The next day's wishes were focused on Vitality. It was one of my lower stats now, and an important one, so I scoured the ship for some people willing to give it up. Six wishes, each now giving me seven points (it had gone up after the big bump in stats) left me with forty two new Vitality for the day

I was planning to meet up with Jessie and Benny, but they were both otherwise occupied. I sent an invite to dinner, but they couldn't make it, so here I was in late afternoon with Callie, getting ready to have my first meal in memory with my mother and sister. I tugged on my jacket again, annoyed that it didn't seem to be sitting right, feeling like my lapels were off center somehow.

"Stop that." Snickered Callie as she smacked my hands away. She reached up to adjust my tie, then smiled and leaned up to peck me lightly on the lips. "Perfect."

I grimaced. "I look like a thug. I can't believe there was even a tailor on this ship. This was a dumb idea, why do I need to dress up for a family dinner. I should have just gone in my armor, it would have been totally functional, and it wouldn't have cost us anything."

My girlfriend rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. This is a formal event with a high ranking member of a faction. We need to present ourselves properly. Remember that nobody else knows the truth. We have the excuse of saving her daughter to explain the meeting, but we need to keep up appearances. If we're taking casual meetings in our armor with an A-ranker people are going to figure something is wrong."

"Easy for you to say." I said with an adoring smile. "That dress makes you look like an angel." Callie blushed lightly, her cheeks setting off her lipstick when they went red and the pale skin providing a contrast against her black hair and long black dress when the blush faded. She looked stunning, but despite knowing I meant it, she still seemed shy about the whole thing.

She smiled sweetly up at me. "Right back at you big man. You look fantastic. And since you know I mean that, can you calm down a bit. Things will be fine. Besides I'm the one who should be nervous."

"About what?" I said in confusion. "You already met my mom and sister. You even saved Chelsea's life. Or at least helped."

"That was just business!" She said frantically, starting to pace. We were just outside the house my mom was using on the Necromedes, and we'd been plucking up our courage to go in. "This is like...meeting the parents. It's a DINNER. You think you're nervous about your outfit? I spent four hours with the tailor waffling about cut. I'm still not sold on this."

Catching her hand as she went by, I pulled her against my, chuckling as I held her tight. "Callie. I worry about a lot of things when it comes to my mom. The choices I've made, the things I've done. She and I might not be close but she's my mother and I wonder if she's going to approve of the way I live my life. I shouldn't care, but I do." She was looking at me nervously.

"But." I continued. "Not a single one of those worries is about you. You're the best choice I've ever made. Bar none. And my mom will either see that, or I don't give a shit what she thinks. No nerves, no hesitation. You aren't negotiable. Not that I think it'll come up. Anyone would have to be an idiot not to adore you. But I just wanted you to know."

Callie's smile was the brightest, most heartfelt thing I'd ever seen, and my heart jumped a bit staring at her face. "If I wasn't worried about smearing my lipstick I'd kiss the hell out of you right now." She said in an awed tone. But since anything more than a peck would make us look like cannibals I'm just going to have to take a rain check. Expect it later though, mister."

I laughed and squeezed her once before letting go, though I kept my hand around hers as we stepped up to the door. We knocked forcefully and the door slid open, revealing my sister, beaming ear to ear. "That." She said with a smirk. "Was pretty much the cutest thing I've ever heard."

I blinked, and then Callie's face twisted in horror. "Oh gods. I wasn't stealthing that. You heard every word we were saying."

"It wouldn't have mattered." She laughed. "Mom is inside and her Perception is insane. She'd have heard it anyway. But don't sweat it. I think if anything it won you some points. You two are sickeningly adorable. I wish I had a boyfriend I loved that much."

My face must have been disturbed because she giggled at my expression. "Don't know how to react to that huh?"

"You're my twin sister, so I feel like I should say something, but I barely know you so I feel like I can't." I agreed. "Plus you're already an adult so I can't really weigh in. "Let's just ignore your lovelife completely, shall we? I'm not equipped to walk on that emotional minefield right now."

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She laughed harder. "Fine. I'll take pity on you. Come on in, mom's been wringing her hands and minutely shifting dishes a few microns for the last fifteen minutes. It stopped being funny a minute or two ago, and I'm worried she's going to wear a hole in the table."

Swallowing hard, I squeezed Callie's hand and we stepped into the house. "So, nice place." I said cheerfully. "Mom and Killian go back huh? Makes sense he gave her the good digs. Not that ours weren't, but this is like some high level diplomat shit."

"That happens when you're a high level diplomat." She said with a chuckle. "Mom's chef, Jenny, is pretty great though. You guys will love the food. I usually have to make do with Callen's cooking, which isn't terrible, but it's pretty middling." She paused, looking around quickly. "Oh, good, he's not here. He seems to pop up every time I say that. Here, dining room is this way."

She led us down the hall, into a huge white paneled room with gold trim along the edges. It was an odd design style, lots of intricate scrollwork. In the center was a huge dark wooden table, a white and gold tablecloth tossed over the surface. The table was set with crystal candlesticks and white and gold dishes covered with delicious smelling food.

"Shane!" My mom said happily as she pulled me in for a hug. I was honestly a pretty huggy person when possible so I didn't mind. We were getting to know each other, but it still felt nice to get a hug from a family member. She pulled back, and, without hesitation pulled Callie into a hug. "And Callie! It's lovely to see you dear. Welcome."

Chelsea was grinning at me from off to the side, giving me a look that clearly conveyed her amusement at the fact that mom had obviously heard my speech and was pretending she hadn't so she could score points. She'd even heard Chelsea tell me I was sure, but apparently we were pretending that hadn't happened. I felt Callie's triumph and relief through the bond though, and I was happy to play along if it made her feel like that.

We sat down at the table, and a man appeared, wearing a white suit, he strode to the platters on the table, the same white bone china, and lifted the covers off. "For your dining pleasure tonight." He said in a crisply accented voice. "Beef Wellington as the first course. Served on a bed of grilled asparagus with a full bodied bourbon peppercorn sauce." On the platter lay a series of what looked like tiny loaves of bread on long spears of green.

Plating each one out, he lifted a gravy boat, bringing it to each of us and gesturing to the food to see if we wanted sauce. I decided to try it. Callie was practically drooling like a cartoon dog by the time he got to her, and once everyone had their food we started eating.

It was amazing. The meat was F-ranked, as were the other ingredients, though I didn't know the specifics. Even at our own ranking though, I couldn't have come close to making a meal of this quality. This was the work of a Master chef. Possibly higher. As we ate, my mom shot uncertain looks at both of us, finally stopping and dabbing her mouth with a napkin that matched her white dress.

"So, Shane. What are your plans now?" She asked politely. "I'm sure you've got something in mind,. I'd love to invite you home but..."

I nodded, swallowing my bite. "I get it. Luckily I kept the whole 'she's my mom' thing pretty quiet. Just Gabe and a few of his people from the church know about it I think. I'm sure you can arrange for them to be told to keep quiet." My eyes widened as I hurried to add. "Nicely, please. They're friends. Don't like...kill them and dump their bodies in space."

My mother huffed out a laugh. "You've been spending far too much time around your father's side of the family. The church doesn't execute devoted initiates, darling. Not without a very compelling reason. They'll be rewarded for being of assistance, perhaps given their own branch in some backwater system for a time, should they wish it. There ARE ways to get people out of the way without harming them."

"Speaking of spending time with family, I was hoping to talk to you both about that." I said, figuring this was as good a segue as any. "We still need to talk it over with the others, but I plan to head for The Empire. Their factional approach to cultivation, nobility and such, means lots of small wars and skirmishes. We're going to try to join up with a smaller force's army and learn what war is really like. To prepare for what's coming. I was hoping Chelsea might be able to come along."

She flinched. "Shane...that's- Chelsea isn't supposed to leave the Dominion. Most people outside the Church barely know she exists. That isn't safe at all."

"It is." I said firmly. "Zeke can watch out for her, and for anyone close to her level she has Callen. Plus, like you said, most people don't even know she exists. We just need to keep quiet about our parentage and she should be perfectly fine. I know it's not a foolproof plan but-"

"Make a foolproof plan and the universe just makes bigger fools." Cut in my sister. "I want to go." At my mom's shocked look, Chelsea shrugged guiltily. "Mom. I love you. You know that. But Shane is my TWIN. Now that I have a chance to know him, I have to take it. And I hate being cooped up. I know you just want to help, but I'm an adult. You can't keep me prisoner if I want to leave."

My mom's face was a mask of pain and helplessness as she sighed, letting her head slump forward. "Fine." She said after a moment of silence. "I'll speak to Ezekial. If he agress to look after you, I'll trust him. Anyone below middle A-rank shouldn't give you trouble, and I can pay Killian to change routes to drop you off wherever you decide to go. He'll be around to keep an eye out."

I was surprised it had been that easy, but I was pretty sure some of that was guilt. Whatever it was, I would take it. We had a ride, a destination, and a new traveling companion. I couldn't wait to set sail. I wasn't sure if the training we were going to get was going to be enough to prepare us, but it couldn't hurt. We needed to prepare for war.