to steady the Gene Mage as he kneeled down, reaching out to brush his fingers across the cheek of Terinu’s twin. The boy looked terrified, but he withstood the touch, as Matt kept a steady hand on his shoulder. “Why are you bound so cruelly, child? Why is your beautiful tail spade so terribly mutilated?”
“This is the Ferin who was held by the human pirate, Milord,” Mark Wilson told him. “From what we have been able to gather, he was treated with vast cruelty during her years with her. It has left him… undersocialized.”
“I see,” the Gene Mage said doubtfully. “What of the other?”
Terinu, who had probably had more fear in him for his universe’s Gene Mage, rather than the elderly, sad figure before them, answered for himself. “I ain’t from around here. This rat next to me is me, if everything in my life was more screwed up than it already was.”
“I… don’t…” The Gene Mage shook his head. “It does not matter. My Ferin, my beautiful, sweet limbed Ferin are restored to me. All is in balance once again.” With Gisko’s help he rose to his feet again and made his way to his chair to address his guests. “For this gift, there is nothing I would not be willing to give you. Please, seat yourselves. Let there be food and drink brought out to celebrate this wonderful event.”
Leeza sat with everyone else in a semi-circle in front of the Gene Mage, on cleverly sculpted rock formations that served as comfortable chairs. As Galapagos servants brought out the food, Lance leaned over towards her and whispered, “Lee, I’m not sure what his scarier, the Gene Mage looking like a mummy out of a bad horror movie, or the fact he’s acting so damned senile.”
“It’s a trap,” Captain Blake muttered. “They’re trying to lure us in, make us complacent.”
Lance’s twin, who was sitting nearby, pressed his palm to his forehead. “Lee, get a clue, would you? If they want something from us, all they have to do is grab it, the boy included. They don’t have to make nice to us to get what they want.”
“There’s one thing I don’t understand. From what we know of Varn culture, there appears to be little pity for the weak within it. How is it that the Gene Mage has survived in this state and not been eaten alive by his contemporaries?” Rufus asked, drifting over after accepting a plate from a servitor. It was filled, Leeza noted with surprise, with a perfectly human looking dinner of barbequed chicken with recognizable vegetables on the side. Or maybe that wasn’t so surprising given the three notable individuals who had brought them here.
“I think I can answer your questions,” Rachael Namatjira said, approaching them. She seated herself cross-legged on a nearby rock, keeping an eye on the two Terinus, who were both wolfing down meals of fresh vegetables, while Ari spoke to them and Matt. “I fear there aren’t any other Varn to worry about.”
“What do you mean?” Leeza asked.
“They are all dead. Our Lord Gene Mage is the last one.”
Captain Blake looked at her in disbelief. “So what happened to them? We know the Varn escaped us during the end of the Twenty Year War. They couldn’t have all died of old age since then.”
Rachael frowned. “Oh, not of old age. You see, the slaughter of the Ferin that was conducted by the rebels was quite thorough. The only ones that were left were onboard the ship the remaining Varn were using to escape, housed in the ship’s power cell.”
“How do you know this?” Blake demanded.
“We were there. The Gene Mage chose to take us with him during the final evacuation. Even then he was still holding onto the hope of finding some kind of reconciliation with the rebels, though I fear he was the only one. During the escape two things became apparent. One, ship was being pursued with a vengeance by the rebels, permitting no chance to rest, and two, there were not enough remaining Ferin to maintain the normal cycle of service and rest that was needed to preserve their health. They were being, quite literally, worked to death.” Rachael’s face drew down in a frown, remembering.
“The Gene Mage argued that it was necessary to find a safe hiding place, so his precious Ferin could recover their strength. The other Varn, particularly Dream Stalker, disagreed. They voted to keep running for the Ardactavian border at full speed, to cross into territory the rebels dared not enter. When the Gene Mage, finding no allies for his plan, attempted to disengage the power cell and release the Ferin, the other Varn had him and his servitors confined to his suite.” She paused, a dark expression falling over her face. “Up until that point, I had seen him in many states of mind. Gentle, arrogant, loving, condescending, he was as capable of as full a range as any other being. But until then, I had never seen rage or fear.”
“What happened to the Ferin in the power cell?” Leeza asked.
“They died,” Rachael said flatly. “When they had been... used up, Dream Stalker allowed the Gene Mage out of his suite, to allow him to salvage their DNA and clone their replacements. Apparently the process of Ferin gestation is too complicated to allow for conventional cloning however, and so they couldn't be restored in that way. So they were really dead, the entire race, thousands of years of nurturing on the Gene Mage's part, destroyed in a few short weeks.”
“The Gene Mage was distraught at the thought of all of his precious Ferin being dead. Distraught and profoundly enraged. He blamed Dream Stalker in particular for what happened. He... he went a bit crazy I think.”
“As opposed to now,” Lance said sotto voce. Leeza spared a moment to jab him in the ribs with her elbow before turning her attention back to old Rachael's tale.
“So what happened to all the other Varn?” Captain Blake asked.
“He engineered a virus,” Rachael said. “You have to understand, they may have fancied themselves gods, but if they were it was of the Greek variety, with all the tendency towards backstabbing that implies. So I think the virus was something he'd already had cooked up. It was supposed to, he said later, just kill her. Instead it went wild throughout the ship and killed them all.”
“Except for him of course,” Blake said, disbelief apparent.
Rachael shrugged. “Our Wise Master was not an idiot. He'd set the containment seals in the ship's labs in place and sealed us all inside before he let the virus out. When it became apparent that the thing had mutated during its years in storage and gone wildfire, he nearly opened the seals up again to try and help his kin, but we all ended up tackling him to stop him from killing himself. Later he stayed inside while we went through the process of decontaminating the ship and disposing of all the bodies.”
“Why the frell didn't you just let him die?” Blake demanded.
“Well, for one thing the ship's navigation controls were locked to a genetic scanner, so only a Varn could alter her course. We didn't fancy flying onward for fifty or a hundred years until her recycling systems broke down and we starved to death. For another, we just pitied him at the point. Losing the Ferin, and then realizing he'd just killed the remainder of his own race, broke the Gene Mage. For all the evils that he had perpetuated throughout the millennia, for all the dead children that were scattered across the Earth from the Mantle Cracker's weapon, we could not help but feel sorry for the sad figure he'd been reduced to.”
Leeza glanced over to where the Gene Mage sat, asleep on his throne again, a half-eaten plate of food forgotten in his lap. Gisko stood station at his right side, watching over his master, an apparently familiar position from the calm look on his lizard face. “So his aging, is that part of the virus' effects?”
“No,” Rachael said. “Varn immortality requires a certain amount of preventive maintenance. When the Gene Mage realized that the remainder of his race was dead, he elected to cease taking the necessary anti-agathic treatments to stave of the aging process. As you can see, he's almost at the end of what would have been a normal Varn lifespan, before they altered themselves towards supposed genetic perfection.”
“So what happens when he's gone?” Lance asked.
“That will be the end of the Varn Dominion,” she said. “What remains of it, mostly just the Varn databanks now, will pass on to the Galapagos. He created them to be servants, when he realized that the anti-aging gene hacks he'd placed in my, Ari and Mark's DNA codes weren't going to hold out forever. Instead they're going to be his successors, inheriting what the Varn had created.”
“And what about the Ferin?” Leeza asked.
“Ah,” Rachael said. “That's a different matter.” She gestured over to the two boys. Terinu looking deceptively bored by the whole proceeding, hiding his usual caution behind a wall of cool bravado, Leeza suspected. His twin, on the other hand, was looking close to catatonic again, having been exposed to a Varn and their overwhelming air of authority over their little grey servants for the first time. “There is… something… about the Ferin that requires a live specimen to make any hope of restarting their species even a possibility. That one secret the Gene Mage has kept to himself, even as we helped him prepare the necessary equipment to begin maturing cloned Ferin embryos in the birthing tanks. And the only living Ferin that have been seen in the past five hundred years are sitting right over there.”
“That presents a bit of a dilemma,” Rufus said. “I’m certainly not going to let our Terinu be handed over to the Dominion, and I’d hesitate before even giving his brother.”
“I’m not handing either of them over,” Captain Blake said firmly. “They both belong to the GSA.”
“They both belong to themselves, Captain,” Leeza said. “Why don’t we talk to them about it?” Not waiting for an answer, she stood up and walked over to where the boys sat. Well, Terinu sat. His twin was curled up into a ball, leaning against Matt, who was petting his hair gently.
“Things didn’t go well?” Rachael asked Ari, having followed Leeza and the rest of the little group.
“The young man seems overstressed,” he replied mildly. “I’m afraid he isn’t ready to grasp the implications of his role just yet.”
“What role?” Leeza asked.
“Restoration,” the Gene Mage said, having woken up. He hobbled over to the two boys, his eyes seeming a bit brighter, his stance straighter, though Gisko still hovered protectively beside him. “Young ones, you have nothing to fear from me. I only wish to restore your race. Without your aid, it will remain lost, dead, thousands of years of effort stolen away by the forces of destruction. With it, the Ferin shall live again.”
“To get stuck in tanks to power up Galapagos ships instead’a Varn ones? Thanks, but no thanks,” Terinu said defiantly, tail lashing.
“No,” Gisko said. “The Galapagos have our own sources of power. Wind and tide serve well enough on our homeworld, as does fusion in space. We have no need of the power cells of ancient pasts.”
“What do you want us for, then?” Terinu's twin asked in a small, quiet voice, head still hung low, as Matt kept petting his hair.
“I explained that, child,” the Gene Mage said. “To give back what was lost to the universe. Your uniqueness.”
“And after? What are ya goin' to do with all this uniqueness you'd cook up?”
The Gene Mage tilted his head, in respect for the question. “Afterward... I do not think I will be able to guide you. Whatever path you choose, will be your own. I simply… want you to be.”
Terinu perched on his seat rock, sitting on his haunches, frowning at his broken twin and the broken Varn. Finally his gaze turned towards blond human boy, twin to his best friend in the universe. “It’s your call, Matt.”
Matt looked up at him in surprise. “Not mine!”
“Yeah it is. Haven’t you figured out what you are to your Terinu yet?”
“I… how do you know that?”
Terinu smiled. “Out of everyone else in that cell bay, who else could it be?”
“What are you two talking about? Townsend has no say in this!” Blake interjected, to be met with a general call of Shut up! from everyone aside from the Gene Mage, Gisko and Rachael.
“But what are you saying? Should we go with the Gene Mage?” Matt asked.
Terinu shrugged. “Ya wanna go with Captain Nuke-em-all, instead? Ya can’t make it on your own, not yet, and I know we’d have a hard time protectin’ ya both in our universe. Here, it looks like the Gene Mage and Gisko might be your best bet.”
“Yeah, but… You don’t understand. I can’t keep Teri, my Teri, locked up like he is now 24/7. And he needs... help.”
“You won’t be doing it alone,” Lance’s brother said. “I’ll help you out.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Lance. You’re coming home to face charges,” Captain Blake said. “You go with them it’ll be an act of treason.”
Lance shrugged. “I’m gonna get thrown in the poke for disobeying orders anyway. Adding on treason wouldn’t be that bad.” Leeza covered her mouth, fighting the urge to put her two credits in. Really, it was amazing to watch the man politely dismiss all of his cousin’s demands, like a rock watching the waves try and drown it.
For the first time, a look of genuine worry crossed Blake’s face. “Lance, they’re aliens, they’re the Dominion. You go with them, you might not ever be coming home.”
“Yah, that part I’m not too fond of. Can’t imagine Mum and Dad will be happy about it, but I think they’d want me to be doing the right thing.”
Blake’s voice became pleading. “But Lance, what am I going to tell Vonnie?”
“You may tell them that their offspring is now an ambassador of the Galapagos,” Gisko said smoothly. “You do have the custom ‘diplomatic immunity’ still, do you not?”
“Yeah,” Lance said.
“Well then, we will need someone to represent us when the Galapagos choose to enter the larger galactic scene. Having someone who knows the Gal Sapiens Alliance as a native would help us immensely. If you are genuinely interested of course.”
Lance brightened. “Oh, that’ll work fine. Thanks mate!”
“I don’t believe this is happening,” Blake, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose, as if she had a terrible headache coming on. “Well, at least we’ve still got the other one to give to Dad.”
“No, I really don’t think that’ll do,” Rufus interjected. Turning to Gisko and the Gene Mage, he asked politely. “You do, I hope, only need one of the boys for your little project, correct?”
The Gene Mage opened and closed his mouth, as if unsure as to what to say, but Gisko answered for him. “I believe one will be sufficient, yes.”
“Excellent,” Rufus said. “Then I would like to ask you, as a noble of the House of Brushtail and a secondary member of the Council of Vulpine Lords, to give us a lift to the border of Vulpine territory. After retrieving my brother from the Suyahar’s sickbay and all three of our fighters from her hanger, if it is convienient. From there we should be able to find comfortable accomidations until Leeza can use her scanner data to calculate where that damnable gravity anomaly is going to show up next.”
“I believe we can accommodate your wishes quite easily,” Gisko said with a smile. We'll disable their engines and communications gear as well, to give ourselves a nice head start.”
The Gene Mage looked down on Matt and his Terinu. “Young man, child of my skill, come with me. There is much I wish to show you.” Matt helped Terinu's twin to his feet and together, accompanied by Gisko and Rachael, they walked out of the grotto and into their future.
“So this is how it ends?” Blake asked, sitting heavily on a rock, looking worn out. “A third of my fleet destroyed, over three hundred casualties, my own cousin turned traitor and not one damned thing to show for it.”
“Look on the bright side,” her Lance said. “We killed Mavra Chan, cutting the head off the biggest pirate fleet in the Disputed Territories, and we've also got proof that the Dominion is no threat to either Earth or the GSA. That ought to make Uncle Erwin a little happy, don't you think?”
The annoyed stare she returned was enough to shut her cousin up from further speculation.
“What aout you, Terinu?” Leeza asked. “Are you okay with everything?”
Terinu looked away from the grotto's entrance, where Matt and his twin had dissapeared. “Yeah, I guess,” he admitted. “I wish I could have gotten my Matt away from Mavra, but at least one of them did.”
“What about your twin?” Rufus asked in turn. “You don't mind the idea of the Gene Mage taking him in?”
“Better him than me. I think between Matt, Lance and the Gene Mage, he should toe the line pretty quick. If not, I'll know where to find him.”
“Seems so weird though,” Lance said, looking thoughtful. “For all the messed up lives our doubles were living through, it turns it has a better shot at living peacably with the Dominion than we ever will.”
“Everything balances out in the end,” Leeza said, “and when it doesn't, you find a way to tip the scales.”
* * *
“To absent family,” Rufus toasted, then touched his tea mug to Lance’s and sipped.
“Hear, hear,” Lance agreed softly, leaning back in his seat in the open café in Vulpine Secondus’ Station’s main concourse. He watched the people, the crowds of Vulpine and other sentients passing by for a few moments, before inquiring, “You going to be all right, Ru?”
“Yes, I suppose,” Rufus agreed, leaning his chin on his hand and sighing. “I know my brother is likely... more content... where he is. I just wish I could have done more for him. We’ve been flipping between universes easily enough, why can’t we go back in time as well and get a chance to set things right?”
“Can’t choose a man’s path for him, mate,” Lance said.
“Mmm, true.”
The human took another sip of his tea. “There’s something else on your mind, isn’t there?”
“Someone else, rather,” Rufus agreed.
Lance set his tea down. “I can’t imagine it would be that hard to figure out where Melika is in this world. Even if she isn’t at Madame Cher’s, all you have to do is contact her sister-in-law to find out where she went to.”
“Oh, it’d be easy enough, I’m just not certain I want to.” Rufus set his cup down, frowning. “That’s the thing about this place. It’s like our universe, but bent… cracked somehow. All virtue in our persons seem to have been reduced to dross. Terinu becoming the monster our Mavra Chan wanted to shape him into, Leeza being molded by her father into the dutiful, obedient soldier-daughter, Matt warped from steadfast friend to cringing lackey, my own twin ground down from honorable noble to a wretch only seeking empty, soul destroying pleasures. You...” Rufus paused for a moment, and smiled wanly. “All right, maybe the analogy doesn't hold completely. But can you blame me for being a bit cowardly, and not wanting to find out the truth?”
Lance nodded soberly. “With all the pressures she was under in our universe, it's a wonder she didn't crack there. Here.” He took a reflective sip of his tea and shook his head.
“Well, whatever her fate, may the Holy Den Mother's blessings be upon... her...” Rufus' voice trailed off and he laid his cup carefully on the table as he stared openmouthed at the group coming down the concourse. Lance turned in his seat to find out what caught his attention, to see Melika, dressed in a Vulpine noblewoman's finery, striding down the concourse towards them, an unfamiliar looking Vulpine male by her side, with a pair of energetic cubs looking about six and nine years old respectively tumbling ahead of them.
Rufus got up out of his seat as they approached, saying, “Forgive me, madam, but you are the Lady Softpaw, are you not?” He bowed formally to her.
Surprised, Melika grabbed the shoulder of one of the cubs who threatened to keep barging ahead and replied, “Why yes I am. But I fear you have the better of me, good sir.” She looked him over curiously.
“I am the Viscount Ru-ofanius Brushtail, at your service, Milady, and this is my friend Marine Lt. Lance Freeman,” Rufus replied, bowing again. “Forgive my intrusion, but I always thought it good policy to greet another noble under House Brushtail’s aegis if I see them.”
“Why thank you, Milord,” she said, then gestured towards the male beside her. “This is my husband, Rolas, and these are my children, Teria and Sam. Children, say hello to Lord Brushtail. The cubs gave him a bow and a curtsey respectively, along with a bright “Hello, Milord!”
“Rolas, be a dear and keep the cubs occupied while I speak to our lord and his friend,” Melika asked. Her husband nodded and gathered up their children, vectoring towards a sweet shop across the corridor.
“What brings you out here, if I may inquire?” Rufus asked, once they had left. “I wasn’t aware that the Softpaws had any holdings on Vulpine Secundus.”
Melika nodded. “Not currently, but I’m on a bit of business trip on behalf of my sister-in-law’s farm on Alevela Prime. She’s considering exporting drezil to here, and I was sent to sound out the markets. It seemed a good opportunity for a little family sightseeing as well.”
“Ah, I see,” Rufus said, then added carefully, “I’m glad that you are doing well. I thought I heard a rumor or two a few years ago that your family’s holding on Alevela was having financial difficulties. Forgive me for repeating gossip.”
Melika’s face turned grim. “A little more than gossip, though I’m sorry that it seems to have escaped into the public air. I dislike speaking ill of family, but my brother proved to be… less than suitable for the management of a large agricultural facility. He did begin to run up a debt, but I caught it when I did an early audit. My father arranged to have him moved to a less critical position in management.”
“My apologies for bringing up such a sensitive subject,” Rufus told her.
“Not a worry. It’s all in the past now,” she replied, then looked at him curiously. “I am happy to see that you are doing well. Forgive me, Milord, but some of the most appalling rumors have filtered back to Vulpine Prime about you. Judging from your appearance I’m glad that they don’t seem to be true.”
“Thank you, Miss Softpaw,” he said, smiling. “Unfortunately, much like your tale, there is truth to the rumors concerning myself as well. Amends are being made, but I fear that it will be some time before they are completed.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, looking disturbed.
“Please don’t be. I fear all of my troubles I brought on myself,” he said. “But it gladdens my heart to see that you are doing well. I hope your family brings much joy to you.”
“Thank you, Milord. Good day to you.” Looking a little confused, she gave him an acknowledging nod and then left to intercept her husband, who was emerging from the sweet shop with two very satisfied looking cubs carrying large bags.
“Better?” Lance asked.
“Yes, I suppose I am,” Rufus answered thoughtfully, staring at the retreating family. “How strange, to think those children might have been my brother’s.”
“Hey, don’t forget, mate, they might be yours one of these days.”
“True. Very true,” he replied, and sipped his tea.
* * *
Rufus stepped out of the autocab and onto the flagstones leading up the manor’s portico. “Stay,” he told it. “I won’t be long.”
He looked over the brick and marble entrance to Brushtail Manor, meticulously recreated from architectural records that his ancestors had managed to keep hidden during the Varn Dominion’s wholesale demolition and reconstruction of Vulpine Prime’s cities during the Time of Subjugation. Much of the past five hundred years in turn had been spent yanking down the Dominion’s architecture and replacing it with styles more suited to Vulpine sensibilities.
The hand carved double doors featured heavy brass knockers shaped to the resemble the heads of snarling grass striders. Surely it was only his imagination that the heavy bang they made when he brought one down echoed all the way back up into orbit.
This is a mistake, he thought as he waited before the thick wooden doors. It would have been more sensible to just handle things over the comm. Better, just quietly deposit the two credit transfers in his pocket to their waiting accounts and not say a word. More sensible indeed. Also more cowardly. Face them, you fool, if only to end things and move on.
The doors opened. Whitebrow, the family’s chief bodyservant since Rufus was aware enough to notice him, stepped out and bowed to him. “Welcome home, Master Ru Ofanius.” The old fellow’s sense of sang froid must have been coded into his DNA, for he made no reaction at all to either Rufus’ careworn appearance or his right shirt sleeve, which was pinned up neatly against his shoulder. “Shall I take your bags from the cab?”
“That’s all right, old boy. I won’t be staying long.” He glanced uncertainly inside. “Er, is Mother home?”
Before Whitebrow could answer, he heard Bethany’s voice call from inside and his heart turned over in his chest. “Whitebrow, who is at the door?”
“Master Ru Ofanious, Milady” the old servant answered.
Well, there was no backing out now. Rufus braced himself and stepped through the doors into the manor house's entry hall. Bethany was just stepping through the door from the eastern wing, dressed in the style of a proper young noblevixen, wearing a split skirt dress in the House's colors and with a garland of dried flowers circling her ears. Holy Den Mother, she was just a gawky teenager when I left home seven years ago. Where did this young lady come from?
She let out a cry of “Rufus, it's you!” and rushed over to him, skirts flying. She stopped just short of an undignified collision, her mouth still open in surprise. “Oh, it is you! It is you!”
In the face of that undisguised delight he could not help but smile. “Yes it is, Beth. How are you?”
“I'm just fine, but...” The delight fell from her eyes, replaced with shock. “By the Holy Den Mother, Rufus, what happened to your arm?”
“Oh, I just had a little argument with a pressure door,” he said. “Oh, oh don't cry, Beth.” He wrapped his good arm around her shoulders as she hugged him tightly. “It's not that great a concern. The Den Mother gave me two for a reason, eh? Just in case I needed a spare.”
“But what happened to you?” she demanded, letting go of him. “Rufus, you look so different from the last time we talked.” Politely, she didn't expand on this description. He had lost another five kilos in the sick bay just from being semi-concious on pain drugs and being fed through a glucose tube for several days, never mind the very suddden weight loss when that poor Ferin boy had amputated his arm. Added to the general air of seediness and dessication he'd acquired over the years and he was a far cry from the clean cut, upstanding appearance of his brother from that other universe, whom Beth had seen during that comm call. I'll bet I look like something a Morrow Wolf hunted down and then spat out for being too stringy.
“It's all very complicated, Bethany, and I'm not sure I can explain the reasons why without sounding like an utter madman. You spoke to me, but it wasn't exactly me that you spoke to.”
“Ru, that doesn't make any sense.”
“I know, I'm sorry.” The doors leading the main part of the house opened and he stiffened in surprise as his mother entered, along with Whitebrow, who had politely faded out of the room to apparently find her while Rufus and Bethany greeted each other.
“Hello, Ru Ofanius,” she greeted coolly, unreadable, no hints of either warmth or anger on her face. “You should have called ahead.” She didn't show any of Bethany's shock over his appearance, Whitebrow probably having given her fair warning.
“Hello, Mother,” Rufus greeted in return, giving her a polite bow. “I'm sorry about that, but until the cab actually drove onto the grounds I wasn't sure if I was going to have the courage to walk through those doors.”
She nodded fractionally “I see. So what brings you here?” Well, he hadn't expected wild enthusiasm from her about his unexpected arrival, but his cool politeness of hers was disconcerting. Was he welcome here, or would it be wiser to just get things over with and make a dignified retreat?
“Well, ah, actually, I've got some things for you and Bethany.” He pulled the two voucher cards from his vest pocket, handing the first to his sister and the other to his mother. “There, that is a full repayment of the credits you loaned me, dear Bethany. Mother's is a start on the amount I owe to the House proper.” A very large amount, he thought ruefully. Still, he would find a way to pay it, all of it.
“When did you loan Ru Ofanius money, Bethany?” Mother asked, her face darkening.
“Don't be angry with her, Mother. It was done for a good cause and full payment has been made,” he told her. “Given that the amount she gave to me from her own funds was a far higher percentage than what I had...” Borrowed, stolen, wasted... “...taken from the House finances proper, I thought it best to pay her back first.”
“But how?” Bethany asked. “The last time we talked you made it quite clear that you wouldn't be able to pay me back.”
“Yes, well.” He cleared his throat and stared at the marble floor tiles for a moment, feeling a pain run through him that had nothing to do with the fading medication he'd taken this morning for his aching shoulder. “After.... after selling the White Knight I had a rather comfortable amount of money in my accounts.”
Bethany's mouth opened in shock. 'But Rufus, you loved that fighter of yours! How could you sell it?”
Rufus shook his head. “It was a machine, Bethany, just a machine. I placed... too much value on it. I won't claim that I won't miss her, but she should not have had a hold on my heart greater than the one my family had for me.” Still had? Perhaps. “Well, anyway, I should take my leave of you now.”
“Leave! But you've only just arrived!”
“Yes, well, I'm sorry. You see, I've got to find an apartment in town, and then set up a doctor's appointment at the local clinic. The first of a great many doctor appointments, I fear.”
“Don't be ridiculous Rufus, your place is here,” his mother said firmly. “I'll have Whitebrow open up your rooms.”
Rufus blinked. “You kept my rooms for me?”
“Of course we did. Did you think we wouldn't?”
“Well, yes, I certainly wouldn't have blamed you.” He shook his head. “Mother, I must warn you, I have a great many problems besides my missing arm that have to be dealt with. I will in all probability be very short tempered, whining, and quite objectionable to live with. I will not, in other words, be good company.”
His mother gave him a short nod of aknowledgment. “Perhaps not. Nevertheless, you will be here, part of our House, as you should be.”
“Oh,” was all he could say, as Bethany gripped his hand and smiled in delight.
“I'll have Whitebrow get you bags from the car. Dinner is at the usual time. Please don't forget to dress properly.”
“Yes, Mother.”
She leaned over to buss him gently on the cheek. “And welcome home, Ru Ofanius.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
The End
