Unipsi, lovely entity
chapter 32c: link
Both Spini and Corvi kept chatting with Idra until the girl got better. Once she was stable enough to walk around, Spini stood up.
“it was a pleasure to meet you, lady Weeping Sky. We shall resume our job”
“you two are not that bad. Stay safe and out of troubles.”
the two Esterians composed their military salute while shouting:
“May the Founder guide you, lady Weeping Sky!”
Idra replied with their military salute as well, but she didn’t yell anything. Probably due to some laws of theirs.
Without wasting time the couple left the room and few minutes later the Xern was taking off. As soon as some space was left free Dhalia put some distance between her and Idra, just in case.
“I guess your friends are already gone. That was fast” started Dhalia.
“not friends. They are an intel ship. Their mission was completed and so they have to return home”
“do you mind if I ask you something?”
“you will ask anyway. Go on, maybe I will reply”
“why sending them here? Don’t you have already a route to Leanira? Why don’t extend it? And what is the box that they left behind?”
“you can already deduce the answer to your first two questions. The box is none of your business, and before you ask. No you can’t study it.”
“so I suppose I will never get anything out of you?”
“maybe not. Who knows. Anyway Scilla had something to say”
Idra moved away, she pushed Scilla on one end of the couch and laid down. Her head on Scilla’s legs. Scilla didn’t flinch at such act while Dhalia was getting more perplex. In her mind she was starting to think that maybe Scilla changed idea and somehow started a relationship with Idra as requested.
“so good news?”
“definitely. Our expedition was a success. No critical injury, no ship damage, no traces and more importantly alien tech. Most of it is broken but…”
Dhalia jumped up, and grabbed Scilla by her shoulders moving really close.
“you are not joking. You found some artefacts”
Idra replied from below still on Scilla’s lap.
“well yeah. The mission was mine. Never failed one”.
“as Idra said it was amazing. It’s not too much due to time constrain but we brought back a lot compared to our standard.”
Dhalia was amazed and joyful. After so many years of nothing they finally had something to work with. Something to explore and study to maybe move forward with their technology. She was so happy that she was shaking and stuttering.
“t...t..this calls for… I don’t know… something, a party, a celebration ceremony, a promotion. This is amazing. The best news I received in years.”
“slow down chief. I just did my job…”
Idra brutally intrude in their joy. She became angry for some reason.
“There is nothing to celebrate.”
“what do you mean Idra?” said together the two Leans.
“I thought your squad was a special force not a special needs”
Scilla took it personally, she was opening her mouth to speak back but she was immediately shut by Idra.
“CLOSE! THAT FUCKING SEWER! Don’t even dare to speak. Your team lacked everything an army needs to succeed. It had no coordination, no premeditation, no shared thoughts. Do you think you can go against a couples of Morfian’s AIs with such shitty crew? ANSWER ME FUCKING CUNTS!”
“we...we were not that bad. We survived right?” replied Scilla hesitant.
However her words only worsen the situation. Idra was far from being impress by such stupid remark that she stood up and slapped Scilla. She contained herself but that surely hurt.
“What the fuck have I said…”
“shut the fuck up! Before I slap some sense into your fucking skull. You were absolute garbage. Our purpose is not to survive an expedition is to succeed. SUCCEED! You and your squad were to slow, too predictable, too distracted.”
“Idra I don’t know what happened during your mission but I personally selected Scilla’s crew. We choose among the best soldiers our kind has…”
“then your kind is as useful as a prostitute in a desert. Gather the best you have. I’m going to train them so...”
“oh well” Dhalia felt a mix of joy and confusion to be immediately replace by pain. Idra didn’t like to be interrupted especially when angry. As soon as Dhalia opened her mouth Idra punched her in the stomach making her fell on the ground. The guards wanted to pick their weapons but they couldn’t more. As before their armour had already been hacked. Idra crouched to lower herself to Dhalia’s face lever. Pulled her by the hair to ominously continued her dialogue. Scilla wanted to at least separate them but Idra, with her free hand, was pointing her SMG at her.
“DO. NOT. INTERRUPT. ME! Got it?”
“y...yes..” replied Dhalia.
“now. I give you 1 week. Prepare both the Sheridan full crew and 500 more soldiers. Find a 10x10 km area for training and non lethal weapons for all. I’m going to make you beg to go home. And obviously you are included Miss Hakavor”
Then she tossed her away. Stood up and looked at Scilla.
“I’m going home. If I were you I would start preparing. It will be hell”
As if nothing happened Idra left the place, went inside her ship and flew to Scilla’s house. Being left behind Scilla rushed to her boss and helped her stand back up.
“did she broke something”
“n… no just my pride. It only hurts like hell. Why am I the one that always gets beaten? Does she hates me? Was our crew so bad?”
“I don’t know why she is so angry, she was relaxing a second ago. We did some mistakes and she was way faster than us, but we come back. Those machine were stronger than the Droxis. How are we suppose to fight them effortlessly?”
“well you better pacify her and find a solution to her rage tantrum”
Scilla left as well. She had to go home by car, Idra’s NDU fills all the lending spot on the roof. While going home she also stopped by a florist. She bought a bunch of flower for her sister and one for Idra.
They say flowers make every girl happy. Let’s hope she likes them as well. Or that her anger, that somehow is directed towards me, can be nullified by flowers.
When she got home Wiola welcomed her back with a long hug. She was away for 1.5 months doing dangerous things. Wiola immediately noticed the double bunch of flowers and that her big sis got home at different time compared to Idra and with a different vehicle.
“trouble in paradise sis?”
“don’t even start...”
“first argument eh??” Wiola winked at her sister that was having none of her jokes.
“we are not together and you know how dangerous she is. So I’ll better go immediately”
“shish, can’t even joke anymore. Thanks for the flowers and good luck”.
Strangely the NDU opposed no resistance and let Scilla in. She walked as fast as she could toward the living zone and called for Iris.
“Iris where are you?”
“here in the armoury. What do you want?”
Definitely angry. Should I be more careful with my words?
Inside the armoury Iris was at her desk elaborating data of some kind on her terminal. She was still wearing her suit but without the helmet. She didn’t even turn back to look at Scilla. She just kept doing her business.
“hi. Emh… are you perhaps angry?”
“what do you think?” replied Iris. Her tone was peculiar. A mix of anger mix with something else. Concern.
“that you surely sound angry, are you also angry at me?”
“I’m not just angry, I’m furious. I’m so pissed that I want to crush all your bones one by one. But that would go against my purpose so I restrain myself”
“I’m sorry. I don’t really know what I did wrong. Is it because Dhalia wanted to celebrate? Because I can just say no and that’s it”
Iris’s voice calmed down a bit. Now it was mixed with sadness but still angry.
“it’s not that.”
“than what is it?”
Iris snapped back. Staring with her now burning glare.
“WHAT IS IT!?! it’s you. Your squad, your operation. How can you not understand! We are risking our lives every time we go out. Each time we descend into a ruin we don’t know what we will find. How the superior enemy will behave, what we will go against. It’s all just predictions. But even I have limits…”
“are you…”
Now it was mixing with despair than soon changed into determination.
“what will happen if we fail? What do you think will happen!!?? I don’t want to lose you. I don’t care about the others but I can’t lose you. You are my Elvira Smolak…”
that name sounded familiar but in the heat of the moment Scilla couldn't remember to whose it used to belong.
“the only way I have to make sure that I won’t lose you is only if nobody dies in my predictions. Even just 1 death is too much because it could be you. And I won’t let it happen. If to save you I have to train the hell out of your crew, I’ll do it. Whatever it will take.”
Scilla could only rush forward and hug her while trying to keep the flowers hidden. For her and probably any old style Lean, Iris’s words were an absolute declaration of her love. Still Iris didn’t appreciated the hug and pushed her back, believing that she didn’t understand fully what she just said.
“wait. Now that you explained I got it. And I also got you a present.”
Scilla pulled from behind her back the flowers. A big bunch of 10 yellow flowers and 10 purple ones.
“what is this?”
“flowers. Girls like flowers right? And they are useful to... to say that I’m sorry. I didn’t get that you were worried about me. I didn’t even think about it. About the immense risk that we faced. I said a lot of things to you about love and support. Yet I failed to understand that my life is no longer only mine. I know you probably don’t want an apology, but I don’t know what else I should do. I started this job to run away, I didn’t really cared about myself. But now I understand that I can’t keep doing so. Now I have you.”
Iris smirked and stared at the flowers for few seconds to then go back to Scilla.
“I get your will to apologise even if you didn’t know the reason. And everybody likes flowers. Just in different ways. Still I’m angry not hungry?”
Confusion immediately spread into Scilla’s brain. Her contorted face expression mixed with the only sound she emitted told all.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“eeh??”
“what? was my accent too strong?. I said I’m not hungry. I’m angry”
“wait no I got it the first time. But what you mean not hungry? Those are not flowers to be eaten”
“oh. Then what are they for? Cleaning the air? Providing a light source? Are they poisonous? You brought me ingredient to extract some poison. You are too kind…”
“no no no. They are just... decorative flowers. You place them in a pot and admire their beauty”
Iris was confused but accepted. With the bouquet of flowers in hand she was even more beautiful. A sublime figure of enchanting beauty hiding behind flowers her dark power suit that tasted way too much blood. The moment of silence was interrupted by one door shutting with force. Scilla immediately snapped and look at the kitchen door on the other side.
“your door… did it malfunction….Iris?” she turned back to see Iris with a small bulge on the right cheek. She was staring at her. She looked down at the flowers and there was a stem missing the rest of the flower.
“Iris did you eat one of the flowers?”
With her mouth partially full she replied. Her speaking was muffled by the flower inside that had yet to be mangled.
“no. why you ask?”
Scilla played along, she looked at the flowers but with the corner of her eyes she was looking at Iris, that chewed a single time as fast as possible to be undetected.
“oh well I see that there is a stem alone and only 19 flowers...i assumed...”
“how would I know how many flowers you bought. Maybe the florist made a mistake”
“yeah sure a mistake”
Iris chewed again.
“surely a mistake”
“mmh… you have some yellow things on your teeth”
“I had a fast snack”
“yeah, definitely a snack. That you... prepared alone”
“yep. Sorry I don’t have any more of it”
I guess is time for a little trick. She loves to correct errors, especially definition errors.
“as far as I can see there are still 9 and half of them”
“the stem shouldn't be considered half of…. oh fuck”
“got you flowers eater.”
“oh shut it. It’s not like you never ate a flower before”
“never ate a decorative one. I don’t even know if they are edible”
“don’t worry, it was safe to consume. I also cleaned it”
Scilla didn’t want to know how she cleaned it or properly she just assumed it was a lie. Truth to be told Iris was not lying. She had already grown close to the Whispers to be able to use them in total silence for small things. Like consuming bacteria to sterilize a flower.
“oh well at least that… do you have a vase for them?”
“maybe”
Then the kitchen door opened and slammed again. By instinct Scilla looked in at the door. Just the few seconds were enough. As soon as she looked back at Iris she could see proof of a new misdeed poking out of her lips. A purple petal.
“Oh come on Iris. Really!?”
“what? This one was purple.”
“was the yellow one good?”
“no.”
“is this one good?”
“no.”
“then why did you eat it, they are almost identical, so same species”
“well maybe they had a different flavour based on the colour”
“do they?”
“no, both equally disgusting. And I also don’t have a place for them, so a few less won’t hurt”
“well. We will place them inside your room in my house. Now seeing that you are eating flowers. Would you perhaps want something to eat even if you are not ‘hungry’”
“no. I’m still mad at you”
“ok. Then let me add fuel to the fire. I don’t want you to get so close to others for photos or whatever”
Am I going to be beaten? She doesn't… wait her new expression doesn’t seem angry… do people smile from excessive anger?
No they do not. Iris in fact was no more angry. She was overflowing with joy. For the first time since they met she was the one rushing toward Scilla and hugged her.
“what?! Is this a new way to break my spine?”
Iris kept hugging and tried to shake Scilla that didn’t really move from her position.
“no idiot. I’m happy. You are jealous and you are imposing on me.” she laugh. A happy and cute laugh that filled the ship and Scilla heart, mixing with her confusion.
“are you not mad at me? You know I’m limiting you”
“no. quite the opposite. I sort of told you before but I’m Esterian an as most we want to be possessive and possessed. Your request proves your love.”
“so you are totally fine with it?”
“well it’s not like I can stop. As you saw a lot of people admire me. But I won’t get close to them from now on. So I respect your decision. And I also don’t really do anything like today. I was trying to obtain this result in the first place. But then I got angry and I moved it in the background.”
“I would like to start a discussion about dictating the other actions and manipulation, but seeing how much you liked it I won’t oppose. Still I don’t really like to be manipulated into things”
“oh, but I won’t call it manipulation. I just forced a trigger. And you reacted as predicted”
“yeah that is kinda manipulative so, I would prefer if you tell me directly if you want something.”
“mmh. Ok I can do that.”
“still angry?”
“no.”
“then if you let me go I can prepare some food with the help of your robot”
“don’t want to”
“well then want me to… don’t know find I place for the flowers?”
“no I mean, I’m fine with food. I don’t want to let go”
“oh. Well thanks.”
Scilla hugged Iris back. She was no longer trying to shake her around, she was just hugging. After probably 10 or more minutes Iris finally let go and taking Scilla’s hand they moved to the kitchen. She sat at the table waiting patiently like a kid while Scilla had her fun preparing something with the wonderful cooking bot. As soon as they had their food Scilla decided to ask about the “you are my...”
“Iris can I ask you something?”
“sure. What is it?”
“Who is this Elrina Smol that you speak about?”
“Elvira Smolak. And I suppose it’s only logical that you don’t know. She was the Founder’s wife. Maybe you know one of her nicknames. They called her the Tungsten Maiden, you know like iron maiden or maiden of Nuremberg, but with a different material due to her cybernetics prosthetics.”
That immediately lit a spark inside Scilla’s head. She knew enough about the Tungsten Maiden. As Humans and Leans came to know more about each other they shared their stories and among them the Tungsten Maiden. A Horrors story based on the real reference and events that was so popular among Humans to be alarming. Needless to say that if even Scilla knew it, then the story expanded also into Lean’s territory like wildfire with some changes and variations. In 2441 it was deeply changed and almost unrecognizable. Still the story spoke about a once beautiful woman who lost half of her body. Converted into a hybrid with a machine she lived at the cost of her sanity and humanity. The woman hypnotise those who seek beauty with her human half. She mesmerize those who seek the strongest of all minds with her machine half. Only when close she reveal her aberrant nature massacring and torturing her preys. Those who seek beauty lose theirs as they get disfigured while those who seek her mind get lost in madness as theirs brain can’t stand against her thoughts. There was no escape because none can survive a single look.
“oh, I remember the horror story around it. Are they true? Like the half half things and disfiguration?”
“mostly. The story is...reductive. I mean she was different from the Founder. Let me use a Human prospective. After 400 years most Human scholars can agree that our Founder actions were guided by a bigger and complex plan never disclosed. Elvira actions however seemed deeply rooted in hatred toward humankind and only assisting the Founder’s plan. It’s unclear if she accepted the worst jobs proposed by her husband, she wanted to do them or they came directly from her. What is known is that she stood proudly by his side and completed her tasks with joy. For instance she took care of both the rehab program and the eugenic program.”
“wait eugenic program?” Scilla’s tone filled with disgust. Leans are warriors by nature. They defended themselves against the Droxi who deem them as inferior due to their colour and clear differences. Most, Scilla included, took up the duty to protect others. They had their share of shit but never once thought of killing their own kind if they were not a threat or a criminal. A cleaning program to remove those weak as they were vermis contaminating the species was not something she could tolerate easily.
“yes. Don’t know what it is?”
Scilla was hesitant. She wanted to know but she also feared the answer. She knew how horrible Iris can be, she thought she knew how Esterians think. Yet she failed to understand her beloved view. She was hoping that Iris was different, that she had changed somehow.
“of course I know. Do… did you side with such thing?”
“should I not?”
Scilla’s heart sink for a moment. She hoped that whatever was coming after was going to be better. Maybe they had a different view of things. Maybe she was messing with her.
“It’s not like it doesn’t work. We are animals. Creatures of living matters. If we can model nature around us, we can model ourself. Only fools reject science.”
“and my model ourself you mean killing those that are deem unfit?”
“I suppose so. Elvira thought so, but I don’t, not in all cases at least.”
That was a punch right in the stomach. A punch that hurts a lot and sank deeper and deeper.
“we still apply some of those rules. For example all parents have the right to terminate their child if afflicted by crippling diseases. Like an extra chromosome.”
At this point there was no more room for misunderstanding. Each new phrases deepened the hole into Scilla’s heart. At some point she probably lost control of her facial expression as Iris continued a bit until a sudden stop.
“You know, we have only few of those disgusting homosexual creatures that you hate so much because turns out that…Scilla are you alright? You seem in pain. This you prepare something that poisoned you?”
Failing to understand the Esterian view Scilla failed to contain herself.
Just how! HOW! HOW?! How could she side with such monstrosity. Even if defective they are still people. With all their technology they could have found several ways to help them.
“STOP!”
Iris was startled but immediately replied still totally oblivious of the situation.
“what? Is it not poison? Did it just taste bad? You can split it or vomit it I won’t get offended”
“it’s not the fucking food! How can you share such horrendous ideas and you even compared me to such a monster. You think I would be pleased?!!?”
“I’m not understanding. I complimented you”
Rage brings out the worst of a creature. Those moments mark your future. They put your relationship through a test. It can either fail or survive to maybe shine brighter afterward.
“of course you are never understanding a single thing! Why the fuck do you even have a brain for!?”
Scilla was not really pondering her words, she was just letting them all out fuelled by anger.
As predictable Iris didn’t took it well. She knew that social skills were not her forte, yet this time she was right. A different right, an Esterian right. For Her and her species science rules above all. Elvira’s methods were indeed correct. Living creatures are still animals and as they can be breed so can intelligent creatures. Selected to achieve better results. Esterians as a species were the proof of such act of self experimentation. Their cleaning methods were no longer so brutal but they still remove defective creatures. To them being compare to Elvira means being defined as a pioneer, a genius of a different time, a strong creature ready to do what is needed for a better future. Also Elvira was one of the only 3 women worth the Founder’s time. In particular she was his wife. The woman that was chosen by what Esterians define as the greatest man that will ever exist. Several Historians even defined Elvira as the Founder’s purpose. They believe with good reasons that the Founder was giving up on Humanity, until he met Elvira. Their encounter was the spark that changed the future bringing them to become Esterians.
However Scilla was seeing all applying her morality, her believes. She was judging a pragmatic race as if they would care about honour or something alike. She was not taking into consideration that Iris indeed used one of the highest compliment existing inside her vocabulary. But to her such compliment was being compared to a monster that killed newborn in the hospital ward. If only she wasn’t so blinded by her own ego, her own convictions and anger.
Iris slammed her fists on the table and stood up. She was not going to let it slide. She was in the right. A rare case for her in a social contest. Immediately the Whispers answer her involuntary call. They start echoing around her, whispering for action, feeding onto her anger.
\|/Fight. Hurt. Revenge. Pain. Pain. Fight.\|/
“SHUT THE FUCK UP! I’m not going to hurt her. She is just… she is just not thinking”
As Scilla’s cheeks had their “fight mode” Iris’s body prepares to battle as well. When aggressiveness is the way Esterians show their teeth, their ears stiffen up and lock on the target. They could also growl. A terrifying growl that you definitely don’t want to hear at night. Iris was not at that point but it was definitely showing hostility.
“GET OUT! I don’t want to see your face anymore.”
“Of course I will get the fuck out.”
Scilla stormed out and secluded herself into her room. She didn’t want to talk with anybody. With time she cooled down. Little by little. She went on with her day as if Idra wasn’t there in her ship. Nothing happened and still partially upset she went to sleep. The next morning hit her with a moment of clearance. She remembered the words “the Founder’s Wife”
...THE...FOUNDER’S...WIFE.
“oh fuck”
She realised that what she saw as an abomination was a positive action for Iris. That eugenics was an amplification of the natural laws just accelerated. Or probably that was the Esterian’s view. She finally put all the pieces together and understood that she got angry over their difference in views. They simply see the universe differently with different standards, different bias and different opinions. She didn’t had to share and approve Iris’s views but get angry and not even try to elaborate more, to discover more and maybe even reach a common ground was a mistake. Her mistake.
In her pyjama Scilla rushed out and tried to get into the NDU, but the ship was silent. She fucked up really hard, that were the consequences. She waited, she stayed there the entire day. But nothing. The NDU was death silent. Once darkness took over the sky she retired back into her room and picked up her phone to call Dhalia.
“hello?”
“Hi Dhal”
“sup, why are you calling at this our? Did Idra had a new strange idea?”
“well… not...not really. Remember that I said I would talk to her yesterday?”
“yes??”
“well turns our I may have made it worst”
Dhalia stopped for a moment. She was in the war but not really as a soldier but as commander and strategist. She had some fights, but never been in the front line. She was getting scared of what was going to happen at the “training”.
“How… How much worst?”
“mmh. Emh. Maybe to the point that she blocked me out and not speaking to me at all?”
Dhalia dropped the phone. She knew that a storm was coming and she rushed to her grandpama for comfort. Allium Hakavor was the one that raised Dhalia and stood beside her. A hard femari forged in a time of need. Someone that gave all for her people and will never bow to weaklings and their poor ideology. This time she didn’t accept her grandchild request to withdraw from the special training. It was a unique occasion for her grandchild to tougher up even more and to experiment the frontline, to see “real” battle and acquire more experience against a stronger opponent.
“Dhal? Dhal? Are you still there?”