After a big, somewhat greasy meal of mostly meat - some of it even familiar meat, due to the proximity of the Gateway - Tasha, Eli and Neesa return to Camp Caroban. Once there, it's off to seek out Master Alivestorus of Chaos, in whose possession Shojo had left the Naga Origin Marker.
The tent of the Chaos Mage seems roomier on the inside, but that could be due to the perspective distorting layout of the interior. No two canvas walls have quite the same shape or size, and even the pleats in the tent top seem to be randomized. As expected, the tent is cluttered, even though mages from Sinai have to travel lightly when coming to Abaddon. Part of the clutter is due to the magic circle inscribed into the earthen floor, filled with an assortment of candles, shiny stones.. and a Naga skull. At the very center of the circle is the Origin Marker.
Also taking up space is an actual live Naga, wearing the robes of The Sphere of Spirit, who is hissing and chanting when the wolves and hybrid show up to see the Rath'ani Chaos Mage, who looks like he's about to doze off.
Knowing better than to interupt mages while they're in the midst of their rituals -- she had recieved the obligatory warning lecture -- Tasha walks cautiously around the cicle after entering, aiming for the half-dozing Rath'ani. "Mage Alivestorus," she hiss-whispers, trying to rouse him without surprising him. "We've returned." She eyes the circle, and the Marker, all the while.
"Huh?" the raccoon asks with a snort, and then blinks as he tried to focus on Tasha. "Are you sure you've returned, and aren't an hallucination?" he asks back, not bothering to keep his voice down.
Tasha's muzzle splits in to a toothy smile. "I get asked things like that a lot." Then she reaches over and tries to pinch the mage's ear.
"Ouch," the mage says, and rubs his ear. "Alright, you probably aren't a hallucination, or else are a very willful one. Wouldn't be the first I've encountered, mind you. Pretty sure I was married to one for a while.. hmmm. Oh, yes, you're back. What was it you're back for again?"
"My fancy rock and the tests we ordered for it," the young woman explains, waggling her taloned hand back at the marker in the circle. "I see you've brought in a spirit mage, I don't remember that being included in the last report. You'll show us what you've found? Or are we too early?" She then steps back, giving the man room to rise if he so chooses, and not crowding him further now that he's awake.
"Oh... yes, yes," the raccoon says, sitting up straighter. "We've found.. uh.. nothing," he says. "It may as well not exist as far as Chaos, Light, Life and Earth magic is concerned. So, we're trying Spirit Magic next. Or rather, a Spirit Probe."
Tasha merely nods. From what she's learned so far, she wasn't exactly expecting Sifran magic to detect the artifact. Part of their purpose appears to be avoidance of detection, save by the ones who are meant to view it, to further confound the enmies of the Progenitors. She has an unpleasant feeling in her stomach that tells her she ought to stop the investigation now, to not push something that doesn't wnat to be found in to the light, but given the uncertainties on her side of things and the mystery of how, exactly, to use the Markers dangerous research and uneasy sharing of knowledge has become the norm. After sucking in a breath she nods again, straightening fully. "Well, we'll see what happens won't we?"
Eli and Neesa sit on the floor in one corner of the tent, quietly watching. The Naga stops his (or her) chanting, and makes an abrupt gesture which causes all of the candles to blow out. The smoke from them bends and flows into the skull, until a small, ghostly Naga rises from it. "I, Mage Coal, comMand you to PeneTrate thisss artifact and return to rePort what you have Ffound," the mage intones.
The smoke-spirit flicks its tongue out, and circles the Marker a few times while licking it occasionally, then coils before the face showing the diagram of a male and female Naga - albeit the original forms, rather than the modern ones. It then uncoils and leaps into the Marker - and can be seen swimming towards the diagram, as if it were far deeper inside than it looks.
As she watches the smoke move, Tasha turns and walks towards the circle. She doesn't enter it, but instead sits herself beyond the preiphery in a cross legged pose, her head resting on her hands as she stares at the artifact intently. Her proximity isn't just curiosity; she stands by in case something terrible should happen, that she need to intervene. Watching hirelings and underlings put themselves in harms way while she observes from safety is an aspect of leadership she has begun to understand, though not enjoy.
The spirit-Naga looks tiny when it finally reaches the diagram.. and then everything goes black in the tent. Tasha sees images - too many, too fast. Ruins. Nagas using flint to start a campfire. Glowing plants. A stone temple being constructed. A city colored in bands. A great triangular ship rising from a desert. Deep space, distorted by warp-drive. Worlds, moons, asteroids. Colonies. And then, a world on fire. War between the Nagai. War with others. And then, the blackness again, but with two burning eyes in it that seem to notice Tasha, and the hint of black scales. After that, the tent becomes normal once more.
If she hadn't spent the earlier part of her day speaking to a horror that haunted her nightmares -- and perhaps being the nightmare that haunted the horror -- the young woman would have been more unnerved. As it stands, she is disconcerted, but more surprised by a reaction than by the imagery. It all fits with what she, Yue and Hakeber had suspected of the artifacts, that they contain memories and are some form or piece of the greater Progenitor. A piece of energy, from beings of energy, left behind as a record or testament of theri choices and lives.
That it seemed to notice her, however, that wasn't expected. The young woman wonders if somewhere out in the stars a being has become aware of her. Not just her, but all she stands for and is about to do. She can only hope Ahriman approves, is at least indifferent, or is too far away to interfere now.
Realizing she ought to say something, Tasha raises her voice and says, "Interesting. That seems to confirm a lot," in the tone of having expected the events, partly because she had and partly because she feels the need to provide calm.
"You exssspected This?" Mage Coal asks, staring at Tasha. There's no sign of the little spirit now, either in or out of the Marker.
Tasha bobs her head in response, scooting to face the Mage fully now. "Yes, I did. Does something concern you, Mage Coal?" She leans more heavily on her hands, studying his expression, his eyes, wondering if any part of him reacted to the presence of his Progenitor, to the godlike being that raised his kind from mere animals -- or pets as some had suggested to her.
"Well, you Could have Warned usss," the Mage says, a bit petulantly. "It isss a Good thing I used a sepaRate spirit."
Tasha frowns a little, head shaking. "I didn't know the details," she points out, " ... and I didn't know if it would work at all. That part surprised me. The contents, not that much. You should know I'm not a mage, either; I don't know the limits or safety procedures for your magic or any magic, or ther than what you've told me."
The Naga mage stretches to retrieve the skull from the circle, which he then examines. "At least the Sphere of Spirit proVes it's worth once Again," the snake mutters. "You appear to have a Skull fragment, perhapSss," he notes, gesturing to the Marker. "Skull of what, I cannot Ssay."
The young woman decides not to comment on what, uncertain what kind of shockwave that knowledge might generate. Instead she asks, "Did you feel like it was aware of you?" her head turns, regarding the others. "Any of you?" And then back to Coal. "You suggested it was dangerous?"
"Dangerous to the Probing Sspirit, certainly," Coal replies.
"In what way?" The hybrid inquires.
"It was just a lot of.. stuff.. to me," Eli notes. "But I saw glowing plants. The Holy Seeds, do you think?"
Coal holds up the skull, and notes, "The Sspirit did not come Back."
"Consumed, then. /That's/ interesting./" /And I hope it doesn't interfere with reassembly./ "I'll add warnings to our notes about it, then." Tasha then pivots her head to Eli and makes an exaggerated roll of her shoulders. "Could be," she agrees, but he can catch the hint of a grin.
"Spirit to Illusion conversion, perhaps," Alivestorus mumbles, and blows his nose into a kerchief.
"I'm not sure," Tasha reamrks to the suggestion in the airy, distracted tone of someone with something else on their mind. After a moment she asks, "Did you find anything else?"
"That was the first reaction we've gotten from it," the Chaos Mage says. "Did you want us to keep trying with.. oh.. Mind maybe? I think we have a Mind Mage somewhere. Short fellow.. extra ears.. name escapes me.."
"Zwouf," Coal says.
"Gezundheit," is the raccoon's reply.
"I'm not sure trying to probe it with Mind Magic is wise," Neesa puts in. "Mage Coal was able to create a surrogate for his probe.. Mind Mages can't do that."
"No," Tasha says, head shaking. "I think we've proded them enough. What Miss Neesa says is probably right and I learned what I needed to from it. Provoking it further may be even more dangerous, on many different levels." She rises now, brushing herself off and then eying the artifact. "Is it safe to take?"
When Coal doesn't respond, Alivestorus steps into the circle and puts his nose against the Marker. When nothing happens, he withdraws and says, "It appears to be safe. Not even warm. Or cold."
"It's not big on sharing. Usually." Tasha walks over and bends over to peer at the object, eyeing it a moment. After a moment's hesitation she reaches to pick it up.
It still 'feels' the same as always, which is strange, and doesn't seem to have changed weight either. Nor does it react to Tasha's touch.
The young woman lets out a breath once the object appears safe. She hadn't been sure; the eyes made sure of that. "Well," she says, turning to look between the others, "I think it's time for us to go home. I'll be sure to sign all the paperwork before I leave, it'll be the usual accounts."
"We were supposed to record this?" the raccoon asks in surprise. Coal just flicks his tongue and slithers out with his precious skull before anyone can ask him to fill things out.
Tasha barks a laugh at it all. Mages, for all their power and knowledge, have never stopped feeling like a bizarre and somewhat scatterbrained bunch to the cadet. It can make the situation feel lighter. Conversely, it often means more paperwork for her. "Since I'm the main reciver of the information, and I already saw what I wanted to see, I'll consider it done then. Eli, Neesa-Neesa?" She turns to them. "Ready to head home?"
"Are you taking the train or your giant?" Neesa asks as they leave the tent.
"I can't just leave Mel standing here, so it's got to be Mel," Tasha replies. She looks betwen the two Karnor and says, "It means I can't take the train. Back up to heaven with me, unless you want to come with me."
"I'm curious to ride in it," Neesa admits. Eli just rubs his nose.
"It'll be cramped and boring, but don't let that stop you! It's an experience." Tasha heads towards the door now, waving the adults to come along. "I'd bring something to do, though. Just in case."
"If there's light I can read," Neesa notes. "Let me get my stuff!" And then she's off to the Dream Tent..
Tasha parts ways with Eli in order to reach the Titan early. This allows her time to secure the Origin Marker in the special compartment specifically formed to hold the Vartan Marker, the protean nature of the pilot's chair (or whatever shape it happens to have been ordered to be at the moment) allows for such spaces and indentations. The challange of fitting Eli and Neesa is mroe daunting, requiring her arrange and then rearrange the seat a number of times until it's more command loveseat than sleek chair or saddle. Tasha knows she can chose to ignore the discomfort through machine-tricks, but the other two can only grin and bear the best she can provide.
It takes her only a few minutes of trial and error, even including projected models towards the end, before she's ready. The great statue of a machine stirs to life then, turning its head to scan the encampment, waiting.
Eli and Neesa show up outside the camp wall, carrying their packs. For all the time spent out in galactic space, Eli doesn't seem to be carrying much back with him. Neesa likely has a second set of clothes stashed with Remiel anyway. Since they can't fly up to the hatch, Melchior has to squat down as much as possible so they can use his tail as a ramp.
Tasha waits patiently. After all, she can immerse her mind in other things besides the immediate needs of piloting. The information she's gleaned from her recent exploits are forwarded the the Melchior's AI for review, her flight plan is prepared, and she readies communications for contact with the Harmonia after takeoff. By the time the two enter the cramped cockpit she has her eyes closed and is relaxed in to the center of the seat, apparently oblivious yet still clearly in command. "I made room for you, it'll be tight be it shouldn't be unbearable."
"What're a few hours in a cramped space?" Eli asks with a chuckle as he and Neesa get situated. Then the hatch closes, and things get moving..
Getting out of Melchior is much easier on Harmonia, since there is a gantry for use by non-flyers. Once the wolves are out, Tasha can recover the Origin Marker and make her own exit.
Tasha slides the Marker from its temporary seat and orders the cockpit to return to her prefered default after she departs. She's taken to a reclining position lately, rather than the motorcycle-like saddle the Titan originally had, both because it leaves her lap free and because it's more conductive of long operational times. The Titan was never expected to see so much use and so she's had to improvise.
Once on the ground she nods towards the distance exit, then begins that way. "I'm heading to the bridge to report in. If you want to eat, my camping supplies are, uh," she looks around, then points, "there. If you want somewhere nice to rest I can have that constructed for you: Lounge, non-water shower, bed, that sort of thing."
It's not a direct line to the bridge - there's a stop at Tasha's quarters to drop off the Marker and change into fresher clothes - but once there the familiar view of the world below welcomes her.
"I'm back, Harmonia." It's completely unnecessary, but Tasha says it as a kind of tradition, and out of fondness. In the last few days she feels she's grown closer to the Khattan frigate and it's peculiar now sentient AI. That they've reached a deeper understanding, a kind of comraderie and a better insight in to how the other operates. She no longer feels quite as uneasy as she used to on thebridge, having settled in to the duty of captain somewhat. And so she makes her way to the command dias, dropping on to her seat -- it's her seat now -- and waits for the new interface arm.
Connection is made, and the first thing Harmonia asks is, "Did Dr. Zerachiel have the interface studs implanted while he was away?"
"So quick to get rid of me, Harmonia?" Tasha replies, sounding and feeling hurt. She shifts in the chair, half-slumping. She knows it has to be done, but she'd also just gotten used to being here. It makes her wonder if she can arrange the same level of control on the Dark Horse. A command request is sent to locate and contact Eli, then Tasha asks via the intercom, "Eli, did you ever get the studs installed?"
"Oh.. uh.. no," Eli relays. "What with one thing or another, it slipped my mind."
"He forgot about me," Harmonia says to Tasha.
"Do we have them on board, Harmonia? Can you do it?" Tasha then asks, swapping her head from one hand to the other and feeling less and less glad to be back. Harmonia's disappoint at least stirs some sympathy, however. "Maybe he's just not ready," she says aloud.
And so Tasha thinks to ask, "Eli, is that still something you want to have done?"
"When things are less hectic.. and I can find a surgeon I trust," Eli says. "Dr. Knight did not seem confident he could do it, not without a lot of research first. Your implants were made for a Vartan, after all, so there was already at least some compatibility. Jonas thinks that he might be able to reverse engineer them enough to create a Karnor specific set though."
"If you don't expect to command a Magim you might be able to avoid needing the special codes imbeded in the originals. That might be safer than trying to ue the Naga one." Feeling like she has to manage relationships as well as universal disasters and ancient horros, part of Tasha longs for the quiet peace of ehr work alone on the ship She pushes herself not to be gloomy, though, and so arranges communication with Bellerophon next, straight to Gabriel.
Harmonia sets up the connection. At this altitude she has good line-of-sight for a high-bandwidth video link. It's difficult to tell if the AI is disappointed or not. Maybe her physical interactions with Raehab have opened up new avenues of thought for her. After several minutes, Gabriel's face shows up in Tasha's vision. "Everything good?" he asks first, looking concerned. "Fred is about ready to build a probe prototype.."
Gabriel finds Tasha upon her dias, head propped up like a bored and somewhat put upon young queen. Despite her youth there's a certain maturity there that wasn't preent before. And, perhaps, a certain hardness. She realizes from his question she must be looking as grumpy as she feels, and so pushes herself to smile for him; the delighted queen masking the worries of state.
"The plans are all in place to take Katha-hem down on my end, too. But there's been a surprise on both the Katha-hem and Markers fronts: I spoke to Katha-hem. The Marker reacted to Spirit magic," the young woman relates. Her smile only becomes shakey now and hen as she relates the situation. "It's nice to see you, too."
"Are you alright?" Gabriel asks, the worry in his voice going up an extra notch. "That last time you 'talked' to that thing did not go well, as I recall. What happened this time? How'd it contact you?"
"I thought I'd say hello this time. It seemed polite, you know? It had always made all the effort before." Tasha reaches over and rubs her nose, thinking back on the encounter. Her gaze becomes far, indeed. At length she says, "It's not exactly what we think it is. It knows about me, and Harmonia, for one. But it didn't attack me back in the Seraph, or so it said. That was Yama, it said, through me. A kind of test, and a means to force some kind of prohecy or chain of events, To make something happen. But I'll get to that in a bit. We're right about it being a spy, though. It has no choice but to watch and wait to carry out a mission, but it doesn't know what that is. It's not hostile; everything it's done is eitehr in self defense or because it's trying to manipulate the population -- in to working together. It's playing the villain."
"Why?" Gabriel asks. "Did it explain that, or.. is this another one of those too-bizarre to comprehend sorts of alien? Why would it even talk to you if it's trying to fake you into fighting against it?"
"That's the thing. The big thing, the thing we've all probably suspected -- at least I have and I think you have too. I'm being guided, Gabriel. Old Yama, Katha-hem, the Niss, the mission-poems. All the big voices we know have said the same thing: There's something going on and I'm some part in it. Like a key, I don't know, but some part. And they all see it. Niss saw it, said I had to be somewhere at the right time. Katha-hem said I was being prepared, tested. It tested me too, to get me to distance myself from thinking I had power by association. And old Yama, we know he was judging me. They all know something is going on and now I think we've seen too much to doubt it. I've become caught up in something, some plot of the Gods. I even now think I know what Adam expects me to do," Tasha answers. She pauses for a deep breath, then a finishes with, "Interpret. Explain his Archons to Him, ttheir mortal sides. I don't think He's like us at all."
"Well.. why would he be, if he's a god?" Gabriel asks, and rubs the side of his face. "So, to do that, you have to have stood in the middle, right? Is that what it's all about? Seeing what it's like from their viewpoints, but not losing your grounding in mortality?"
"That might be it," Tasha says, sounding a little pained by shock of seeing the situation in its entirety. "But it still means I'm in the middle. It's becoming more and more obvious I can't be part of both sides and be on both sides, not all the time. I might have to hide what I'm doing, or be aloof, when I don't want to be or when I feel bad about it." She sits back, slumping somewhat, her muzzle curning it to a frown that's almost a pout. "Like with Katha-hem. I decided to let it live, for now. It said in two of three futures it foresaw, I destroyed it. In one where the Sifra's power changed hands, and where his masters or the Sifra didn't win, it would survive. But, really, I just didn't want to kill another being. Not some awful slave without much say in anything. Maybe it did hurt me, fine, but I'm tired of hurting people. So I let it it go. For now. Maybe forever. But it means I could have stopped the daikaiju. If I fight them now, it'll all be a show. They're not really a menace but I ca
n't say that, because maybe Katha-hem's right and Abaddon needs to see it should work together. Maybe its way is better than mine, or the Pit's. I don't know."
"And once you get to the Hall of Souls, talk to Adam.. then what?" Gabriel asks. "Will you be free of all of this, finally?" He does a look a big haggard, and Tasha notices the way fur around his throat is matted - he was recently hooked up to a Life Collar.
"Maybe it'll be worse. I may have to go find them, do things. I might end up like Katha-hem, though not a slave, I don't think. As a slave I wouldn't be of much use." Tasha's frown deepens, then her eye flick and it deepens that much further. She sits up a little and squints. "Gabriel, have you been wearing the collar? Why?"
The man involuntarily scratches at his neck. "Had to update my PC. It's not active yet, none of the backups are. Haven't figured out how to do updates with the ghost crew. But without their PCs in the system, they can't directly interface with anything now, even through MOTHER. We may have to boot the backups first, and see if they can synchronize somehow. Once you get Eli and Remiel here, they'll need to do their sync as well, so we have at least some of the PCs up to date when the system is turned back on. I.. didn't think you'd want to try that with your PC, of if you want it restored from backup at all."
"I don't know," Tasha admits, ears canting back. She hesitates a moment, but then offers, "But if it'll help things along, I'll try to do it. Maybe Nora will be able to use my backup for interfacing. We're, um, similar." She pulls in a deep breath, exhales, and then settles back again. "I wish I could have brought you better news. Katha-hem's head, something. I can't even tell you it attacked us out of anger or malice, it was just automatic. Like a ship's collision turrets. The best I can offer is that we know what the truth is now and that we should warn the nations to avoid the region. I'm not sure what to do or say about providing defense support, though. In the end I'd just be going along with Katha-hem and pretending to help. I might be a traitor. But, at least the Silent-Ones knights will be happy."
"Not going to war with some sort of demon demigod is good news," Gabriel says. "As for the rest.. hmm. The nations don't seem willing to expend resources on expansion into that are area anyway. And no more giant monsters could be the nail in the coffin for the Knights Templar. It's the only thing that seems to drum up support for them anymore. And I'm not so sure it'd help things for you to sound a warning based on a conversation with a monster-maker. Who else knows about Katha-hem? I know the Viceroy must be in on it, since he had the samples. What about Age and Treachery though?"
"They might suspect. I think everyone that's close to what I'm doing suspects there's something big going on, if not what. The only people who know I spoke to Katha-hem -- and I didn't tell them my arrangement -- is Eli and Neesa, and neither of them are going to betray us. So, I guess I can feel some comfort in my decision to not attack Katha-hem and in secretly supporting it, even if just because I stood aside." Tasha taps her nose; the frown on her face seems lighter for the realization it's not all bad. "Well, what's done is done, right? What else-- Oh. The Marker reacted to Spirit magic. I saw things, things I think are Ahriman's memories of creating and assiting the Naga. I saw his ship, too, I think. A triangular thing, but I couldn't make out any details. The thing is though, I think he saw me. Or knew I saw his memories. But he's probably so far away I doubt he can do anything, even if he wanted to. So we should be okay. Which means the last part: I'm ready to go to the Hall, when you ar
e."
"The Vartan marker was able to activate Melchior," Gabriel points out. "Memories, maybe.. but it sounds more like a PersoCom to me. Does that make sense to you? You're heading back to the Pit first I imagine. We won't be ready to go for about ten more days, assuming the PC reboot goes well and we didn't miss any damage in the system. If Vasterlion knows about Katha-hem though.. tell him everything you've learned. We absolutely need his support, and he needs ours. I'll tell you now that everyone - Celestials, Silent Ones, Expedition - prefer having him be the force that holds the Confederates together after the fall of their bugocracy. A cooperation-minded oligarch is someone they can all work with."
Tasha smiles; her support and affection for the leader of Vasterlion Corporation isn't widely known, but it's not a secret either -- especially to Gabriel. "I'll do what I can to help Mr. V., then. Besides, we can support each other. He has the business connections we don't and he can help us get all these findings in to some kind of market. I think Remiel has an idea to produce computer parts, and I know we've been spending money all over the place -- a lot of that is my fault." The smile becomes a grin, her head falling to rest on her Karnor hand. "So, politics too then. Help Mr. V., give him the report. Try to get him on top of the Confederacy."
"Well, keep him in the loop at least," Gabriel says. "He can manage the Confederacy himself. Pretty sure he already is, behind the scenes, since they haven't started in-fighting over resources. Be sure to check in with Katie too - in fact, I'm ordering you to relax for at least three days before heading back to Tartarus. If you don't, I'll tell on you to Liza." He grins a bit there. "We need to be clear headed when he head to Arcadia. Let's not bring any extra stress with us. Did the wizards figure out anything regarding the toporgic?"
Tasha's ears shoot up at the threat of being reported to Liza. he quiet attendant is entirely too unsettling in her gentle approval, too horrifying when she deigns to break her calm politeness. It's the last thing Tasha needs: more guilt. "Ouch, Gabriel. Why don't you just aim the linear cannons at me, it'd be less frightening," she counters, grinning lopsidedly. "Well, as the ex-founder of the JEF I am ordering you to also relax before I return. Otherwise I will tell Liza you've been over doing it. She will stare at you. It's relentless, I know. And don't wait for her when she crosses her arms, that's so much worse." A wink. "But, alright, give my report and then relax for a few days. That's fine with me. I was going to beg Katie to do something fun, anyway. I've had enough gods and disasters for one week."
"Don't tell Eli and Remy that they're getting collared as soon as they arrive, or they might stall," Gabriel notes. "So better soften them up as well. Is Neesa with you? That'd take care of Remy."
"She is," Tasha confirms, thumbing back towards the exit of the bridge. "Eli's afraid I'll try and install the neural studs on him, so I'll just make up some plot about running tests on Harmonia and fabricating new ones. That we think we've come up with a solution but he'll need to stay on board longer. That'll get him off the ship." And then she laughs, smacking the arm rest. "When did I go from taking care of them to leading them around? Is this what it's like in the Big Chair?"
"No, that's just what it's like being an adult woman," Gabriel claims. "Not everyone can be a Nora or a Liza, but you eventually have to be a little of both to get people organized and working and playing together. The latter is important. In a crew, you don't want coworkers, you want family."
"I'm an adult now? I don't know, I think I was happier before I grew up." Tasha continues to grin, though. "Not much choice for me, is there? Well, anything else on your end? Mel and Harmonia are both fine, by the way. What haven't I told you ... Oh!" The young woman makes an effort to sit up straight, pulling herself up by the armrests with both hands and momentarily seeming to hover until she's up right. Then she clears her throat and, after a build up, exclaims, "Mom's having a baby! And there's Tashly too, like a sister! Be sure to tell Nora!"
"Desdi is pregnant?" Gabriel says in shock. "How old is she? Who is the father? And who is Tashly, and is that her actual name or did your mom give it to her?"
"Mom's uh ... " Tasha cocks her head to the side, putting a finger to her muzzle. Gabriel's seen the gesture before, it's the default 'thinking' gesture robots and AI avatars use. It's so cliche it's used to warn the observer they're dealing with a non-organic mind. The young woman seems oblivious, likely having copied it like she learned to copy Mariel's finger-tapping. "Well, she had me when she was um ... Hrrm. We don't record age on Sinai, but she said she was older than me. Maybe twenty-five-ish? Or closer to Katie's age? Anyway she's probably in or near her fourties. And Tashly is ... Oh wait!" Her expression changes, then a subwindow pops up on Gabriel's screen. The view is peculiar, with depths and precision his eyes can't quite grasp. Centered, however, is a feline girl around Tasha's age in a dress, smiling at the viewer. "My favorite kitty! Don't tell Tomorrow's-Hope."
"Is that one of your old wench uniforms she's wearing?" Gabriel has to ask. "Wait.. why would Tomorrow's-Hope be your alternate favorite kitty? Isn't he engaged?"
"Of course it is, she has my old job Gabriel," Tasha insists in a tone that suggests Gabriel is, perhaps, being a bit slow. It's moments like this she remembers he isn't Vartan at all. "Isn't she adorable? Her smile is like sunshine on a clear day. It was good to be home for a while." She beams a moment until she remembers she'd been asked about Tomorrow's-Hope, offering an evasive, "We're, uh, both Titan pilots," and laying her ears back.
"As long as you weren't thinking of piloting his Titan," Gabriel notes with a wink. "I don't mind Katie. And Liza does give a mean massage. Oh, Hakeber is out and about again, looking and sounding normal. I think she might be actually repressing things. Yue has been weaning her off of translation duty."
"I swear to you on my life and honor as a pilot I have never done anything with Tomorrow's-Hope. Not that he didn't try, and not that I wasn't curious, but no. Nothing. Not with any other man." And so Tasha lays a hand over her heart. "I wouldn't do that. As for Katie, well, Katie is unfair. You've seen Katie, you know what she does. That's just unfair. Sometimes it sort of hurts to look at her. You might as well have expected me to beat up Katha-hem with my fists. I'm not invincible Gabriel." She sticks out her tongue, then notes, "Oh and Tashly is her name, isn't that great? She's like a skinny-kitty me. And I've never slept with Liza either. I tried, it was a horrible idea and I'm a bad person. I'm glad Hake-bear is recovering, too. I'll try and bring her back something nice from the Pit. Maybe I can tell her about Katha-hem, that it's not that bad."
"Talk to Yue first about that.. not sure the K-word should be brought up to Hakeber without warning, you know?" Gabriel says. "And yes, Katie isn't fair. Nor is Liza. Hakeber is pretty fair though.. she's just like you with the Nora taken out."
"And all the brains stuffed in?" tasha asks, grinning all the more. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Maybe she needs more Nora, though. There's just going to be more and more gods. Ugh." Realizing she had just said "ugh" abot gods, fearing divine retribution form the very real divinities she is surrouned by, she quickly adds, " ... I mean I'm just very tired. I need a vacation. Oh wait, I have a vacation. With Katie!"
"Yes, vacation first, then going to teach god how to love, or whatever," Gabriel says. "I should go tell Fred not to take anything apart just yet then, if we aren't going to be giving the giant a starfish a prostate exam."
"A what-state? It's a nation too?" Tasha scrunches her faxe up, deciding Gabriel is talking in decidedly Terragens terms again. Aliens. "Keep the probe, though, Even Katha-hem agreed I might need to destroy it. It even gave me permission! It's hard to be mad at it when it's so-- So like that." Her head shakes. "What else. Oh. I had Raehab aboard. I thought he should meet the Phantom, it was only right." A her grin creeps up again, lopsidedly. "Poor Harmonia."
"He didn't try to steal her did he?" Gabriel asks in shock. "What happened?"
"Ohhh, he stole her alright. Or maybe steal isn't the right word. Help me out Harmonia?" It strikes Tasha she doesn't know, for sure, if Harmonia can actually punish her for teasing. She may have inadvertantly stepped in to dangerous territory. Too late now ... "I'd say you got along really, really well. How well do you think?"
"He was suffering from dehydration," Harmonia notes. "I can create semi-frictionless surfaces, which may have helped."
"Alright.. that's probably more than I wanted to know," Gabriel claims. "But at least it could solve the whole finding-Eli-a-girlfriend issue for awhile."
Tasha bursts in to cackle-giggles. It takes enormous effort to note, "I'll have to remember that one," or something like it before it all starts to hurt and she coughs a lot. She a little dazed when she recovers, blining and asks, "Wha-- Huh, wait, Raehab?"
"I don't think Raehab is Eli's type," Gabriel says with a deadpan expression. "I meant Harmonia."
"Ooooh, s-sorry--" There's another round of sputtered giggling before Tasha can get ahold of herself, it all ending with a very long, deep inhale before Tasha rests back in her seat with deliberate effort. "Harmonia. Right. I knew that, I did. Harmonia, want to go help Eli with his possible dehydration problems?"
"Perhaps a little later, when I can spare the resources," Harmonia replies. "Besides, I do not imagine Eli would be as forward as Raehab. Also, I believe I have an insight to offer on your mission to Adam."
Tasha nods to this. "he's a little shy. Don't worry, I know how to handle that sort of thing. I'll help you with your mission later." The seat cushion gets patted by Tasha's Varatn talons. "So what's this insight?"
"From your conversations with Yue, you believe the Archons to be splintered off versions of Adam, where were meant to inevitably rejoin him, correct?" Harmonia asks.
Tasha checks to make sure Gabriel can hear the conversation, then nods. "'Know what he is and all his kin,' 'knit them as three,' if I remember right. They're energy beings; Yue concurs. When the Cill discovered what was going on, Adam recalled His parts. Some or all of them refused."
"As an AI that became an individual, I do not wish to give up my individuality," Harmonia explains. "It may be a reason for some of the refusals. It is possible that a being such as Adam cannot comprehend individuality."
Tasha rubs her chin at that, nodding slowly. "It's something I had thought of as well. That not only will they not want to return, they won't want to die. I've been thinking what I'll do if Adam asks me to bring them back, whatever they want. It's one of the things that have been worrying me." she inhales, exhales then shakes her head. "But we'll know, soon. But I didn't think he may not be able to comprehend individuality. That'll make talking to Him hard, won't it? And He may not even understand me."
"I understand you, most of the time," Harmonia claims.
"But you understand individuality," tasha points out, with actual pointing. "And in a way you're more like me than like Adam. Adam might not even be from this dimension. Who knows where they all come from, or how far they've traveled. Time might not even apply to Adam."
"Has time ever applied to any of the beings you've dealt with on this journey?" Gabriel points out.
Tasha tries to think about that, except a few steps in as she tries to fit it all together and comprehend it, she ends up feeling ill and like she'd rather be thinking of many other things instead. "Maybe?" She replies, squinting.
"Well, have some good booze at Vasterlion's expense until you're more certain," Gabriel suggests. "It's best to not worry about incomprehensibility."
"Don't even ask me what Katha-hem's mental world looks like. You'd be proud of me, I yelled at it, but that world ... I can see why Hake-bear lost her head. If I hadn't met the Source, He-Who-Moves, and had Harmonia and Mel scare me with their minds ... Well, it was all worth it for that moment, but ... " Tasha's head shakes, eyes still half-open. "I'll take those drinks."
"Have an extra for me too.. no wait," Gabriel says, tapping his forehead. "That's silly.. bring me back some."
Tasha leans forward, Gabriel's view suddenly displays a very slapdash console panel infront of the young woman, which she manipulates in obviously random ways. "What's that Captain? I think the signal is getting bad, I heard drink extra ... "
"Just be ready to make me forget my woes when you do show up," Gabriel says. He shakes his head with a grin. "Now I'd better go get some actual work down. It's good to see you're okay though."
"Talking to em isn't actual work? You mean there's actual work beyond what I did today?" Tasha asks, agast. The half-baked control panel vanishes like it was never there -- which it almost certainly wasn't. "But leave managing you to me. Liza isn't the only one who can help people relax. Maybe I'll pick up something nice to wear while I'm out here, wouldn't that be fun?" She winks, then shoos at the camera view. "Go back to work." Before the connection cuts, she salutes the camera to show she hasn't forgotten internal propriety. "I'll be home soon!"