Unipsi, lovely entity
chapter 30c: cocoon
A happy journey home awaited the Sheridan’s crew. All alive with some bruisers and an additional cargo full of technology. Nothing could go better. Happy faces along cheering and joyful chants filled the entire ship while Morea was giving commands to return home. Meanwhile Scilla was still contemplating her new weapon inside her room. That energy mace or whatever it was definitely was not meant to be shared.
I will hide it for a while. I don’t even know how to use this thing. Idra is probably already playing with her recovered technology, so I guess I will wait tomorrow for some instructions and training. I also need her ship to use this safely and more importantly unseen.
Scilla hid the metal box with the mace in her office and then walked back. When she reached the main deck the ship was already jumping home. As soon as she sat on her chair all the crew mates around started clapping, exulting at their success and requesting a speech from their commander. Scilla was no party animal but she wasn’t against celebrating. She knew they did almost nothing yet she couldn’t take away such joy from her subordinates.
“Yeah yeah I got it. I suppose I could do a brief speech, after all you are the one that wants one. Today years of sacrifices and risky gambles gave us extraordinary results. We never stopped, we never surrendered to our failures, never bowed against all odds. We brought in a terrible foe that soon become our most precious friend. Together we achieved greatness, but this is just our beginning. Our spark to ignite and burn brighter! For US! and our species! we shall not forget OUR spark! OUR flames shall never die out!”
Scilla ended her speech, which was broadcasted through all the ship, with the Lean military salute to which her crew all over the Sheridan replied at the top of theirs lungs. Then they just disperse. Those unneeded went “partying” with their comrades and Morea approached her friend and commander.
“nice speech Commander” and then she laughed a bit.
“Don’t laugh. I’m not good with that kind of inspiring shit without preparation”
“yeah I know. Anyway… good job Commander. I know Idra did almost all the work but we could share such opportunity only because you didn’t let go of her.”
“I did what I thought was better for our species in the long run. You also did your job as my vice so. Good job.”
“thanks commander. By the way I don’t really see our special friend.”
“I guess she is probably too busy playing with her new toys. Also I highly doubt that she would even like to party in the first place.”
“You two are really similar. Neither of you likes to party”
“I guess so. You should join the others while I finish to plot the rest of the route.”
“I will take your offer commander. See you tomorrow”
“bye Morea”
back to work and then some needed sleep.
Along with the few remaining pilots and technicians Scilla defined the way home following for the most part Idra’s initial plan but backwards. She then dismissed everybody that wanted to rest and waited for the shift change. Hours passed and then she went strict to bed exhausted from the day.
She slept well waiting for the new day to come and for Idra to get back. The following day however her special friend didn’t show up at all. At midday Scilla went to the NDU connector but the ship refused to let her in.
“stupid ship, let me in. You know I have permission”
--access denied--
“why? Is something happening inside? Let me in. You know I can help.”
--request denied, required Remnant of the Founder authority or higher--
“stupid fucking piece of shit made of cheap steel”
Scilla tried for more than an hour to get in but NDU had no intention to allow her. In the end she was able to achieve just a notification of future changes. Sad but mostly angry she could only go back to work. Waiting.
Once Scilla shift was almost over her phone received a massage on all her text application. They all said the same thing from an unknown sender.
//permission guaranteed
This could only be the NDU. There is no way to receive messages while jumping unless it comes from your own jumping structure.
Scilla immediately left her position to go see Idra. As predicted the ship didn’t oppose this time but something was different. Inside there were no light.
“ship turn on the lights”
--request denied--
“why?”
--no command can harm the crew--
So Idra is having problems. How many times will I have to tell her that she could ask me for help? Well whatever let’s see what I can do this time.
Scilla moved using her phone’s torch through the ship until she reached the living quarters connector.
“Iris are you awake?”
a weak voice replied from the bed room.
“yeah. But don’t come up with the torch on. I’m having a little photosensitivity problem.”
“k. I’ll turn it off and come up”
Scilla slowly climbed the ladder, hit her head on the roof and finally was inside the room in total darkness.
“so… well… please don’t laugh” Idra, that up until then had her eyes closed decide to open them. A dim yellow light came out of them. They were glowing like a weak neon in the darkness, moving around as Idra moved her head and leaving a circular illuminated zone. With a bit of searching Idra located Scilla that was now slightly illuminated. A hand on her mouth and a smile wider than it. She couldn’t stop herself.
“hahaha, what the fuck, you become living flashlight”
“shut up! It’s just a passing thing. I will go back to normal soon.”
Scilla was still laughing, it was so funny seeing those glowy eyes looking around.
“Scilla I called you for help, not for being laugh at”
“yeah sorry, it’s just so funny. You also took your time to ask for help so let me take mine to stop laughing”
“what? I didn’t. I sent you a message as soon as I woke up.”
“wait what? You slept until now?”
“dah??? you told me that I could ask you for help and so I did as soon as I could. Why the hell should I have waited?”
“fuck… sorry I kinda misunderstood. You know… it’s been more than a day so… I thought you tried to avoid asking for my help but then realised that you needed me and...well called me over”
“oh?! No I… well now you are here… you see I might need a bit of help… when I’m ‘evolving’ I’m basically crippled. I can’t do a lot of things but at least this time I’m not feeling like shit. Just weak and well... sensitive to light. So well… I was kinda thinking that…”
Idra’s long turn around of words got interrupted by her belly rumbling for food. The message was now clear, she woke up and was hungry.
“all this words to just say that you want food”
“NO! Not food.”
Iris gaze moved down, staring at her hands constantly moving.
“I.. I need food yes. But I don’t want any food… I want you… ...to cook for me… could you?”
Fucking hell my heart stopped at “I want you”. Well I suppose it is a bless that she doesn’t know how misleading she could have been.
Scilla replied sweetly, cooking for her partner was a progress and obviously she couldn’t refuse such honest and cute request.
“it would be my pleasure. I’ll borrow your chief robot for a bit”
“oh oh oh! Could you also eat with me?” Iris was exited but her gaze was still avoiding Scilla. She was too embarrassed to look back at her.
“sure. Do you want to eat up here?”
“yeah I can’t really stay in the kitchen. Too much light from the robot’s screen that has no dark mode. I will wait for you.”
“sure but can you light the ladder for me with your eyes. I don’t want to fall down”
Iris moved slowly until she got to the door. With her dim light she lit the way down for Scilla. In that darkness and silence she was the only light, a silent dim glowing star. Scilla was going down the ladder staring up at Iris that stared back at her. Their gazes never broke. Scilla was loosing herself in such endless sea of light. Iris on her side followed Scilla’s eyes as well. Once she was going down she crouched and then laid down to minimize their distance.
Scilla reached the connector but she couldn’t stop looking up, mesmerized by her muse, her personal siren in space. She was not the only one. Iris couldn’t go back in the room. She sat there at the entrance, just on top of the ladder. Her legs on the side and an arm to keep her torso up. Her hair fusing with the darkness behind her. Her shiny gaze filled the connector with dim reddish light scattering around after reflecting on her beloved just a few steps below. None of them knew why they couldn’t avert their intense stare, yet both knew that they didn’t want to stop.
Iris belly grumble was louder and broke their mutual concentration. Iris immediately retracted inside the her room while Scilla turned around. They both realised what they have being doing for uncounted minutes and got extremely embarrassed.
Iris moved back at the base of her bed. Back resting on it and her head pulled back. Both hands on her burning red face pulling back her hair. Her hearts were beating so fast and loudly that were hearable. Scilla was no less. She rushed in the kitchen and sat at the table. Both hands in front of her mouth blocking her breath. It was burning hot as well as her face. Her heart as well was pumping with such vigour that she could feel her chest moving and shaking with it.
They both had to cool down and Scilla took her time with the cooking. Well she didn’t really took it voluntarily she was just staring mindless at the machine going through all its ingredient over and over again. Her brain never moved on from what happened. Somehow she compose and prepare something, she walked back with a single tray in hand to the ladder. She place the tray in the ‘containers elevator’ in the wall that Iris explained to her days before. It was really usefully to carry objects to the room without doing some stunt along the ladder.
What do I do now? What if I was the only one that felt that way. I’m a going too fast for her, for me?. What if she… I don’t know... didn’t like to be stare at…? Fuck.
She was not the only one panicking. The extra time was not even close to be enough for Iris. When she heard the steps and the tray coming up she went back into panic.
It was mutual right? She… she is… fine? My hearts aren’t too loud right? Right!!?!? fucking Whispers I need your help. What do I do!?!?
An awkward silence mixed with a strange sweet scent welcomed Scilla back. Iris, to distract herself, prepared a few useful thing. Right in front of the bed she placed a couple of pouffe. Not really pouffe more like malleable pillows made out of an isolating and soft material that kept it’s shape. Beside she prepared a blanket and a bigger tray, raised enough from the ground to be place on top of Iris’s legs or between them as a low table. The “plan” was simple. Let Scilla lay down, place the food on the tray, eat it and then spend some time together. However things took a different direction. Iris was starting to detect Scilla’s hormones mixing with the air while Scilla was figuring out the source of the way to pleasant scent. They stared at each other once more, they knew by instinct, that what they felt and keep feeling is mutual. It is a sign of they love deepening, their mind rearranging thoughts into considering each other. Iris broke the silence, she had to. The more she was going to stare the harder it was going to get to break free.
“emh… you… you can place the food down… on this tray… then...then sit...sit beside me… I… I have prepared a… cushion for you as well… don’t… don’t worry the carpet is 100% clean”
Iris was mumbling all her words but Scilla was not doing better.
“S..s..s..sure… I’ll... I’ll lay down”
Darkness was doing them a favour. If they could see their burning faces they would have behave even more awkwardly. Following Iris’s commands Scilla placed down the food and laid beside Iris that immediately moved the food tray between them. Now illuminated by Iris’s eyes they notices a couple of mistakes. Scilla forgot the silverware and took only one glass.
“oh fuck, I’m sorry… I...i was not thinking clearly…. I’ll...I’ll go grab what I have missed.”
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But Iris laugh and grabbed Scilla’s cloth.
“haha, don’t go. I’m no fancy snob and neither you are. You brought bread, we can use it”
Scilla was calming down as well, maybe it was her or maybe Iris scent was cooling her head.
“well, sorry.”
“I told you that’s fine. I used to eat with just my hands, this is totally fine”
“you are not trying to console me right?”
“nope. On Weeping Sky I usually used my silverware to built weapons or well.. other things. From steel to plastic, then pressed cardboard and in the end they just stopped providing me with them. Too dangerous to give 511 a fork and a few knives”
Iris was narrating changing her voice a little to emphasise parts and gesticulating all the time. Her eyes that barely lit up her movement were way too entertaining. Scilla laughed loudly as the Esterian had just started to show off her “friendly” nature.
“somehow I have no difficulty to image what you could have done with them”
“hey that’s RuDe, haha. Well they had to stop giving me a lot of things because I used them improperly”
“like?”
“like everything that was not already a weapon or breakable. I always loved to learn and as a kid I discovered the wonders of reverse engineering. So I took apart a lot of things to then build my own prototypes.”
In that moment Scilla thought that maybe she could confess her dreams, tell her that she knew a bit about her, about her love for making weapons, but she didn’t. Why ruin such precious moment.
“well that doesn’t tell me much”
“oh, well… a may had a phase when I loved to disassemble animals. You should have seen my sister faces when I greet them with a fully dissected ‘tree rat’. I still don’t know why only 484 appreciated my gifts. You are more knowledgeable in social stuff, do you have a theory?”
Scilla was confused, astonished and a bit disgusted. She couldn’t really believe it so easily.
“so, by animal you are referring to those things that are alive right? Like a dog?”
“I suppose”
“and you disassembled them?”
“yep. I took out all the bones, divided all muscular tissues, neural tissues and so on. I reduced them into parts and then try to rebuilt them. Still none really booted up again”
“of course the wouldn’t turn on, they were dead.”
“what? Why? I rebuilt them. If you rebuild things they should work”
“not living things. They are not built”
“don’t bullshit me, of course they are built. I saw my building machine and the one used for the live experiments. I also know that all females animals have a worst version of our Bio-Assambler insider their bellies.”
Holy fucking shit. She doesn’t know. Is she just totally oblivious by nature or is it the collar that she wears?
“Iris, look at me in the eyes. Animals are not built, they grow inside other animals and when they are ready the get ‘released’ into the world. There is no fancy machine inside us. Did I lie to you?”
“no… but it doesn’t make sense at all so tell me the trick to avoid being detected while lying, you were so easy to read before.”
Scilla let out a long sigh.
There is no way out of this. I give up. I will explain it to her later.
“I will teach you in the future. For now let’s eat before it gets cold. Do you mind illuminating the tray?”
Avoid the discussion was a wise move. Iris was too fixated on her believes, not entirely wrong in her case but wrongly extended to all living creatures. Iris lit up the tray but on her side. Scilla made a dish that vaguely reminded the concept of chili. A dense stew, or something like that, composed of unrecognizable elements. On the side the bread, slices of cheese and some chopped vegetables unknown to Scilla as all the other stuff.
Without much thinking Iris scooped up some of the stew, added a few vegetables and half a slice of cheese. Then she offered it to Scilla. She wanted to feed her.
“No thanks Iris. I’ll make mine as well.”
“no. I made this for you. You eat it”
“you made it, you eat it. I don’t need to be spoon fed”
“but I want to. If you don’t eat it I won’t eat it neither”
“Iris please don’t throw a tantrum. You should eat.”
“I said I won’t if you don’t eat what I assembled. I now I will also pout. Mh!”
“oh come on. You are weak and underweight. Some food won’t hurt you”
“I said I won’t eat. You can accept my offer or we well be stuck this way until I die from starvation”
So stubborn. How can I do something so embarrassing.
“ok fine. You can feed me but just this time”
Reluctantly Scilla had to accept to be spoon fed. She was determinate to go easy on her just for the first bite but Iris kept offering food. If she didn’t eat Iris would just stay there waiting, so she surrendered. One bite for her, one for Iris until they ate everything away. While eating Iris was starting to show signs of sleepiness and immediately after she put away the tray she grabbed the blanked. Iris unfolded it and covered both of them. Then while getting closer she stared at Scilla.
“Scilla Scilla can I… can I grab your arm and used it as a pillow?”
“are you tired?”
“yeah. You can use the NDU’s projector to watch something, if...if you want of course.”
“don’t need. My shift was about to end so I was going to eat and sleep anyway. You can grab my arm but I might fall onto you while sleeping if you pull me”
“it’s fine. So I’ll try to sleep. Good night”
Iris grabbed with both her hands Scilla’s right arm. Her grab was thigh and unnaturally strong compared to the rest of her physique. The Esterian moved around a bit, looking for the perfect spot to sleep. The cover was all pushed and pulled around so Scilla, using her free left arm, decided to surprise Iris. She pushed the exceeding blanked both under herself and Iris enclosing them inside a soft and warm cocoon. The almost asleep Iris appreciated letting out a soft and happy mumbling.
She is warm and so soft, like a puppy. I really want to caress her head.
Being so close Scilla realised where the sweet scent was coming from. It was Iris’s mouth, and nose. She was breathing out whatever chemical compound Scilla was sniffing. Not much after Scilla fell asleep too.
A new dream awaited her. This time the aberrant creature was back. Scilla was beside it inside a rectangular room that had a big window facing a landing zone. Only her, the creature and 484 sit at a table with her feet on it. She was totally different from Iris. 484 was bigger and more savage. Her gestures while scrolling a data-pad suggested elegance and finesse, but the feet on the table with her legs spread open suggested otherwise. Something akin to a male small criminal. A spaceship was landing on the platform, it was an NDU. The creature move closer and spoke. This time it learned to be less cryptic.
“she is evolving too fast. I thought we had time”
“what the fuck do you want?. Who the fuck are you and why are you showing me this stuff”
“I seek to guide you. I need your collaboration”
“I won’t give you shit unless you tell me everything”
“I’m following the Whispers. I go where they go. To study. To learn. To search for answers. Finally a holder that has potential. I want to see her succeed”
“then our objectives are colliding monster”
“no. we have the same goal. You know she can’t go back. You want her to learn to control them. I want the same.”
“I don’t believe you even for a second”
“your belief is unnecessary. Through memories I wanted to show you an Iris with no control. So you could judge alone what you wanted. In the end our objectives would have become the same. But now. This is the only way.”
“what changed?”
“she did. The Whispers are already following her orders. They will find me and cut me out of both your minds. Now. No more time to waste.”
The creature turned around pointing at the door that opened. A couple of Idra entered. 499 and 501. 501 was definitely furious. She rushed to 484 grabbing her and forcing her to stand up.
“WHAT THE FUCK! What the actual fuck did you do to her! Answer me 484!” she shook her and 484 retaliated with force. She grabbed 501 arm, twisted it and reverse the roles. Now she was in command with 501 forced against the table with her arms blocked.
“I saw her potential and let her be.”
“you made a monster!”
“I made nothing! I just helped her express. She is a genius that loves to learn”
499 was trying to calm the two down but none were stopping.
“she is a demon. You said nothing about this. You told us she was ready to see the outside.”
“and indeed she was. I wrote all about it in my reports. But as all our sisters you were too busy being the hero to even care about her. You cast her away as everybody else did”
“NO! We segregateed her because she needed a guide. You accepted the role. You said you would help her but you made the worst abomination we ever recorded.”
“whatever she did was just studying, learning by trial and error. By assumption. Maybe she even had more purposes. She is beyond us.”
“DIO PORCO ANNA (god pig anna) she exterminated the entire village we were meant to study. She used a kid as a torch, a fucking living and screaming torch!”
“she is incomplete. Still missing a lot of things. Like the concept of living for inferior creatures”
While 501 struggles to break free dragged on. A young, and smaller compared to the others, 511 entered the room as well. She was jumping around all happy and carrying a bag. She didn’t care about the fight and went straight to 484. 484 tone changed immediately, like she was speaking to a small kid.
“hi, you are back. Did you have fun?”
511 nodded and pushed her bag forward.
“you have something for me?”
511 nodded again. Opened the bag and took out a necklace made of polished teeth. Immediately their origin was clear. They creature she massacred at the village. 484 let go of 501 and took the necklace.
“ooh thank you. You are so sweet”
she wore the teeth necklace and stare at 501.
“see I told you she had a reason”
499 was clearly about to puke in her suit while 501 definitely showed disgust. But it was not over. Iris took out a couple of bracelets. Those were made with broken and sharpened bones. She offered them to both 501 and 499. their disgust was clear. They were about to say something, but then the dream froze. The creature could let out just a few words.
“they found me”
Whispers so strong to make your body vibrate like gelatine. They were screaming in anger as the dream around them mutated in an endless grey mass until it broke. It was time to wake up.
The next day the NDU light turned on. Scilla could see again. On her side a completely defenceless and a bit too carefree Iris. Her scent died down to her usual. She was closer than the night before and her fingers were sinking deep into Scilla’s muscles. The first thing that Scilla tried was to break free from her grab, but it was useless. Those hands were stronger than an hydraulic press, so Scilla decided to wake Iris up. A few caresses on her head and the Esterian come back to life. She stared in the void for a while to then let go of the arm.
“are you feeling alright Iris?”
“yeah I’m good. I suppose you have to go back right?”
“yep. I tried to sneak out but your hands are so fucking strong.”
“I don’t really know why, I suppose years of building things made them stronger”
“anyway I suppose I will go so…”
“wait, the fuck are you going? Yesterday I was sick and exhausted so I let it slide, but not today. The fuck you think you are going without washing your teeth?”
“well I can wash them in my room”
“hell no. what if you get stopped by someone and your breath stinks.”
“it won’t hap(happen)”
“follow me. I have an extra hygiene kit. Do you know how to use a resonance brush?”
“a reso what?”
“resonance toothbrush. It’s not that hard. Just be careful to set it correctly if you don’t want to lose your teeth”
“Iris i don’t think….”
Iris burst out laughing.
“got you. It was a joke. It’s not dangerous. Just a bit strange, if you do it incorrectly you just start laughing and split everywhere. So I’m going to do it for you”
“hell no. I let you feed me, I’m not also going to let you wash my teeth.”
“oh well you can try, but I won’t let you go out if you still breath out yesterday dinner”
“it’s just a toothbrush. How hard can it be”
The answer was a lot harder than imaginable. They both went into the bathroom. It was fairly big and composed of a small room leading to 2 separated zones. The initial zone just had 2 sinks, a big mirrors and drawers for bathroom supplies. Then 2 doors marked clearly. One was for the women and one for the men. Esterian ships usually had big bathrooms that are internally divided to allow multiple functioning units with toilet, bidet, shower or sort of a shower, sink, mirror and smaller cabinets. They cared a lot for personal hygiene and not too much about water that was purified after use in most cases. The only peculiar part was the division by sex. You are on a space ship with limited crew and space, yet they still applied such division. Iris pulled out a small case containing the extra personal hygiene kit. She opened it and gave the brush and toothpaste to Scilla.
“go on. You can wash your teeth here. I’ll show you”
Idra pulled our her personal kit. Took the brush that was a cylinder which end was filled with bristles on 2 opposite sides. She set it on double action and place toothpaste on both sides. Put it in her mouth and pressed the power button. The machine scanned her mouth and adapted the brush distance to cover both lower and upper teeth at the same time. A small acute sound followed as Iris washed her teeth without issues. Few minute later it was Scilla’s time.
“go on. I’ll wait”
“I saw you. It’s like all toothbrushes but with 2 sides.”
She was so wrong. As soon as she started the machine tickled everything it could. It resonate with her nerves. In mere seconds she was already splitting everything out in the sink.
“told you”
“you did something with the setting to trick me. Make it slower.”
“ok. But it won’t change the result”
try, fail, change setting, try again, fail once more, give up.
“Iris… can’t you just let me go? I promise I will wash my teeth as soon as I set foot in my room”
“mmmh… no. So open that mouth and I will wash them for you”
Once again she let Iris do whatever she wanted. She definitely knew how to use it and a couple of minute after it was over.
“see not scary big girl”
“never been scare. Just embarrassed. But I have to admit it works good”
Scilla was admiring her perfectly clean teeth, with her mouth open, then Iris called for her again. She turned around to get a couple of fingers shoved into her mouth. Iris passed something on all her teeth and then retracted the hand. The 2 fingers had still some greenish paste on them mixed with Scilla’s saliva.
“what the fuck was that?”
“teeth erosion protector.”
Iris was staring at her fingers and then shoved them inside her mouth.
“don’t like to waste detergent”
Scilla was in disbelieve with her mouth wide open from the shock. Iris just eat her saliva.
She just...she did! What the fuck… was that…? Intentional? When did she become so… straightforward?
But the truth was that she didn’t thought at all. Iris looked back at Scilla. Then her fingers, now clean, than Scilla again. Blushed, turned around screaming and crouched. Too shock to even think without speaking.
“what the fuck have I done!!! the fuck was I thinking!!! I’m done for good! I fucking eat it! Aaaaahhh I want to die!”
Scilla laughed so hard that her diaphragm hurt.
“oh well. I guess I’ll leave you to drown in embarrassment before you do something else. See ya”
Scilla ran off. She was sparkling with joy. Such actions only mean love, a love greater the Iris’s strict will to apply her laws and rules.