After all of the activity of the day (including the group beach romp), Tasha is understandably tuckered out, but physically and mentally. Gabriel still had some energy though, and nosed Tasha in the ear once they were in bed. "Whisper sure can make impressive sand castles," he notes.

"She sure can," Tasha says in that airy distracted voice of someone thinking about something else, or nothing at all. She has her hands folded on her chest, tapping her fingers together. Definitely thinking about something.

"Okay, what you churning your gears on?" Gabriel asks. "I have a cold nose and I'm not afraid to use it if you don't share," he warns.

"I know you do, I'm just tired and this day was surprisingly exhausting. Having a daughter is a lot more work than I expected, and in ways I hadn't thought about." Tasha fluffs up her pillow, then rolls over to face Gabriel. "Did you notice how surprised she was when the little boy was a bit scared of me? Like she never considered her mother could make someone else afraid, or be scary. But I am scary. I was upstairs having a debate with Galatea if we should murder everyone in that room and attempt to slay a avatar. We decided against it for a variety of reasons, but of course I didn't mention that my kids were downstairs. And sooner or later, Pheeny's going to know what I am and what I do. What I really do. Either because she'll see it, or she'll find the memory box in her endless, infinite mind, and recall how I brought her here."

"She's new to being a daughter, so it usually takes many years before she thinks you're terrible," Gabriel claims. "She isn't used to mortals either, and things like fear, loneliness and the rest. It's why we have Tia teaching her and Whisper, partly so they don't accidentally hurt anyone. I imagine it was more you talking Tia out of murder though, given the situation. She's let herself be more mortal on this little outing, I think. She smells human, and therefore smells of human stress too."

"I think we both talked each other out of it. No, that's not right, we made a strategic decision not to murder. It wasn't an avoidance of murder on moral principles, we just didn't want to declare war on another deity. We have enough work to do, and we don't need complications. And, of course, we were concerned due to the presence of everyone else," Tasha elaborates, spreading her hands. "We're both past moral fretting over murders we believe are right, at least, mostly. Though, I do think the fact we sat down in our heads and worked out the best option was a large improvement for us both."

"Would have have considered the murder option on your own?" Gabriel asks. "Was there something in particular that prompted the possibility of it?"

"I'm always considering the murder option, Gabriel. I've killed between hundreds to who-knows-how-many. And they are all dangerous in their way, everyone there. As for why, well," Tasha nods off towards the pyramid, "It's what he does. I won't say his name here. Corrupts people with offerings, sews terror, brings people to despair and destruction. It's his nature. But he seems to only be able to manifest as a large collection of avatars, and they are not equal in power. This one is weaker than us. The one Kainudy is fighting is on the upper end. He thought we came to be rid of him here. And you can bet he's influencing Terra from here. So we considered it."

"The thing is, he isn't doing anything new," Gabriel says. "You don't need to be a supernatural entity to exploit people's greed or insecurity. Every galactic civilization is ancient, and Terrans have been doing this sort of thing since time immemorial. To quote some nutjob: the moment God crapped out the third caveman, a conspiracy was started against one of them. If not Thotep, it'd be another powerful person doing it."

"Such as Galatea and I. I understand. And unfortunately he is a pillar of reality. Murdering a human politician is easy enough, but him? He's a fundamental force of reality. Even if we did find a way to destroy him, a part of reality itself might collapse. I guess endlessly seeking a perfect, justice, and kind world is the nature of 'angels' -- and that world wouldn't need us," Tasha says.

"Galatea tried that and killed the entire upper class of a civilization," Gabriel notes. "It's easy if they're all on one planet, I suppose. Even if you just killed Thotep's 'clients' there'd be more to fill the vacuum from all over the place."

Tasha nods to this. "There would. To win, we'd have to go to war with reality as it is, and change the very nature of all reality. I consider myself ambitious, and I've been considering how to kill that which is neither alive nor possessed of time and space, but a war with reality would be a real strain." Tasha grins a little. "Even for me."

"That's what we decided, too," Tasha agrees, nodding. "Galatea and I. I think we've become a lot closer in all that's happened. You know, it was really hard not to break down and cry when she almost died. It hasn't been that long. So much has happened so quickly, and nothing I'm used to. A daughter. The near loss of my partner. I thought I'd be able to relax when we came here, but really I'm just thinking about what's happened, and what comes next, and what we've gained and almost lost."

"Hmm, I guess the pizza didn't work the same magic on you then," Gabriel says. "Maybe you should schedule some time with Yue."

"Can Yue handle me? I know she's well trained, but I'm not entirely on the mortal-spectrum-of-problems anymore," Tasha admits, frowning. "Or the mortal spectrum, for that matter. And that's not to say I don't respect her or think she's competent, but, well, she'll say herself we're outside her usual training."

"She can help you with coping mechanisms," Gabriel says. "She's even worked with Kai."

"That'a amazing given Kai doesn't have a soul and her morality is based on control and what she likes. Also, we found out Kai may not be a piece of Kainudy at all, but a fallen deity named 'Lilith'. And Pyramid Snake said Samael's not working for him anymore -- although he could be lying about both. It does feel petty and easily circumvented, though, which makes me think it may be true. And more suspicious. Which I should be suspicious of." Tasha quirks her face. "I'll talk to Yue."

"I have no idea what Yue was talking to Kai about, mind you," Gabriel says. "Could have been about moral philosophy. She does sort of give off fallen-deity vibes. You could just ask her though, either way she'll probably have a good laugh."

The light above the bedroom door flashes, since knocking on it wouldn't penetrate the soundproofing.

"I will, when I catch her next somewhere we can talk -- or she can magic so we can talk. And Yue, too." The big wolf gets a smile. "Come in," Tasha then says, rolling over to face the door, which means Gabriel briefly gets a lot of feathers his way.

The door opens and Tia steps in, naked and looking sleepy. "I'm sleepy," she says. "I don't know what to do, and I don't have a bed."

Tasha barks a laugh. "Being human is tough, isn't it? Well, you can stay with us, although maybe you'd prefer Sharron?" She looks back at Gabriel for confirmation about her offer.

"Fine with me!" Gabriel says with a bit too much enthusiasm. "No need to go changing hotels."

Tasha gives Gabriel a squinty-eyed suspicious look, but then kisses him on the nose, and rolls back before patting the edge of the bed. "Come on, enjoy the soft fur and feather bed. Just be careful, Gabriel sometimes rolls and he's a lot."

"Well, that's our cue," Tasha whispers to Gabriel. She points at the pillow, shrugs a muted shrug, and then winks. "Whatever happens, we all stick together. Good night, Gabe."

Bellerophon Junior Officer Cabin
This cabin is one of the smaller ones on the ship, but has its own bathroom. There's also a desk, table, closet (with built-in clothes cleaning) and a double-bunk, one on top of the other. Just big enough for two people to share.

Tasha feels pressure around her midsection, and is lying on her side in a bunk. But everything looks too big. There's also gentle breathing going on behind her that she can hear if not particularly feel.

Tasha has another moment. Throughout her career, if one could call it that, she has had moments where she awakens -- and sometimes is already awake -- and is somewhere else. Sometimes, she is some time, else. Or someone else. This, then, appears to be one of those times. She also finds herself slightly miffed she's shorter in where-ever she is.

Tasha pats the arm; she had at first thought maybe she ended up in Tia's body, so she examines the hand without moving much, trying to make sure of what's going on before she starts talking and making a commotion.

Tasha freezes. She knows that hand. And now, she knows where she is. With something like her brain locking, up, she slowly turns her head to look up at the person holding her.

Tasha's ears shoot right up! For a moment she frets, looking around, tiny paws tapping together, until she gets a hold of herself. She has to do this right.

2:00, early in the morning, then. Does she dare risk waking Mariel up, now? Her younger self would have, but now she has Pheeny, and she hesitates. Kids need their sleep, however excited she is, however nervous. So Tasha rests her head back down -- and settles in to wait three hours. That should be enough time. She knows Mariel attends school, so, she can't wait until 6 or 8 without also making Mariel late for class.

In the meantime, she gets a sense for how Toy Tasha.. works. She's pretty sure that she doesn't have organs. But definitely a skeleton, surrounded by something plushy and soft. She's seen the toy move around on its own before though, so it can certainly walk at least. Her fingers aren't particularly useful. They can move, but are like baby-fingers. She can't tell what sort of grip they have. She isn't sure at all about her tail or wings, which are being squished against Mariel. She can blink and move her ears and tongue.. but isn't sure how to talk. She hasn't been breathing. Maybe there's a speaker.

Tasha suppose she'll just have to find out -- or risk talking in Sign with tiny pudgy fingers. The Archon would be appalled. As she waits, she gets some hand practice in, flexing and opening her hands, rubbing them against each other to test grip, moving her ears, mouth, tongue, eyes, and feet. She never quite expected to have to learn to be plush, but she'll do it, and it's better than fretting.

Her sense of touch isn't that great, but compromises needed to made somewhere. The alarm goes off at 5:30, and Mariel begins to stir.

And so Tasha slowly tries to twist around, and try to say "Good morning-" before -- well she can't really poke -- so she takes her whole hand and puts in on Mariel's nose, "-Mariel!"

It turns out to be some sort of speaker mechanism that makes Tasha's voice sound.. squeaky and cute. "Huhhh?" Mariel asks blurrily. "Did I press your talk button..?"

"I think I pressed your talk button," Plush Tasha replies, then it pats Mariel's nose, maybe a little too long, feeling that Mariel really is alive. Dolls can't cry, for which Tasha is very thankful for in this moment. Well, plush ones can't Galatea cries all the time. She should try and dress Galatea up some time. She's dithering. Focus. "But before you start thinking I'm a possessed doll -- I'm a possessed doll! But not the bad kind. Well, not to you-" Focus harder Tasha. "What I mean is, well, it's... Me." And so the tiny hands reach back and gesture to the doll as a whole. Me.

The small paws come together in what Tasha hopes is a serious looking gesture and not adorable, ring fingers down and thumbs together. She even scoots over to sit herself down, and look up at Mariel. She does wobble a bit. "I am not, although... I was, briefly. But I'm alive, right now. My actual body is currently on a O'Neil cylinder relatively close to Terra where I am snoozing in a luxury hotel room."

"Oh.. so you aren't a PersoCom them?" Mariel asks, as that was probably her first guess.

"No, it's really me. Well, me, from afar. My soul might actually be in this doll, or it may be some kind of remote control." Tasha takes her hands apart and puts one to the side of her face, whisper-style. "The doll is actually composed of strange and probably advanced technology created but a mischievous red haired woman from another reality. She did it because I... um... " Her ears start canting back. "I realized I hadn't... uh... " Then she's patting her paws together anxiously, "I'm not very good at things like this or what happened, Mariel." There, honesty at last, she tells herself. "I have a weakness... for when... I don't know. But I'm not good at it. The doll was the start of trying to make amends."

Mariel hugs Tiny Tasha, and says, "So you came to play with me then? But I gotta get ready for class!" She hops up and sets Tasha back down on the bed before running off to the bathroom.

"I came to say--" But then Mariel runs off, and Tasha's left with questions. And, confusion. Mariel didn't seem excited to see her, but she also think she's here to play. She's left to fathom these questions as she waits for Mariel, and while she does, she has a look around at the room.

It's a very tidy room for a schoolgirl. There aren't exactly any toys though, just books. Mariel rushes out after a few minutes. "I'm so glad you're here! I don't have a lot of friends that aren't.. old." She opens up the fresher-closet and pulls out her Templar uniform and starts putting it on. "I've got my math and history classes in the morning, and Fred teaches me engineering later."

"I can relate," tiny Tasha admits, as to having friends who are old. She peers at her hand and tries count off her stubby fingers. "The Fenris Friends are thousands of years old, the dragons are hundreds if not thousand, Katie's like, at least two years older than I was, maybe three, my partner is uh... Who knows. And then there's everyone else. At least the three other versions of me are my age. Well, apparent age. My actual age is up for debate ever since I became Tasha Salad." The hand falls and she looks up, clapping her hands together. "But! I'm glad to be here, and I've missed you! And let me tell you, you're a lot more together than I was at your age. Ages. Time is funny. I have a daughter!"

"Wait.." Mariel says, and seems lost in thought. "Could you have made me back like I was? And the others?"

The doll's head leans back, it's ears canting. "Um, well, maybe now we could. If I pulled in some favors, brought you beyond the borders of the Primus System, perhaps. However, that's a relatively recent change, and I can't be certain the powers that can accomplish it will agree. I was in combat when I died, trying to protect a... well, do you know what a whale is? Picture one of those, but the size of a moon. It was in trouble, so I decided to help. It went badly, the whale -- Charon -- put me back together -- as a Human -- and then we worked it out and the rescue was a success. Then his mother came and put me back together in to the me you see in the pictures." It's not the first time Tasha's spoken of her adventures only to realize that, to many, perhaps most, they sound like the rantings of a lunatic.

"Yeah, you called him a Waybuilder, and the name is from Ancient Greek Mythology," Mariel says. "But you also said they can't come back again."

"Welllll, the Waymakers don't like to stick around or draw attention. They're hard to fathom, on account of them being somewhat unfathomable. Great minds. Time travelers. Dimension hoppers. Immortal. They're further from us than many I've met, and so it's harder to interact with them -- and even if you meet them again you may not know where on their time line you intersect again. I've met Persephone before she met me, for example." Tasha tries rubbing her own nose. "But I know others, now. Dragons. Faeries. The sister species to the Waymakers, which I will not try and pronounce, one of whom is also my partner. Oh, and hey, the woman named Envoy? Also one. Small multiuniverse, right?"

"I haven't heard of a woman named Envoy," Mariel says. "That's not a proper name, it's a job."

"Probably because that was her job. You'll know her if you see her, white, one golden horn, probably in trouble. Cervine. If you see her, tell her to go to the JEF office and ask to talk to Tasha, that I have a message for her." Tasha pats her own nose, then her hand drops. "I'm sure she might want to know her 'sister' is alive, at the very least, and more besides. Oh, right, you've seen there four of me now..?" Ears up.

"But do you play with eachother?" Mariel asks. "Are you like brothers and sisters? I have a lot of questions!" She then looks at the time and bites her lip. "Did you want to see Nora and the others?"

"We're... very close," Tasha offers with careful neutrality. Then she tries to hop up like she would with her normal body, this results in immediate stability, and she stands there wobbling her arms for a moment. "Sure! Bring me along! It won't even be cheating at school, because I won't know any of the answers."

"I can't bring a stuffed toy to school!" Mariel says, looking aghast. "I'll be laughed at! I mean.. who is supposed to know about this?"

"You would? I suppose you would... " Tasha folds her stubby little arms. "Well, probably we should keep this to the JEF crew. This is, quite possible, magic or advanced technology, although the maker would be unlikely to let it fall in to the wrong hands, and I can possibly set people on fire if I haaavv- What I mean is, maybe just the JEF crew."

"So just Remiel, Eli and Fred?" Mariel asks. "I mean, there are others now, but not.. family. Nora is still asleep in the tank."

"Probably just them, but if anyone sees me I can just fake being a doll, or haunt them, or move their stuff when they're not looking. Maybe sit closer every time they look away." Tasha aves her hand in what may be spooky gestures, but probably aren't, given her form. "And aww, I missed Nora. That's what I get for avoiding my problems."

"Problems?" Mariel asks, as she gets her text books. "Well, Nora is down in the lab, where you were.. and Fred is around somewhere. The others aren't usually on the ship."

"I'll meet whomever you want me to meet, I don't want to embarrass you. I didn't come to cause you problems, although... " Tasha decides to leave out that she hadn't decided to stop by at all, and this meeting is an anomaly. Well, it's a nice anomaly, so she may as well go with it. "Oh, I have a daughter your age, maybe some day you can meet her?"

"How is that.. you have a six year old daughter?" Mariel asks. "I mean, that's my biological age right now."

"Well more like fourteen. She's fourteen." Tasha hopes her anxiety isn't making her sound ridiculous; naw, couldn't be. "And how..? Well, I'm... me... now. I'm, uh, well, a species of one. I can reproduce with anything. And there was a need for that to... finagle... a certain desperate problem. So I ended up the mother of the newly reborn... " And then she extends a hand, pointing to Mariel's uniform, and the Phoenix symbol there.

"Maybe the connection is bad," Mariel suggests, given all of the weird speech. "I'll be back in a few hours!" she says. "I gotta grab breakfast in the mess hall!" And then she's running out in the way of children that basically run everywhere all the time.

And so Tasha's left there, patting her hands together. "That went pretty well," she tells herself. And then the doll drops back, arms out. "Whew."

Now that she has a chance to gather her thoughts again, the question arises: does she look cute trying to walk? What is her next move here.. reveal herself to Fred, or go and look in on Nora's tank?

Whatever the case, Tiny Tasha Adventure Plush Doll is not going to sit around and wait! The doll tries to hop to her feet, wobbles, falls down again, then she tries rolling and hopping to her feet, which takes a few wiggle sways as she twists her whole body left and right to gain enough momentum then flip over, and then she pushes up to stand. Dusting her stubby paws off, she marches in oversized big steps to the edge of the bed and peers down. Doubting she can climb down with her stubby paws, and flying seems to be right out with her thick soft wings, she just tries hopping down.

There's a squeak sound when she takes a step. Of course her feet would make a cute squeaking sound.

Tasha normally only makes cute squeak sounds when Gabriel grabs her in a monster hug or does other things to her, so this is new. Squeak, squeak, squeak, step, step step, she makes it to the door, and then peers up at it, her little paws propped on her hips as she considers this enormous obstacle. Then, she just tries to slide it open, seeing if the powered assist will respond to her at all.

Mariel thoughtfully left it unlatched, so it moves easily with the power of.. whatever Tiny Tasha is using for muscle.

Tasha likes to think it's the power of her raw adorableness converted to physical force; knowing who she associates with these days, the possibility is more likely than ever. She slides the door by putting both paws on it and walking in the direction rather than pushing, then she sticks her head out just enough to look out, eyes and ears visible, as if she were in the midst of a stealth operation.

The corridor is empty. At the far end, past the MedBay, the hangar doors are open, and even the engine bay doors beyond it.

Tiny Tasha sneaks out; she considers going back to steal one of Mariel's socks to maybe help hide her squeakiness, but it's no use, she doesn't think it'll hide it enough. So, she moves in starts and stops, going form one corner to the other, making her way towards the engineering section. She could hit the Med Bay first... But she decides she needs to build up for that.

She's small enough to actually be able to hid behind the superstructure segments along the corridor. She can soon hear sounds from the rear of the ship. Banging and clanging sounds.

And those sound like a very Fred sound to make. Tasha sneaks her way on through until she reaches the Hangar, which poses new challenges with its open space. She stops at the entry way, taking in the sight and any changes, wondering what everyone's been up to while she's been away.

The main change is that the titan cradle is gone. The upper doors are also open, showing the roof of the Winged Citadel hangar quite a ways above. There are multiple people in the rear compartment though from the sound of it, and lots of machinery in the cargo area, with the rear doors also open.

And so Tasha begins to move more slowly, easing in to her steps rather than hurrying about, moving from tool box to device she was never certain the use of to crate, peering around each time. The world, she realizes feels very different when you're significantly shorter or taller, which puts her in mind that each place is like a prism, the experience, feel, and subjective relation to that space changing with a new perspective. It's something she decides she'll need to think about more, especially as a body hoping adventurer.

"That's it, connect the main lead there," she hears Fred instruct. Does he have minions now? "Once this new laser is in place, we can probably power the whole base."

Tasha edges her way closer, then makes her way up a tool box with open drawers, using them like steps, before grabbing a opened box behind cover, flipping it over, and hiding in it. Under the box she creeps around the top of the tool box and its many parts, laying down and peering out under the box to watch and listen.

She sees Fred's back.. and through it, as he's at the edge of manifestation range. The engine bay is opened, with the Standing Wave Laser Pumped Fusion Reactor laid bare. Two young Karnors in overalls are installing the new laser that was shipped over on the Tadpole, along with her current toy body. Hopefully this means Bellerophon will soon have both reactors functioning.

Tasha vaguely remembers the missing reactor; engineering wasn't exactly her department, given until her trip to Abbadon she was a drover and a bar maid with ambition. She watches them work on the reactor, uncertain if she should show herself, given the possible implications -- but she has plans if caught!

"That's good, get the shielding back on, and you can take a break until it's time to run the startup routine," Fred says, then turns around and stretches. He doesn't have muscles to stiffen, but maybe it's just a habit.

Tasha sympathizes, she does much the same thing in her variety of bodies. She waits until Fred starts to walk away to follow, box and all, using the tool box to cover herself from the crew to the rear.

Fred pauses at the bay doors, and looks back over his shoulder. Tash's knees don't squeak! But maybe he notices the box.

Tasha suspects she's caught, Fred's smarter than she is, and he would have known something was out of place in his Hangar. Still, she doesn't like to admit defeat easily, and certainly not without a fight, so she makes a game of it. Rather than sticking with the box, she slips out when his back is turned and makes her way on her knees to hide behind the superstructure again, following.

Fred continues through the hangar into the main level, and then turns into the MechBay.

Tasha's 'danger sense' tells her she's about to get caught, but she's up to the challenge! She sneaks around to the door to the MechBay, looks in -- and gets ready to dodge!

Tasha evades with all the force her little legs can muster! She even tries to duck in to a roll!

Squeak! She rolls right into Fred's legs, now that he's more solid. "What?" the ghost asks.

"What indeed! Surrender, giant!" Tasha then takes her fuzzy, soft, plush mouth and her equally underwhelming padded teeth and tries to bite Fred's leg, making what she can only imagine are precious growing noises.

"You're Mariel's new toy!" Fred laughs, and reaches down to pick up Tiny Tasha. "Fully animatronic, too. Did she leave you turned on this morning?"

The little doll folds its arms, holding its head tilted up at a haughty angle. "I'm possessed of powers mortal men can scarcely comprehend," the toy declares with self-assured certainty, "... a marvel of deific might and technological wizardry!"

Tasha does indeed giggle, and moves to guard her tummy after. "Hmph. Forever underestimated just because I'm cute!" But then the doll lifts its head, leans in, and meets Fred's eyes with disconcerting focus, letting the eye contact linger for a long few seconds, before saying, "Hello Fred. It's been a while."

"Our existence, Abaddon as a whole, the local situation, my tiny doll form, how I'm able to possess a little doll and speak to you from the far off and deadly reaches of a space hotel?" Tasha spreads her tiny arms. "Humanity was created by an ancient draconic being known as Daniarood after her displeasure at the failure of Eve, progenitor of the first Men, while the other current galactic species developed under their Progenitors using the prior Galactic civilization's Library system, leftover from their erasure by the Sifra, who were in turned suppressed by the Vril'ya. Abaddon you know as much as I do, maybe a little less. My tiny doll form was created by an associate of mine specifically for this purpose. I don't know how the technology -- or magic -- works, and I'm uncertain if I'm communicating remotely or if my soul is locally present in whatever form its local anima might take."

"So that's really you in there?" Fred asks, and flips Tasha upside down before flipping her back upright. "Do you run on batteries?"

The doll folds its arms at this manhandling. "Yes it's me! Do you think I'd send a doll full of the knowledge of the ages or something?" It cocks its head and tries to stick its tongue out, but it doesn't come off quite right given the lack of motility of the tongue. "And I don't know, and really, it may be better not to try and find out. I actually wasn't expecting to be here today, but one of my newer associates may have decided I needed it, or that it'd be funny, or maybe the woman sleeping next to me's need for comfort made it happen. Did you get our pictures? The new ones?"

"Yeah, with the new hot versions of you," Fred says. "Would like to know how that works. I appreciate the nudes! Did you want me to show those to Sergeant Frane?"

"Wait, I wasn't hot before?" The doll scrunches it's face in disapproval, which only makes it look like a deformed Muppet for a moment. "No don't show those to Sergeant Frane! It's important to me that at least someone respect me for not being naked and sexy. I do have other qualities, you know! As for my new body, I suspect it works a bit like how yours do, you know, hyper-intelligence, comprehending the intricacies of the essential self, and mastery of life. As for the versions of me, well, there are four of me now. They were created from the formless chaos that exists outside of realities."

"But are they all just copies of your personality?" Fred asks. "Because I've always wondered how body informs mentality."

"They're copies and variations of existences I've had. Me as a Vartan, me as a Human, and that one time an eldritch horror deep within a planet tried to disrupt our efforts by rewriting our world line so no one would recognize us and we wouldn't recognize ourselves. That'd be Sasha, my male counterpart, though I looked like a male version of my current 'hot new form' farther than a Galactic Karnor as Sasha looks now. I can tell you we're all quite different. However, we share the same soul."

"So, are they fun?" Fred asks. "Think I'd have a chance with Sasha or Sharon? Or both together?" He's grinning as he asks.

"Oh they're lots of fun," Tasha says, wagging her tiny tail, "And they've been very supportive, and I hope I've been supportive to them in turn. Originally they were supposed to be my remotes -- entities I could control to help my work and agenda -- but I didn't have the heart to treat them like puppets, so they've become increasingly independent. I don't and won't exert my override power without good and serious reason." Taps taps the side of her muzzle in thought; there's a slight squeak with every tap. "And you might! Sasha especially. Sharon's the most shy and distant out of us all, so maybe, maybe not."

"I can be very charming though," Fred claims. "Assuming I ever get to meet any of them. That bioship is pretty small."

"I'm sure we can arrange something. We're being careful about who passes within Sifran space, too: Many of us are possessed of existences that might be suppressed or nullified by the Sifran defense system. I don't want to risk anyone needlessly, including myself." Tasha gestures at herself with a stubby hand. "That said, I don't see why you can't come out and meet us some day soon. I may even have a lead on how to see you age up, I'd have to talk to some people, although I'm a little sad my daughter won't have as many young friends. I bet she and Mariel would get along wonderfully."

"I was a hellion as a child," Fred laughs. "And Mariel is a great kid. She needs to grow up with proper confidence this time. I'd be a bad influence. Plus you've got Nora on the way now. Not sure what she was like as a kid though."

"Oh I'm sure she'll be something alright. I'm never going to get any rest, am I?" But the toy grins. "My daughter is very sweet, although she's still getting used to her new existence as a child and a daughter; we're both adjusting. As for you, well, let me know if you want me to try and find a way to influence your development. Artificial aging shouldn't be too much to ask for." She tilts her head. "Nora's going to be precocious, and she's never going to stop challenging me, which I dread, but I also find I don't need to prove myself anymore. I've done, and am doing, great things."

"She plans on building a flying saucer," Fred claims. "She started the design before we started the incubation process. There've been some developments in the field since then."

"Using the toporgic from the crash site? I saw the Titan modifications, too." Tasha nods to this. "And it's like her to build a flying saucer. Even I know how cliche that is."

"Actually it's not just that research," Fred says. "Your rabbit pal brought a magic gravity drive with him before you all flew off. So the Templars want to bring in mages now."

"Aaron did? That's surprising, I didn't realize he was involved in that, though I've certainly seen magical aircraft. How about that." Tasha taps her chin, then looks down at the floor under her feet for a moment. "It's never quite certain what will and will not work here in Sifran space. I wasn't even sure I'd be able to come here. Oh, and the mention of Mages reminds me: have you seen a cervine-esque white woman with a golden horn named Envoy about? I remember they were looking for her."

"I've heard the name in conjunction with the magic engine," Fred says. "And there are rumors about things being covered up by the New Zion government. And that she's responsible for the destruction of the old Celestial life dome before it re-grew into something alive. But she's involved with the Silent-Ones somehow too. Dangerous to try and look for, by all accounts."

"I've met her once; the thing is, I know where she comes from now. I've walked the other side of that indefinable portal that brought her here, the Forbidden Zones. I can conclusively say that they are breaching in to other realities. The somewhat uncomfortable looking humanoid woman standing beside me next to the alien space craft? That's her 'sister', or perhaps fellow production-line model." Tasha widens her eyes, spreading her hands. "I thought she'd like to know."

"That's quite the coincidence," Fred concedes. "Or maybe it isn't? Maybe mail will get to her?"

"I'm not sure it is. We all have a connection with her family, and myself especially these days. It was one of her 'extended family members' that put me back together, and may be able to help you, too." Tasha lets her hands fall. "I can try mail, but I suspect it'll be deflected. I'd prefer not to inform the local governments of the fact I'm in communication with her family. The tiers of power I'm involved with prefer to avoid local governments and -- and I hate to say this -- excessively mortal affairs."

"I like that phrase," Fred says. "Excessively Mortal Affairs. I'll have to find a reason to use it now. So you've talked to Mariel already I assume?"

Tasha's muzzle turns upward in a grin. "Sometimes I find myself in Excessively Immortal Affairs. You'd think godlike immortals would have their act together better, but really, no. The sister of Envoy's curled up in bed next to me, and she's been through a lot." And then she nods. "We spoke briefly. I didn't have the heart to wake her up early, I know she needs to go to class, so I waited, but there wasn't much time before she had to head off. I was supposed to wait in the room but you know me, I can't resist the call to explore around!"

"I've been working up to it, but yes, now seems like the right time." Tasha waggles her arms towards Fred's shoulder. "Being held make me want to bite, better put me on your shoulder. I can pretend to be a toy if anyone intercepts us."

"I was just gonna tuck you under my arm, but okay," Fred says and props Tasha on his shoulder. "Be sure to duck!" he says, and heads out the door.

Tasha is sure to duck. She ride along, looking around. "Anything interesting happening with the ship or the locales?"

"Still setting up farms in the Pit, still fighting giant monsters every so often," Fred says as they cross into the MedBay. "Replaced the steel cowling on the aero engines with aluminum, been working on getting some of the old Expedition tech up and running again." There's a Karnor puppy floating in one of the suspension tanks, with familiar red fur.

"Awwwwwww," goes Tasha on seeing Nora, which given her voice, is especially squeaky. "She's so tiny now! But we both know size wouldn't change her personality much, I bet she's growly too." And then she waves a hand at the puppy. "Hi, Nora! It's me! Also tiny, but that's a convenience thing!"

Nora doesn't respond of course. "Mind if I run you through the scanner while we're here?" Fred asks.

"It's not without risks. Maybe we should do it away from Nora," Tiny Tasha worries, paws tapping together reminiscent of the way Mariel does it. "I also want to test something."

"I've learned things such as this sometimes have safeguards or observers. And, just a healthy dose of caution in my travels. I'm not as reckless as I used to be." Tasha then lifts a finger, frowns at it, and says, "This." And then she tries to conjure a tiny flame to hover over the finger.

Nothing happens. So maybe it's not her soul inhabiting the doll. She'll probably have to get a more definite explanation from Kai at some point. And find out how to control when she's using it too.

"Nothing. My soul's not here, so this is a remote call." Tasha lowers the finger, turning to Fred. "I can perform magic, now. Heart of a dragon; Flame of the Phoenix. Fire magic, specifically. But not result here. And go ahead an run your tests, I'm curious what we'll find. Just stop them if there's any problems."

"Just going to so a basic x-ray," Fred says, setting Tasha down on the medical bed. "Lie back," he says.

Tasha lies back and puts her paws together. "You know I think I'm getting used to this, other bodies I mean."

The scanning ring moves down the bed. "I got used to running a suit," Fred says. "Hmmm. It reads that you are stuffed with a polyester filling and nothing else."

"Don't forget love and courage," Tasha adds, muzzle upturning. "That does sound like what I'd expect from her, though. I'm sure she finds the result amusing."

"Toymaker certainly describes her," the doll says with an adorable giggle, "We call her Kai. She's... She's hard to explain quickly. But she's connected with Envoy's extended family, and assigned to me by my mentor to look after me. Think trickster-assassin with startlingly potent powers over the mind, magic, and a general lack of morality."

"Depends how much you like red headed Humans, or gremlins from the beyond, or whatever other forms she can take. I try not to think of her that way. Mentor figures, you know how much I avoid sleeping with them. Though... There has been an exception." Tasha sits up from the medical bed, brushing her toy hair out of her toy face. "Just remember what she is and you should be fine. You'll get used to the mind control."

"What's this about an exception?" Fred asks, putting a stethoscope to Tasha's toy chest, to see if there's anything there. "I've always been a mentor figure to you too, haven't I?"

"Mentor and proto-brother figure, certainly. All of the Karnor Elite have been some form of mentor, even Gabriel." Tasha lowers her stuffed head to peer at the device, if indeed dolls can peer. She's too cute to look pensive. "Oh, well, we had a bit of a body swap orgy. I've been Liza -- and Aaron. I never thought I'd sleep with myself so directly; I consider the rest of me more indirectly."

"Hmmm," Fred mutters, and moves the stethoscope around. "I'm actually hearing.. uh.. stuff. If only I were a doctor, instead of just playing one. So.. does any of that body swap stuff actually count though? Being in a body-optional state as I am, I have to wonder."

"I really don't know. My personal code of ethics didn't expand so far as to include that scenario. It also brings in to question if the rest of me sleeping with anyone counts, or with me, or, well, it's complicated." The little Tasha shrugs her shoulders, which just comes off as precocious. "We may have an angle for aging you all up, though. I don't know if it'll work, but, well, let's say we have expanded our allies considerably, and quite vertically. Also, I'm part dragon now." She puts up a paw to her mouth, not able to lift her fingers well. "Don't tell anyone. Especially don't tell Nora. All the time. She might try and slay me."

"Nora wasn't always a dragon herself then?" Fred chuckles. "Which part is dragon then? Does it involve scales?"

"Well I metaphorically, and in a sense actually, at a dragon's heart after a one-on-one battle." Tasha makes a eating gesture with her tinny fuzzy hand. "So now I'm magic. Fire magic. I also collect gold and seem to have a thing for human maidens now."

"All Karnors have things for human maidens, and you're part Karnor," Fred says, putting away the stethoscope. "Gold though? How much have you got?" He also decides on one more test.. and tickles Tasha. Which tickles!

"I have a chest full of fairy gold, I sometimes slee--What- ahh!" This results in a lot of laughter, which given she's a tiny stuffed doll with a high-pitched voice, ends up sounding delightfully like fae giggling.

"Alright, so you have responsive skin," Fred says, and then pokes Tasha right in the middle of her belly to see if she makes a cute noise.

Tasha makes a very canine squeak. Then she covers her belly and folds her arms. Tiny adorable Tasha dolls can't make upset faces, so she just looks, well, not even pouty. Certainly not indignant. "Hmph. Become small and adorable and no one gives you any respect. That's a valuable lesson, by the way -- the body can dictate how you're treated and viewed! And how you see yourself and the world. Chose wisely."

"Oh absolutely, she's going to challenge everyone and everything and try to put 'grown ups' in their place. I'm glad I'll be half a universe and maybe a dimension or reality two away when that happens. She can't challenge me if I'm not here!" Tasha's tiny tail wags.

"I imagine she'll be like a little goat, headbutting everyone," Fred laughs. "She won't have anyone smaller to take it out on either... oh, right." He gives Tasha a sorrowful look.

"Well, I suppose Mariel can be sure to lock you up, and generally keep you away from Nora," Fred says. "Maybe some good chew toys will keep her busy.."

"Well I can always spiritually eject, and besides, this doll was made by one of our new allies, so don't think it's that easily destroyed. For all I know this doll can arm wrestle a Titan and win. I'm actually not even sure how I ended up here. It happened rather suddenly." Tasha taps the side of her muzzle with a stubby paw. "I mentioned I'm actually in a resort-cylinder relatively close to Terra? As close as I've been to Terra, in fact. It's much of the gang, including our kids."

"Probably no place I'd know, being a few millennia out of the loop," Fred says. He picks up Tasha and sets her down on the floor. "You probably need to figure that out, by the way. Unless this means your body is being used for another orgy while you're here."

"Oh, well you might. It's supposedly very old, one of the first Belter stations. A giant O'Neil cylinder. Though maybe in 'your day' it was just under construction, or a distant idea. Time's funny." The doll then looks down at herself. "I don't know, Galatea's in bed with us. Maybe she and Gabriel are having at it. Gal's currently being Human, but she's not as prepared for it as she always thinks she is, and forgets things like beds and clothes on occasion. And Yue thinks she supplants all life by existing. Pfff." The doll begins to march towards the door, but stops to give Nora a big wave. "See you soon, sis!"

"Maybe she's using your body then to be with Gabriel," Fred suggests, waggling his eyebrows as he does it.

"Eh she probably deserves it, she's had it a bit rough lately, what with being blown up shortly after I had my daughter. What a day that was." Tasha shakes her head as she... marches down the hall, looking around at what may be different. "It really hurt, too, seeing her like that. We used to butt heads a lot, our oddities conflicting, but I think we've come to understand each other a bit, and I think of her as my partner, like in the sense of a working partner. Oh and there's the dragons -- real dragons -- aside from myself. There's the pointy red one, the hot silver one, and our favorite wizardly wizard, the black one."

"A hot silver dragon?" Fred has to ask. "What makes her hot?" There've been some attempts to 'complete' the wall paneling. It's not in wood, like the Fenris, but there are murals painted in what Tasha is sure are oil paints. These are of both rural and urban scenes, and pretty well done.

"Ooh, nice. Very homely," The doll remarks of the walls, as if she were a tiny guest to some austere art gallery. She even folds a arm behind her back, gesturing with the art by wagging her hand at it. "Oh, well, she's a big silver dragon. Also a lawyer. I know how I sound, you're just going to have to mostly believe me these days. I've been places. It helps you've seen my hot new bod, anyway, otherwise I'd probably sound mad. It turns out when you venture far enough and see enough, you, too, become something far and inexplicable. Though, I'm sure you know that directly."

"I try not to think about it," Fred says. "Personally, I think librarians are sexier than lawyers though."

"I think about this stuff all the time. I have to. It's kind of my job." The doll turns and starts walking backwards, hands behind its tiny head. "Well you might like Wormwood then. I'm not sure he's in to men but you can ask him. You can ask Sasha too while you're at it, I know he is. Directly. There's also Big red, she's a priestess but, you know, dragons get bored. Oh and my other mentor's like a pseudo-dragon, but she's ... er... busy. Going to have to deal with that sooner or later."

"Too many mentors," Fred says, throwing up his hands. "What happens when they disagree with eachother?"

"Well they tend to have expertise in different fields, different areas they occupy. They don't interact very much. I'm not sure how Aaron would interact with Kainudy, or how you all would handle some of the others. Their realms and spheres may not even be on the same plane of existence as the other, and except through proximity to what we're doing, they may never have known the other realm existed. We've gotten rather broad in our pan-universal scope. I had a talk with a avatar-entity of a multiversal power just a few hours before I was here, for example," the doll explains in her tiny, high pitched voice.

"So.. what did Aaron teach you?" Fred asks. "I know he was with you from before you came to Abaddon. And an avatar of of a multiversal power.. was it shaped like a housecat? I used to have a housecat."

"Like an old Terran god of chaos, is what I was told later. Which is appropriate. Kind of hot, if you ask me, but I'd never get involved with the entity behind it all." Tasha then rubs her chin. "A lot of things, but mostly how to grow past my present circumstances, try to be better, and he gave me the chance to grow without controlling or smothering. He inspired me to think and act and not rely on my strength and on sex. So that helped a lot, ultimately."

"I've had to go through that myself," Fred says. "It doesn't feel aspirational while going through it though, to be honest."

"It certainly didn't, it was very stark, very humbling really. But that's what's needed sometimes. A stark view of oneself and the humility to accept it. And, also, the will to do something about it. Not everyone has these things, but it worked for me. I wouldn't say it's a universal recipe for success, but it has its merits." Tasha glances up. "I've been thinking about these things a lot now that I have a daughter. What to tell her. What to teach. Fears of how she'll see me across my exploits. I might be tiny and adorable, or sexy and fun, but I've also killed quite a few people, sewn chaos here and there, and indirectly caused the disruption of an entire realm. But I've done good things, too. Like you," she waggles a paw at Fred, "I helped all of you. I'm proud of those things."

"Nora will try to take credit for saving us," Fred says, and gives a weak chuckle. "I still can't believe she tried to recover my body. She never seemed to care much about me."

"Nora hides how much she cares. But how she cares is a bit off-kilter from you and I's more direct form of caring. We wear our hearts on our sleeves and believe in directness and interpersonal support. Nora's competitive. She sees helping people both as we do but as some sort of failure, too, both personal and aspirational. And she never gives up."

"Yeah, she was a scary bitch as a officer," Fred admits. "So get to work on getting me an adult body so I don't have to be bossed around by her later."

"If she gives you a hard time let me know, I'll talk to her. And you don't have to stick around here, you know? We have areas out there you could work on, a new ship, and new horizons. But don't abandon Nora too much, okay? I know she seems tough, but she's also a bit lonely, and she'll take the distance as a failure on her part. Nora's always had figuring people out a bit hard. She's never quite sure how to handle noncompetitive relationships. Alpha Syndrome." Tasha shrugs with her paws. "Glad I didn't inherit that, what with her indirectly and directly creating me and all. But I'm beyond that now. That was Tasha 1.0. I am 2.0. There may be a 3.0, 4.0, or I might yet become immortal. Who knows. But I know this: I've grown in to my own person, and I am a power to be reckoned with. Even when I'm tiny."

"And you have a cute blond human version too, who you got to pose naked for that photo," Fred says, wagging his tail. "I'll think about relocating after I get all the stuff done here on Bellerophon."

"Just think, you could date two of me simultaneously. And we all like you. Just so you know." The doll touches her eye, unable to wink. "I've always considered you to be the closest to myself in terms of how we interact with people, how we care. I want to see you do right by the world, Fred. I want you to grow and have your dreams. I know I haven't been as obvious about it as with Mariel, but I do."

Fred grins. "Well, of course you do!" he barks, hands on his hips as he strikes the sort of pose you'd find on a recruitment poster. "I'm Fred Kohler, the Best Karnor, after all! And I know how to cook too."

"Better than me, I'm still scaring people when I get near a kitchen. That said, I make the best BBQ now -- I can cook meat just by being near it. Shoot lasers and breath fire, too, but I save that for special masculinity dishes." Then the doll side steps, and walks over to hug Fred's leg. "I just want to say, I'm glad I met you, Fred. Everyone here means the world to me. Worlds. I never had the words to express it before, but I want to see, I'm your littlest fan."

"The sentiment is no way diminished by you being a stuffed doll right now," Fred says, and then wiggles his fingers. "A ticklish one. I never got to tickle your main body!"

"Ha, if you tickled my original body you'd have heard my awful talking and gotten muscled. I'm a lot calmer now, you know?" The doll steps back and salutes. "So what else have you got up to? Need my help with the reactor?"

"You picked up nuclear engineering too?" Fred asks, then shakes his head. "Nah, that's what the interns are for. Gotta train up people to handle things when I'm in the tank."

"Nope, not a clue. I might be able to initiate a fusion reaction magically, however. I can feel the state of matter I'm heating up. It's hard to explain, but I know." The doll waggles its paws around... magically? "I bet you'd enjoy our new ship, up until you realize how complicated it is. I'd be worried you might feel out of work."

"Nothing breaks down on it then?" Fred asks. "Or does it do everything by itself? That base you're on looks familiar enough though. Nothing there I haven't seen before."

"Well it was made by an ancient race near the level of the Sifra, the technology of which is currently being operated and studied by another ancient race -- you'll get to meet them by the way, they're nice. The base was formed from the chaotic proto-matter form beyond reality. That's also where the rest of me comes form, by the way. Don't ask me how she does it all, Kainudy and pals are in their own league sometimes -- except family problems." The doll shrugs with its paws again. "I'm sure you can find a place among things, we always find our way back to mundane reality. And I'll ask around, see if someone can age you up. Pull in a favor or two."

"I never thought of reality as mundane," Fred notes. "There's just so much of it. And very few genuinely mundane people, either. Even accountants get pretty freaky! A lot right here on this world to see, and on Sinai too. I'll never see it all, but it's hard to be picky too."

"That's true. Maybe all my running around to find a rush has made me a bit jaded to what's right in front of me. I always want to go further, see more, travel and grow beyond. I guess that, at least, I share with Nora." The doll holds her hands up, guilty. "I can't disagree about home either. The further I wander the stranger I realize my own actually is. Like I said, I found where an Exile came from. These Forbidden Zones? They're no joke. They're extending well beyond this universe."

"Well, I think the giant anti-gravity monsters from that new one sort of confirmed that already," Fred says. "It might be someplace in this universe... it's big after all... but it's hard to accept."

"It could be from anywhere really. And it suggests the Sifra had their hands in much more far-reaching regions than just the local universe, which in itself may be infinite. And given what I know about them, their potential is considerable and their nature difficult to ascertain. I'm just glad we haven't butted heads. I can't help but feel they're either avoiding me, or feel I'm to their gain. Whatever the case, silent, as much as I usually loathe it, is a good sign here." Tasha spins as she walks. "It might help I'm addressing their long-standing problem. It's even possible they've been aware of my potential since long before I was born. I know they can view potential futures."

"Or they're all dead," Fred says. "They're worlds are.. disordered. I'm not entirely sure how magic was activated on this one, but it implies that something was broken. The gateway tower on Sinai had it's topped ripped off, I've learned. The caretakers of these worlds have been inactive or just gone for a long time."

"From what I understand, they were defeated, but not destroyed. They're quite possibly in hiding, laying low. Magic, as we know it here, is an uncontrolled, unregulated system they would not appreciate being used as it is. The Vril'ya are the cause of some of the disorder, but perhaps not all of it. It's possible, even, the prior Galactic libraries speak of them, but I've not heard much about them in my travels, save that the Vril'ya banded together to oppress them, as they engaged in cycles of galactic purging due to resource fears, and fears significant masses of, for lack of a better word, souls, would draw things best left unspoken of here. I don't even know what they look like, if they look like anything at all," Tasha admits.

"Given my own current state of being, and that it's made possible by a stack of Sifran crystals that on their own make no sense, I'd guess they'd have done away with physical bodies if they'd ever had them to begin with. Although the Gateway Towers imply they had some use for physical connections between the worlds of Primus," Fred muses.

"For whatever reason they maintained mortal caretakers they abducted from worlds beyond, servitor races to maintain their technology. Which, of course, begs the question: why bother? Their technology base should be magnitudes beyond Terra's, they could have created their own servitors, robots, crystal robots, or any number of better options than enslaving a sentient race. It makes me wonder if they've forgotten, or intentionally abandoned, their technology base, or maybe it's a religious or cultural choice. The creators of our ship were a predatory species after all, and they still predated despite being hyper intelligent," the doll muses.

"Terra never got big into robots," Fred says, and hmmms. "It could also just be that they liked having power over others. Then again, if they're as old as everyone thinks, they may just have let things get so bad that they had to use living servitors."

"It really is a mystery. When civilizations, cultures, individuals, dragons... When they get old and powerful enough, they start to become something other than what they were. Sometimes they rise further, and sometimes they just fall apart. The Niss are in a transition, for example. They may become something beyond what they are soon -- though soon could be tomorrow or a thousand years," the dolls explains.

"The odd collective cellular civilization in the reports," Fred says. "I'm not sure how I could understand them. I guess it helps when these entities are capable of understanding us though enough to communicate. I sometimes find it hard to relate to, well, physical people now. I don't know if it's because of what I am now, or because of the origins of what I am now. Not many people spend time on the ship, who aren't part of the original crew."

"Isolation and change can make you different. You have a new body, and you've experienced something few mortals can claim to: death. You're beyond death, and that changes you. I know it too, now, because I've died as well. We are, all of us, ghosts, be it literally, figuratively, or of the past. It's harder to relate to 'ordinary' people after what we've been through and, you know, we're extraordinary now. Supernatural, alien, exotic, call it what you will, but to the regular people of a mortal world, we're beyond. The stuff beyond the firelight." Heavy words from a cute doll, said in a high pitched voice. "And I think those people forget we're still people sometimes. That we can share the same desires. It's that understanding of commonality that's helped me connect with the aliens, the robots, the gods and dragons and ancients and more. We all want connection. Maybe the Sifra do too, who knows?"

"Well, they haven't reached out to me, that I'm aware of," Fred says, sounding worried. "I was afraid of that, you know. That I was being controlled somehow and just not aware of it. But Remiel and Eli assure me I haven't really changed or done anything weird. Still, having to depend on external sources to assure me of that isn't a good feeling."

"That's basically my whole world these days. Being surrounded by beings who can puppeteer me, control me, and so on, well, I've adjusted. And half them do it to protect me, or are curious, or are mischievous. But it's what we deal with every day, all of us. I just keep going; it's not that I don't think about it, it's just that I don't know how to put what I think in to words." The doll shrugs. "Don't let my musings get to you. I often forget most people aren't dealing with ancients, pan-universal horrors, and things beyond description on a daily basis. I am still a warrior, planning all my battles my way. But no one here needs to be." Then the doll taps her chin. "Although... I bet some of the Titan Knights would be intrigued by fighting the good fight against literal demons. Those kinds are always looking for something to test themselves in. It's very Star to fight evil."

"And are literal demons something you can fight with Titans?" Fred has to ask. "Or is their faith that matters? What do literal demons even look like?"

"Probably both. There's all kinds, but it's the spirit and will to fight that means the most. We can train people to engage almost anything, really," The doll elaborates. "As for demons, well, both like what you'd expect, but they can take on forms, fake you, that kind of thing, and also ranging in to the incomprehensible, from tiny to as large as things get. One enveloped a sun, another was bigger than a sun, one ws a black fluid inhabiting a world, another's a squishy walking self-contained reality -- we call him Samael. Samael's okay." The doll waves its arms at its side as she walks. "I'm a bit one as well, but only a tiny bit. A little piece. And the one who gave me a piece is a lliogor, a servitor from beyond. The Source is also okay. We talk, now and then. I should visit them sometime."

"So going to come back at some point, or just run around as a stuffed toy to do it?" Fred asks with a grin.

"What, am I not a intimidating and heroic figure? Just think of how much more legendary I could be if I start doing all this as a one foot tall stuffed toy. Nora would never be able to do it." The doll claps its paws together. "But yes, I'll come back. If I can, I mean. I've become much more magical than I used to be, and, well, some of us won't survive the Sifran field. But I should be okay. Still, that said, we have a major operation coming. I don't plan to return until after that point; laying low for a bit might even be necessary."

"And you'll get to ride with the Titanian's again," Fred notes. "Since I know how much that little 'Tadpole' can carry, and it's not a lot."

"Yeah, alas I am not critical cargo. Which, let me say, rude." The doll puts her hands on her hips. "Well, why don't we wait by Mariel

"Yeah, alas I am not critical cargo. Which, let me say, rude." The doll puts her hands on her hips. "Well, why don't we wait by Mariel's room, so she isn't worried when I'm not home. I kind of said I'd wait but, well, you know me. Adventure!"

Fred actually picks up Tasha and carries her to Mariel's room. "I need to check in on my trainees and make sure they haven't irradiated themselves," he says. "Keep out of trouble for now?"

"What, me?" The doll gestures to itself. "I solve trouble!" The doll does not add sometimes it's trouble she started, or caused, or set off a chain reaction that effected entire realms sort of self caused trouble, however.

"That sounds suspicious," Fred notes, then winks. Maybe he's the actual template for the 'new' Karnors in Galactic Space after all?

Tasha wouldn't doubt it; it could even be Mariel. Certainly she's not seeing a sea of Gabriels and Noras. The doll gives an exaggerated wave bye-bye. "Haunt me some other time, okay?"

This leaves Tasha with all of Mariel's room to explore.. at least the parts she hadn't already explored.

"Well, time to get in to stuff." And so Tasha heads to the part she hasn't explored, coming to live the experience of being a one to one point five foot stuffed toy. Not a place she'd expected to be aboard ship, but as usual, she's learned to roll with it, and see herself as increasingly beyond bodily limits.

At least the desk drawers aren't too out of reach! In the lower one she finds a coloring book and colored pencils (some of which have been chewed on) and a sketchbook.

And so Tasha plops down and gets to reading; she does try and chew on a crayon to see what the appear is but her teeth are all soft and she only really has four of them anyway, jutting over her soft muzzle. They're more an impression of dental savagery, really. She puts the book in her folded leg lap and carefully starts turning pages.

The book is very much Knight Templars focused. The various citadels and champions are there, even though most are gone now. The Templar University is there, with several pages devoted to the great library it holds. Also designs of Templar uniforms over the ages, the symbols of the citadels, and the vehicles they maintain.

Mariel has only colored in a few of the pages, often choosing rather bright, pastel colors that make things looks far to happy and fantastical.

Tasha wonders if this is actual experience, a desire for a brighter future, or struggling with an internal ennui. She doubts it's the last one, but she knows it can be hard to tell, certainly her cadre of friends, loved ones, and associates are prone to hiding their grief. So, the other two: she thinks they seem more likely, which she's happy for, but it could also represent a struggle against childish instincts, or an adoption or acceptance of them. Mariel must be having a unique experience in a body that she herself hasn't been through, except the usual once. She'd be curious to trade notes about it some day.

Some pages are missing. Maybe they were torn out and put up on the cooling unit of the galley? Or maybe Mariel didn't like them or how they turned out.

Tasha knows how that is, sometimes she also tears out things she doesn't like. Sometimes those things are parts of herself, or others, but the basic concept is the same. "Hmm," she goes, rocking back and forth. More pages turned.

There are outlines for some of the cities. Star City and Expedition City and New Zion are recognizable. The others are only obvious by the people in them, the Confederate and Celestial Life Domes, from before they were destroyed.

Memories from before then, from back when the Expedition had just arrived, though 'just' in this case is relative given the construction level. So Tasha sees Mariel retains memories even back then, and may be struggling with them. It must be hard, she thinks, to juggle the mind of a child with awareness of a thousand-year tragedy and her own difficulties.

And while it may not help, Tasha does stuff a crayon in her muzzle and in what may generously be called coloring color in a red, yellow, and orange dragon version of herself (the crayons held in a tripart configuration for easy head-turn color switching) breathing fire and a caption of 'I can't draw well as a toy' and 'I'm a dragon now' and 'rrrggggh!'. She adds herself battling a big gold man, resembling Bathed-in-Gold.

The door opens, and Tasha hears a sing-song sort of voice proclaiming, "I'm hoooome!" Mariel practically bounces in, full of energy. "Tasha! You found my drawing stuff. You haven't looked anywhere else, have you?"

The doll looks up, mouth full of crayons. It goes 'bleh' and drops the crayons in its paws, hurriedly putting them away. "What, me? Of course not! There wasn't time!" The doll hops up on its hooves and bounces a few times with a squeak. "Why, is there a mystery in here?"

"Just embarrassing stuff!" Mariel claims, putting her hands to her face and hiding behind them. She peeks through the fingers though. "But now that you're here, I can do what I've always wanted to do with you!"

Then it's time for Tasha to hide her head behind her hands. "Oh no~! I'll refrain from my usual innuendo no matter how tempting it is. And I'll just say, you shouldn't put me in the main thrust outlet. You may throw me at people you dislike, however."

Mariel sticks her tongue out, then laughs. She goes to closet, and removes a somewhat battered looking box. It's made of metal of course, and is probably heavy from how the girl grunts as she lifts it out and lowers it to the floor. She reaches in and pulls out.. a doll! It's an Eeee doll. Then she produces a Silent-One doll. Both are in frilly dresses. She sets them on the floor and takes out more items. These looks like fancy cups, the sort you'd drink tea or very strong coffee out of.

"I don't suppose these contain the spirit of a stodgy Silent One and a very proper Eeee madam, do they?" Tasha marches her way on over and leans over to inspect things. "I can try and drink but apparently I'm just made out of some weird stuffing, which probably isn't true but it's best not to think about it too much. I think you can squeeze my head dry, however!"

"You don't drink real stuff at a tea party," Mariel points out. "And that's Lucy Lacewing and Sophia Spotsworth. They aren't alive, unless I pretend that they are."

A little cup is set out for each of them, and a toy teapot is taken from the box.. which Mariel pretends to pour tea out of into each cup. "Do you take cream or sugar, Tasha Tushpram?"

"Isn't our belief what really matters?" Tasha scoots over, sitting down to watch. "What we care about, I mean. Belief in life can change the worl-" She pauses for the question, then folds her tiny arms. "Tasha Tushpram? Can't I be Tasha Dragonwing or Tasha Silvercup or... Cream and sugar, please." She unfolds her hands to make a gimme grabby motion.

Imaginary sugar cubes are offered, and there's an empty creamer as well. The playset doesn't include spoons however. "I only know how to make dresses for dolls," Mariel explains. "So you have to have the name of a girl who wears a dress." She then makes the other two dolls nod in agreement. "Quoite wight", she voices Ms. Spotsworth. Lucy is made to fan her face with a fan. "Indubitably," the Eeee is made to say.

"I suppose that logic does figure," tiny adorable doll Tasha concedes. She turns her padded paws upward. "Very well, Miss Mariel Wuffensmol."

"That's Lady Mariel Wuffensmol," Mariel corrects. "How have things been at the nunnery, Ms. Tushpram? Have the dragons stopped pestering you? And would you like a gingerbread biscuit?"

"Typically, dressmakers are of the help," Tasha insists, lifting her chin. "The nunnery performs to be expected, worship of fire and chaos has been reliable, and the dragons, how are very bored in general mind you, we're distracted by a small toy and some fireworks. A golden opportunity to put the kobolds to work."

"Oh my.." Mariel says, then drops the play voice and asks, "The Kobolds are the little dragons right, from the photos? With the ghost girl?"

The doll's ears perk up. "Oh yes, they're cute and industrious! And they love dragons. Total dedication, being around them is like some sort of high and spiritual fulfillment in one. As for Whisper, she's not a ghost even if she does dress like a ghost, at least she used to until we finally got her to change. She's a... What's the word... Sidhe. A high level fairy-elf! She's also our landlord at the moment. Our Princess Whisper from the Castle That Is Never Cleaned."

"Do Kobolds play fetch?" Mariel asks. "Because I want to play fetch with Nora but I don't think she'll do it."

"You just have to make fetch in to a competitive game and boost it up by talking about breaking limits and how it's a metaphor for going past our boundaries and some such," Tasha stage-whispers, then she leans back. "And of course they will! I'm sure Whisper and Pheeny would love to play, too. They might seem a little scary, but Pheeny's a sweetheart and Whisper's a big magical tomboy. We're working on helping them know to reign in their powers, too."

"What are their powers?" Mariel asks. "The whole powers thing is new. I've experienced some magic though: Neesa cast a spell that let everyone talk to me in a dream while I was still in the tank."

"And she left me out?? I'm going to have to have a talk with ol' Fudgy," Tasha insists in a squeaky offended voice. But, she also seems to forget it immediate, because she explains, "Well, Sidhe can just, uh, imagine things and make them real. She's like a tiny local god. Castle. Lake. Animals. Poof. It'll be there. She can dictate the laws, like physics and gravity. Pheeny's powers are... " Tasha pauses to look around, then finds Mariel's crew jacket, and points at the Phoenix symbol. "Like that. Exactly like that. Fire and life, unending."

"But what does fire and life, unending, mean?" Mariel asks. "How is that a power? Does she set fire to people to cure them of things?"

"Well, uh, it's hard to fathom really. You see, she's a phoenix. The Phoenix. The one and only, from dreams and fairy tales and mythology across the multiverse. She's a font of the raw power of life, and I imagine she could cure just about anything, or... raise the dead?" The doll tilts her head to the side, then the other side, and for a moment she has a mild panic attack as she wrestles with motherly virtues and the consequences of having a font of immortality as her daughter. The doll starts patting its paws together rapidly. "Hoookay, I may not have thought this through as much as I could have. You see, she's my daughter. And I don't want to use her. But she can do enormous good. More than I can, maybe more than any of us. But I want her to want to, because she cares. Because she met people and likes them and likes life. This life is different. She's never been a daughter before, and she now has control of her own power. And I need to guide her. We all do." The doll sucks in a deep breath, and if a doll can look overwhelmed, this one does.

There's a whistle when Tiny Tasha inhales. She must have a squeaker inside. "And she made the doll then? So that it's alive?" Mariel asks. "Or did Whisper make you?"

"Oh no, that's Kai," Tasha answers, head lowering and glad for the sudden change of topic. "Kai is like... She's either a fragment of a being known as Kainudy, who is a kind of deiform pseudo-dragon with family trouble and a penchant for destruction, who is also one of my mentors, or an old god named Lilith. Possibly both. She's amoral but fun."

Tasha squeaky laughs at that. "Yes, but then I had to get 'responsibility' and I had things like 'empathy' and 'sympathy', and look where it's gotten me!" She waves her hands over her head in a look at my world kind of way. Then her hands falls, and she spreads them. "So, now I mostly fight demons except when I'm hanging around them, and I try and help immortals find their way. I am the bridge between god and man. More angel than you'd probably have ever expected, really."

"All because of the shiny bunny!" Mariel giggles. "Like.. like.. Alice in Wonderland... well, no, she followed a white rabbit and things were really weird.."

"I don't know, things have gotten really weird and one of me looks like Alice." Tasha shakes her tiny head. "As for my powers, well, I ate a dragon heart so I'm part dragon now, all part of my quest to become some percentage of everything, apparently. I can shoot lasers and breath fire now, and do other dragon-fire magic, and because I channeled Pheeny during her birth to a new life, part of the Phoenix's flame burns within me. Oh and I'm my own species, plus three. I really can have kids with anything, it turns out."

"So are you pregnant then? Nora will be furious if she finds out!" Mariel gasps. "How do I get more copies of myself?"

"Maybe? I have, uh," Tasha eyes Mariel for a moment, "As a mother I'm having a harder time talking about this topic than I would like to admit, because the kids have been asking and I, um, I'm not sure how to address it honestly. Especially because I'm me. As for more copies, well, you'd have to come out where we are, then ask Kai and Tia and Samael, where upon they'd create changelings attached to your soul. I'm not sure if my soul is special for this purpose or if any soul will work. My soul was also hardened, by a higher angel, so maybe that factors in."

"So.. all the really scary ones have to do it?" Mariel gasps. "Well, maybe one of me is enough."

"Yeah the Tier A and B squad have to do it, it's way beyond me, and they have mixed feelings about it. Tia -- also known as Galatea and Galatia -- doesn't like creating servitor-life, for example, while Kai and possibly Samael don't mind at all. I bet you'd like Galatea. She's sort of like an inversion of me, and she has her problems, and we've both caused our fair share of, uh, questionable violence, but she's not so bad, and you know, it really hurt when I thought we lost her. A lot, it really hurt, a lot. Besides, she could use another friend." Tasha glances around, then tilts her head. "She's probably not listening, but maybe she is through me. Kai probably is too."

"Lost her? And.. they listen to your.. your thoughts?" Mariel asks, and hugs herself. "Isn't that scary? Or is because they aren't.. uh. Well like if we were kids and they're adults?"

"She kind of exploded. It was at the end of an operation, and none of us expected it. She's okay, now. We managed to help her in time, and she's mostly recovered. But it was scary." Tasha's head shakes again. "And they do. They listen for many reasons: boredom, keeping tabs on me, monitoring my status, companionship, control, protection, and centralization of contact. Part of being 'an angel to higher powers', if you want to look at it that way, means this kind of interaction. I can't really explain the whole of it, not in any explanation that I'll be happy with, so I'll just say it's part of the territory. But, you can think of them like being adults to our being kids, it's just not even, you know, where everything across the board greater and lesser. Even the highest among us have gaps and failings, and that's often where I come in. Many people think about the power such an existence brings, but I think very few think about the mind, the years, the consequences, and the sum total of it all. That, too, is probably the way of children. To look up in wonder. And that's not so bad, Mariel. But to meet them half way, sometimes we must become half-way ourselves. As I am."

"So, should I be scared of you now then?" Mariel asks, sounding serious for a six-year-old. "I was dead, now I'm not, so I have to wonder if I'm a monster now. Nobody knows how the Stack works, or why it works. It still hits me hard sometimes that Fred is a ghost. But when I was one it didn't feel like it. So I wonder if I'm still a ghost and don't realize it. I have nightmares about it.. about my body melting away. That the Sifrans will just turn me off or something."

"Scared of me?" Tasha leans back a little, ears canting back. "I... " She hesitates, then pats her little paws together. "I am... " A deep breath, a moment to collect herself, and then, "I am what I am, Mariel. I have been a terror to some, and salvation for others. I am hoping to be a greater salvation still. I am an alien construct recreated by godlike universe-traveling alpha-existences, the connection point between their family and mortality, a slayer of demons, a dragon, traveler of far and knowing of fell and dire magicks, apprentice to the great and mighty. But I am also your friends, whatever I am, whether I am the original Tasha, or a facsimile who believes herself to be Tasha, I am always your friend. And much I do, I do for you. You will find that most angels, whatever the make, we angels are like this. Galatea is, too. But even though we stand different, that doesn't mean we cannot connect. Me to them, and I to you." And so the doll reaches out, extending her hand. "But it is always your choice. If you decide I'm scary, I can leave and never return, me, and all I am and am connected to. As for you, you are what you are. There are no promises. We can be what we are, or fear it. But we will be what we are regardless. To some you may be a monster. To others, a miracle. But that is true of just being any old human. As for the Sifra, well, I don't think they'd dare turn you off now. Because I'm watching. And I know the beings who brought them low. However, I'd urge them to realize we ultimately have the same goal. Supporting me supports their best interests, as much as we comprehend them."

Mariel hesitates, then scoops up Tiny Tasha into a hug. "Fred worries too much, and I can't tell him about my fears," she says. "I need you, to talk to about the scary things most of all."

"That's what I'm here for, to help people face the scary things," Tasha says, hugging right back, as hard as her little fuzzy arms can manage. "But don't discount Fred, either. Communication is key. If you avoid him you'll only distance yourself, and nothing will be resolved. And maybe he has the same fears. You can both always talk to me, too, when I'm here. If you need me, maybe you can reach me by asking the doll. I think Kai keeps track of that."

"Okay, but does that mean Kai is watching me through it too?" Mariel asks. "She wouldn't pretend to be you, would she?"

The doll rolls its head and eyes, "Wellllll, Kai is Kai. But she knows the limits and wouldn't undermine my relationships like that. Aside from my relationship with her 'creator', if that's accurate, we have a working and friendly relationship, too, and there are things we ignore and don't tread on, boundaries we all eventually learn not to cross. That said, she might have a bit of fun. Just bear in mind Kai watches a lot of people and she's just sort of around. You can get used to her that way. Still, if things look bad, having her watching isn't the worst thing in the world."

"Well.. I'll try not to call her or anything, just say when I want to talk to you," Mariel says.

"That'd probably be best, just be prepared if she wants to talk, or tease you, because she does it to me all the time and I don't think she can resist." The doll smiles, upturning its muzzle. "Oh, and you know, they're all scary, right? But Galatea's being human for a while, and you know, she kind of forgot humans need a hotel room, so she's actually curled up next to me at the moment. Think about that when you think of the big ones. We all have our strengths, and our weaknesses. Even me. Even the Sifra."