{LOG} no more goodbyes

[queens_shield]

CHARACTERS: Khrista, Heitor, Marcus, Kakali, Fia, Nero and the rest of the Exercitus.
WHEN: Early SD 798. A few months after this.
WHERE: Castle Aquaria.
SUMMARY: The Exercitus has recovered from their losses, and has made substantial progress in the alliance's plan to launch an attack on Greeton. But there are forces on their way to Elicoor that

Comments

[sanmite_voice]

Kakali glided down onto the balcony, the heels of her shoes clicking softly on the floor as she touched down. "Hey. You're up early, Your Highness." After a moment, her expression turned serious as she followed Fia's gaze. "You feel it, too, huh? There's something wrong with the weather. The winds are... strange. I don't like it; neither do some of the others - or the dragon riders."

She shook her head. "Oh, well. I suppose we can ask the people down in the laboratories later. Have you seen your brother anywhere?"

[sanctusmatris]

Fia absently stretched out an arm in front of her, as if to feel the breeze. "It's not... natural," she muttered, frowning. Although she was far from being the best fighter in their ranks, she was one of the most powerful when it came to runology, especially after she received an unusual 'boost' from Blair. "Maybe the gods are getting restless..."

She turned to face Kakali finally, sighing. "He's either with Nevelle, or... well, you know. The usual."

It was no secret among the members of the Exercitus. A few months back, Khrista had fallen ill after an expedition to the Underworld, then left without so as much of a goodbye. Spinel, in behalf of Quark, had announced right before they went off-planet that their leader needed to go someplace to recuperate... and sometime later, sent them a message that they'd be in the Klaus System for a while to help Cliff and the rest of Quark.

[sanmite_voice]

"Yeah, I know." Kakali draped herself over the railing inelegantly, sighing. "I wish she hadn't left. All he does is hide in his room and mope. I mean, yeah, there's more galaxy out there than just us, but he needs her, too. He acts like it's his fault she left."

[sanctusmatris]

Fia moved beside Kakali, likewise leaning against the railing inelegantly, and allowing herself to act less than the queen she was supposed to be and more of the young girl she really was. Moments like that were common to the two, who'd become particularly close in a short span of time. "I want to help him, but I don't know how. Even Aunt Maria hasn't heard from her, not after that last message from Spinel, anyway. The fighting must really be tough out there..."

[sanmite_voice]

"Yeah... I still wish she'd at least call. I mean, it's not like she can have been on like an infiltration mission or something that would keep her from contacting someone the entire time..." Kakali sighed. "I swear, I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind when she finally gets back. Making Marcus worry like that..."

Despite having more or less accepted Khrista and Marcus's relationship, Kakali was still very attached to him.

[sanctusmatris]

"I'm sure she has her reasons," Fia said gently, although she didn't really seem to completely believe that. Khrista was passionate about her duty to Quark, yes, but there were also times when it was to the point of being irrational.

Then sometime later, Nero came out to join them in the balcony. He'd had a string of sleepless nights as of late as he, Fayt, Eliza and Maria struggled with the finishing touches of their runological weapon, and the exhaustion was starting to show. "Guys," he started, not bothering with any pleasantries, even skiping the special greeting he usually reserved for Fia. "We have company."

Fia held her breath. It didn't seem like good news. "Who?"

"Heitor. He's coming down in a few minutes."

[sanmite_voice]

"Oh. Him, huh?" Kakali straightened up a little, leaning against the balcony, and her wings flared out behind her the way they generally did when she was... less than pleased. "I don't suppose he brought Khrista with him?"

[sanctusmatris]

"He didn't say. I suppose he kept his transmission short to prevent our Federation friends from tracing his frequency."

"And if he's coming down here himself, then it must be important," Fia said, straightening up as well and snapping back into her queenly mode. "I'll talk to him. If it's anything the Exercitus needs to decide upon collectively, I'll call for everyone else."

[sanmite_voice]

"I'll go with you," Kakali decided. "Just in case." Just in case of what, she didn't say, although it was obvious she still didn't fully trust Heitor.

Her wings folded tightly behind her as she got up off the railing, looking grim. Occasionally Kakali looked back at the effect the war had had on her; she never really liked what she saw.

[sanctusmatris]

The same was true with Fia. Just a couple of years ago, she was a young girl with dreams of a bright future - completing her studies, becoming a runologist, and one day settling down and starting a quiet family life with the man of her dreams. She never expected to grow up so soon, and to lose her ideals to the harsh realities of life

[sanmite_voice]

"Of course not. If it was good news, he would have waited until a reasonable hour when people who weren't up all night were awake." Kakali shot Fia a sudden glance. "You need to get more sleep, by the way. And you know the random-rune-out-of-nowhere thing still creeps me out, right?"

[queens_shield]

"Don't worry, I used to pull all-nighters when I was in school," Fia said, smiling wryly. "And sorry about that. It kind of... just comes naturally, now."

That actually made it sound creepier, but she didn't seem to realize that.

She'd barely crossed the room when their guest arrived.

She'd never met the Heitor in their timeline - not until then, anyway. She'd seen him when he was younger, in the other world, and there he was naive and idealistic and generally unsure of what he was doing. But the one she was coming face-to-face with now... he seemed like a quiet individual, but one that radiated with an unsual inner resolve and strength.

And sadness.

It was the war at work again.

"Heitor Valeros," she identified as a manner of greeting.

He nodded. "Yes. Forgive me for the inconvenience, but there isn't a lot of time. There's something you need to know."

[sanmite_voice]

"Well, if there isn't time, don't waste it with being vague and spooky," Kakali said abruptly, standing behind Fia and leaning on her spear. "Spit it out. What's going on?"

[queens_shield]

Heitor wasn't the least bit surprised with the hostility. He simply nodded and continued, "Commander Rael Priabis of the Pangalactic Federation is on his way to personally deal with the insurrection."

Fia pursed her lips together, and muttered under her breath, just low enough for Kakali to hear, "I don't know of a Commander Priabis..."

"Working with him are two of the Federation's best supersoldiers - André Valeros, and a woman named Verneuil. That's apart from the fact that Priabis has an entire fleet at his disposal, plus Torfos and his men, and a group of renowned Fed scientists."

But that was about the time a second Offworlder appeared - someone Kakali and Fia were more familiar with. "You're missing the most important part," the newcomer interjected, her expression grim; apparently, she'd been listening in. "In the pantheon of Elicoorian 'gods'... he's the one they call Apris."

The newcomer was Khrista.

[sanmite_voice]

"So, Apris is finally gonna show his face, huh?" Kakali murmured. "Just as long as I get to poke a few holes in Folstar first..."

She shook her wings out a little before fixing Khrista with a stare uncomfortably reminiscent of an eagle trying to decide if what it was staring at was the right size to try to eat. "You're back."

[queens_shield]

"I was held up," Khrista answered coolly, trying not to show any form of unease whatsoever. But if one could hear her heartbeat, it wasn't hard to tell how nervous she was - it was obvious, by now, that she was pregnant.

Heitor had turned around to face her. "I told you to stay in the ship," he said, a little louder than he'd intended.

"I'm fine," she assured him, reaching out to touch his arm. But although it seemed like an affectionate gesture, to Khrista it didn't mean anything at all. It was just another part of the plan - the world didn't need to know who the real father of her child was, most especially when the gods were crashing into the Exercitus' backyard to play.

I have to stand firm. For all of us.