Life2.0 - An "Of Unity" Narrative (Completed)

[CBR JGWRR]

Prison Break Combat Log
23rd Qutrok, 10 (2189)​

2159 - Donkey Leader: "Donkey Leader to Scarlet One, report status."

2159 - Biter Leader: "Biter Leader to Scarlet One, please report."

2159 - Switchblade One: "Scarlet One, get on the gorydamn line."

2159 - Biter Leader: "Scarlet One, offensive waiting on you. Comm in."

2200 - Donkey One: "No use."

2201 - Athena One: Audible sigh. "All allied callsigns, engage."

2205 - Donkey One: "Engaging Humans on outer walls. Lasing targets for tactical strike."

2205 - Drone Pilot: "Missiles away."

2205 - Donkey One: "Copy pilot. Good hits, Donkeys moving."

2209 - Donkey Leader: "Two injured for medical evac. Wall breached."

2211 - Donkey Leader: "Door breaching charges set. Detonating."

2213 - Donkey One: "Hallway secure."

2215 - Donkey Leader: Waving at security camera. "Scarlet One, comm in."

2215 - Biter Leader: "Interlinking internal sensors."

2215 - Athena One: "Link established."

2215 - Biter Leader: "One hundred foot-mobiles outside cells."

2217 - Switchblade One: "Reservoir access secured. Linking distribution data."

2219 - Donkey Leader: "Contact front!"

2221 - Donkey One: "Barricade breached."

2226 - Biter Leader: "Scarlet One and unrecognised Human woman located, several floors down."

2226 - Donkey Leader: "Biter Leader, do not take shortcut."

2226 - Biter Leader: "Acknowledged."

2229 - Biter Leader: "Stairwell destroyed."

2229 - Donkey Leader: "How bad?"

2229 - Biter Leader: "Unsure of how to ascend afterwards."

2229 - Athena One: "Support team bringing abseiling equipment, ETA twenty minutes."

2229 - Biter Leader: "Leaping. Landed, moving."

2233 - Biter Leader: "Marking this section for water cleansing."

2233 - Switchblade One: "Cleansing dispatched."

2234 - Biter Leader: "Proceeding."

2240 - Athena One: "All callsigns, seventy signatures left to investigate."

2337 - Biter Leader: "Scarlet One plus Human woman found."

2337 - Scarlet One: "Sorry all, equipment failure."

2340 - Athena One: All callsigns, twenty signatures left to investigate."

0050 - Athena One: "All callsigns stand down, all signatures investigated, target has eluded capture."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Aftermath"
24th Qutrok, 10 (2189)
Naomi Of Unity​

One of the perks of marrying a ten foot tall monster by the time you include his horns is you need a swimming pool for a bath. The downside is we spent five hours getting blood out of his fur...

I'm not sure I want to know how he got it there, whoever he impaled must have died horribly.

And been there a while.

But, in the end, we float together, and relax. "I want peace."

He lounges. Must resist urge to admire his chest. "Don't we all."

"I mean it... I'm tired of wearing armour. I want to wear dresses again."

He nuzzles me. "Hopefully Monica and Heinrich will give up."

"We didn't find either of them..." I sigh. "If they don't, taking Heinrichstadt is for someone else to do."

He throws his head back and yawns. "Who was the other woman?"

"Ruqayya Amah al-Masih. She has some interesting ideas."

"Like?"

"She'd have me install a theocracy, she believes that we have plot armour."

"What is plot armour?"

"The way she put it is that we've come through so many situations that reasonably should have been defeats for us. Take the Flagship. The only other recent loss of a Flagship was to the Lokra-Kitan, and they paid a much higher price for victory. They've had numerous debt collectors come demanding repayment for the Flagship, MSI is suing them for millions of Energy Credits..."

"How much even is an Energy Credit?"

"It's a currency for use in simplifying interstellar empire running costs and conducting international trade. Wages for millions upon millions of people come to about an Energy Credit."

"And Thando has a bounty of ten thousand of them."

"Yeah. His head is worth the energy output of a star, or the amount of energy to terraform planets. We could buy enough Minerals and Alloys for the price on his head to transition to a small interstellar civilisation."

He thinks about that. "We're probably the place in the galaxy he can go safely."

I snort. "It's Thando."

"True. I'll rephrase as without guarding his shoulders."

I laugh. "Probably. But getting back to Ruqayya... When we found out Monica had attacked Valerius, we prayed to get him back."

"And he lived."

"Yes. And I'm wondering if she's right."

He nuzzles me. "What's on your mind?"

I look at him. "I've got a headache from thinking about all this stuff." I slip into his arms. "I just want to be husband and wife for a while."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Fuel"
24th Qutrok, 10 (2189)
Alexandra HaMaadimi​

My husband looks very nice in his new uniform. We sit discussing our biggest problem.

"Monopoles, pions, plasma, magnetic confinement, laser cooled antiproton/positron storage... It's like some shopping list of sci-fi bits."

He bites his sandwich. No more ration packs now we have ships that have onboard farms. "A lot of them we can't even get."

"I'm honestly not sure what a monopole even is."

He finishes his sandwich. "Magnetic matter instead of nuclear force matter. Useful for catalysing fusion reactions."

"The Arishkan and Prikki ships use lots of them."

"Yeah, there's loads of people who do; monopole conversion rockets are as powerful as antimatter rockets and don't involve the hazards of storing antimatter. We can buy either off the market if we have stuff to trade."

"We need to condense the fuel types down... The only ones we can refuel are our own Orions."

"The Holocron is working on solar-powered super-colliders to produce antimatter."

"So our plan is to jump from nuclear fission pulse propulsion to antimatter rockets?"

"Antimatter pulse units are an awful lot easier than antimatter rockets."

"Presumably less effective though?"

"Yeah."

"Are they an advantage over the nuclear pulse units?"

He snorts. "Yeah. About a million times more sustainable. Did you look over Naomi's refuelling estimates for taking ships like the Ukuikela on an offensive through the hyperlane network?"

"I was more interested in the tactics once we got there."

"To keep transit time low means our ships do a 1g brachistochrone from one hyperlane to an opposite hyperlane, on average for the star systems between here and MSI. This works out as best part of a hundred thousand pulse units. Each of those pulse units is three tonnes of weapons-grade 2% Molybdenum Uranium-233 alloy. And after that transit, each ship docks with a refueller and takes it's pulse units. This happens for every star system."

"Get to the point."

"And don't forget the nineteen refuellers it needed left for scrap along the way. All of which needed their own refuellers in turn, who in turn needed their own refuellers..."

I start working it out. "Hundreds of millions of tonnes of Uranium."

He nods. "We could stripmine several planets for every last atom of Uranium to use for pulse units and still not have enough Uranium."

"So settle for a slower acceleration then."

"The 1g transit takes a few years to get to MSI. Change the plan to use less fuel, and it takes longer. Reduce it enough to only burn one planet's worth of Uranium means it takes decades. Do you really want them to have decades to prepare?"

"Oh."

He sips his hot chocolate. "Now you understand why monopoles futures contracts are so important."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"A Few Good Ships"
26th Qutrok, 10 (2189)
Naomi Of Unity​

As is the way of such things, most of the Humans who joined Monica were ones who were opposed to my leadership, and were therefore no longer able to vote for the motion of no confidence. As a result, that effort has come to nothing. This leaves me deciding what to do.

Appia and I are negotiating terms for a truce as equal partners, but it doesn't hurt to keep options open.

We captured more than a hundred ships in the battle; one will be taking all prisoners of war we captured on a fast transit to catch up with MSI before their wormhole closes. Some are opting to claim asylum, and some of those realistically we'll have to put on the ship too.

The ships are a right variable lot. But most have delta-v levels with full tanks that Orion can't match. Admiral Leonardo's fleet of ex-Arishkan vessels have monopole conversion grid core engines, and those ships are definitely staying; those have their monopoles bound to a grid inside the ship, meaning they can "refuelled" by just dumping whatever gas we have handy into the tanks. Eventually the monopoles do lose adherence to the grid, but hopefully by then we'll have our own antimatter refineries established.

The downside of course is that each grid masses some ludicrous number of kilotons, as monopoles are denser than stellar matter.

The others...

We have reactionless drive impulse engined vessels, although in practice they are more like special case fusion or antimatter drives, as space-time metric manipulation is very energy intensive. These we'll also keep until they run out of reactor fuel, and then shelve them until we refuel them. Unfortunately, most of the fusion ones are deuterium/Helium-3 fusion process, which is the easiest, but most radioactive fusion type.

We have fusion and antimatter plasma torch rockets. These are the ones with the most variability at a design level, but I'm not too worried as long as we have resources to trade as our fleet travels to buy more antimatter; which could be tricky, as Thando's information for the price of starship fuel was from before the Prikki-Arishkan conflict, and with tens of thousands of antimatter and monopole conversion rockets being used by both sides, fuel prices have spiked galaxy wide as both factions are buying up whatever fuel they can get.

This actually helps us, a lot; Appia knows we can condense the fleet down and leave most of the ships as weapons platforms and take the fully fuelled ones on an aggressive expedition, whereas she spent most of MSI's fuel reserves moving the fleet around on the PDRTC campaign - it's why they dug out the ancient wormhole technology despite knowing it would leave us a direct connection to their home systems if they lost. She is planning to use that information as leverage against the board of MSI to persuade them to accept reforms we want.

It does also mean that I have dozens of ships that I can now send anywhere in our home system, and a little beyond. I've decided to keep my antimatter and monopole ships at Unity. The fusion ships we can refuel from the mining operations I had set up years ago to supply the shuttles from the slave ship, so we need to upscale those facilities further and then they'll serve as the central points for expansion; I want us to explore the nearby hyperlanes.

Ships which are badly damaged we'll scrap for parts and reverse engineering.

In the end, our situation is:

Leonardo has twelve relatively out of date Arishkan interstellar ships ranging from corvettes to cruisers with monopole conversion grid core engines.
Twenty 12m Corvettes survived the battle in an operational state.
The Holocron has four of his 400m Orions in repairable state, plus the MSI Titan he's keeping for himself as a fighting mobile computational node.
Two antimatter ships are in an operational state.
A few dozen are fusion rockets - mainly conventional fusion reactors, but a few conversion monopole fusion plasma rockets too, in operational condition that will serve as our first interstellar ships and training ships as we reskill our people.
The rest of the ships are destined to be reverse engineered and their fuel supplies redistributed, with only eight being antimatter rockets, as the others didn't survive the battle due to containment failures.

I've also been working on developing a uniform for our armed forces. Humans are quite easy, we've got them in PDRTC surplus uniforms for now, but adapting ideas for our non-Humans is a little bit trickier.

Still, I am having fun watching Buri get dressed and undressed again trying on my ideas.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Professionalism, Part 1"
27th Qutrok, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity​

I open the door. "Leonardo."

He jumps. "You could just turn the handle."

I sigh. "It takes too long. Anyway, I gave my Mum the task of coming up with a uniform, and it wasn't exactly her most professional work, so I asking you instead."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Short answer?"

He thinks it through. "Yes."

"Checked on them this morning, and she and Dad had gotten distracted."

"I see."

I adopt a playful tone. "So, as the person responsible for us having to develop uniforms, you can have the job of figuring them out."

He leans back in his chair as he realises the difficulty. "How many species are in this navy?"

I smile. "Humans and Kyaese compose most of the officers, Kyaese most of the ship crew, Xenaya are common in most infantry roles... But Mum's policy is no one who wants to fight is refused without medical justification for them not to fight, and even that is creatively interpreted."

He looks at me, mulling it over. "What does creatively interpreted mean, exactly?"

I think of Gillian's idea, back before Leonardo re-entered her life. "Well, if someone in a wheelchair wants to fight, we'll build an adapted vehicle for them to operate."

There's a long pause. But he stands. "I will get it done."

"Thank you." I turn to leave. I don't doubt he'll try, but there's reasons why Mum didn't bother and just started playing dress up with Dad.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Professionalism, Part 2"
27th Qutrok, 10 (2189)
Alexandra HaMaadimi​

I stand beside my husband as we celebrate the beginning of constructing a full-size painting booth for ships. Rivkah has decided that if we are going to professionalise Life2.0's armed forces, we need a proper facility to paint ships in. The exact paint colour is still being debated, and we may well have the facility ready before the colour selection is decided.

I take his hand. "What colour would you pick?"

"Pink."

"Pink?"

"One, it reminds me of you, and two, no one uses pink ships."

"I'm thinking of white."

He looks at the display. "White and pink then."

I kiss his cheek.

"My sister still wants red with green shuttles."

"Red Dwarf?"

"Red Dwarf. She found it the most funny growing up."

"It was quite disturbing if you stopped to think about it."

He chuckles. "Then you probably weren't watching it right."

I lead him downstairs, and smile to our designers. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen. Today, we embark on the latest set of tweaks to this station. We want a vacuum plating facility so that we can paint all our newly acquired ships in Life2.0 colours, once those get decided."

There's a round of laughter.

"Whoever gives me the best solution gets a ship named for them."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Professionalism, Part 3"
30th Qutrok, 10 (2189)
Leonardo Veres​

"I'm your host Li Nakuma, and today I have with me in the studio Admiral Leonardo Veres. Now, you're here for a reason Admiral."

"Yes. Rivkah has tasked me with developing a consistent uniform for our armed forces. I have spent a few days going through the logistics of what I need, and what I need most are volunteers. In order to work out the correct sizes for garments, I need to know dimensions for tailoring garments at a species-wide level, and so I am here today to ask for volunteers to be measured, and volunteers to collect said measurements. I'm also here to ask for the input of community leaders on what is culturally acceptable for symbols, insignia, colours, styles, garment choices and other areas on which commentary is appropriate. Lastly, I'm also requesting the input of clothiers and armourers from as many races as possible to inform how uniform can be fitted to existing equipments in service and development."

"And when do you want them for?"

"Well, gathering as much data as possible is necessary, and ideally I'd like a sample size of at least hundreds of individuals per species. Preferably thousands. I have been assigned an office block at the intersection of 5th Rotunda and Fabian's Floundering, and people can come from now onwards. I can't say how long it will take because I have no idea how many people will come."

"Understandable. Would you mind discussing your initial concepts?"

"Human history is filled with the military doctrine of the establishment of uniforms and their use in warfare. As general principles, forces have to fulfill the four criteria of command structure, identification, carrying arms openly and conducting operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war, and they must fight on behalf of a party to an international armed conflict. Uniforms have long been considered a key element in the display of the fulfillment of these criteria, although in principle anything that standardises a distinction between a combatant and a civilian qualifies. Under Human precedent, this has been as simple as red headbands vs white headbands vs yellow headbands in the case of a civil war conflict from just over a century and a half ago."

"I was more thinking of what you had in mind to actually wear; obviously not all of our members have heads that a headband could be worn around."

"Yes, that is a complication that I want this data to resolve, as I would prefer to have standardised garments that anyone can wear. I do accept we will have to adapt sizes to suit different races of course. At this stage, it is too early to say how these uniforms will look."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Appia, The Peacemaker"
1st Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Naomi Of Unity​

I look at the other woman on the other side of table in our VR hololink. Both of us in dresses. "We've arrived back on Brigantia, and I have given the Board your proposed treaty, as well as explained the change in tactical situation."

"How did they take it?"

She sighs. "With grumbling, but they recognise the situation. We have peace, and we will begin the reforms of the Indentured Asset system. I was reviewing Gnaea's terms earlier, and I just wanted to check; Septima Severus' head on a plate. Was that to literally have her beheaded?"

"The Kyaese wanted her as a condition of their acceptance of the treaty yes. They want justice for what she has done to them."

"So will your people kill her, or should mine?"

I shrug. "The Kyaese don't do the death penalty. She's going to spend the rest of her life in a prison cell watching what she did to the Kyaese."

She is quiet for a while. "I'm not sure if that's better or worse than being executed."

"Likewise. But also, they want her operation on The Infinite Wheel totally dismantled and their people freed. Tryykad intends to lead a fleet to do it if your people don't."

She makes a note. "Would he trust us enough to travel with my staff to dismantle the operation?"

I suck in a bit of air. "Not without a battleship to stand on the bridge of."

"Understandable sadly." She stands. "Naomi, about the reforms to the Indentured Asset system... Gnaea stated that he would free Specialist Indentured Assets, but that Worker Indentured Assets would remain. Will your people tolerate that?"

I smile. "We had an idea for that. I've been talking to the Holocron, and he's prepared to export sub-sophont robotics to MSI to take their places, with the expectation that Worker Indentured Assets would be promoted to Specialist Indentured Assets."

She smiles. "Really? That's a really interesting premise. I can't promise anything, but I will talk to the Board about it." She loses her smile. "But if it's refused?"

"Most of the residents of Unity would settle for Specialist Indentured Assets being freed. Some will want war, and I will try to keep them in check."

"Likewise here..." She looks right into my eyes. "I really hope this can be a new beginning Naomi. I really do."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Appia, The Reformer"
2nd Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Appia Flavonius​

I let thoughts of her fill my mind as I stand for my press conference. Not the ones I used to though, she's found her... Well, her Buri is a monster really, but she loves him, and in a strange way I'm glad for her. But I think of her people, the desperation they feel. "When Gnaea Titius left, he left having coordinated a fleet. This fleet has been vanquished, with only a few dozen ships surviving the battle. Therefore, I sought out the enemy's leader to negotiate a ceasefire. The price of war not coming to us is that we must reform the Indentured Asset system."

I think about the lessons I've learned from her. "As slaveowners, we make an unwritten agreement with our slaves. It is that we will oppress you, and make you work, knowing you will resist. Life2.0 have resisted successfully and consistently against escalating levels of reprisal, and have fulfilled the second part of that unwritten agreement. They rebelled successfully, and are now strong enough that we have lost the opportunity to consider it as a cost-benefit analysis of recapturing them, and instead we must consider self-preservation..."

I sip from my cup. "Thankfully, these ex-slaves are run by a former Companionship Asset who I know personally, and she doesn't want to destroy us. She only wants freedom, and she has agreed to a technology exchange to help us transition our economy away from slavery. As part of this, I have agreed to free Specialist Indentured Assets immediately, with Workers to follow when they can be freed. I have done this because our alternative is our slaves will rise up. We must reform, or we will be destroyed."

I think about how her world burned. I think about how many of her people would want to do the same to us were it not for her vision of peace. "We must remember that Gnaea Titius destroyed Earth, the homeworld of Humanity, after giving them the choice between bending and breaking. Then he met Life2.0 to give them the same choice, and they broke him. It is now our turn to bend, or break. And I choose bend."

I think about Valerius, Caeso, Agrippina and more. "Life2.0 are not vicious savages who want to see us destroyed utterly. They have deliberately made a place for Olinbari in their society, with Reformer Olinbari involved at the highest levels of Life2.0's leadership. This is not the end, but a new beginning for us all."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"If You Want Peace..."
5th Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Buri Of Unity​

I nuzzle her. "Naomi, can we talk about Appia?"

She looks at my eyes. "What's on your mind?"

"How close were you and her?"

She closes up. Looks away. "I'm not sure you'd want to know if you did..."

I pull her close. "Close?"

"I was her first woman."

"And she liked it?"

"You know Valerius?"

"Our Valerius?"

She nods. She hesitates. "She was in a relationship with him at the time. She dumped him after having me."

"Oh."

"Yeah... She hired me a few more times, then left me for an Olinbari woman."

"So she isn't interested?"

"She did stop after I reminded her I was married now."

"So she isn't a threat?"

She does her best to contain her laughter. "Buri, she'd have to rape me. I'm yours now."

"Which leaves the other question. What do we do if she is taken out?"

"It's something we've discussed, and she's asked me to make Life2.0's neutrality contingent on her not being assassinated or imprisoned."

"So we might still be going to war?"

"I'm hoping we can accomplish our mission without war." She slips out of my arms, and walks to the edge of our overlook. I join her. "We've seen that the Olinbari can change. And hopefully Appia will last long enough. But there's definitely going to be resistance."

I respond to what she doesn't voice. "You're afraid of MSI having a civil war."

"Yes."

"It would help our position."

"Only if the Reformers win. And that's a big ask... If a revanchist faction wins, then..."

"We beat them in space again."

She looks at the wormhole. "In the star system on the other side of that wormhole is a shipyard that can handle the construction of twenty battleships at a time. We can't even fuel our fleet yet..."

I take her hand. "Then we have work to do."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"...Prepare For War"
6th Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity​

We all watch Mum place a copy of the treaty on the table.

Ykrett speaks first. "Who exactly is Appia? How do we know her? Can we trust her?"

Valerius sighs. "She was my first serious future Mrs Albanius."

Ykrett's boulders creak as he turns. "And? How long ago was that?"

"Twenty standard years."

He rumbles. "That's a long time for a carbonoid. Anyone else able to vouch for her?"

Valerius looks at Mum. Mum shuffles uncomfortably. She looks away first. In the silence, Valerius sits. Seems lost in memory. I start to look at the others, but then Valerius' eyes go wide in shock, which he tries to control. I look back at Mum. She's looking at the floor. "What do you think Mum? You've talked most to her."

"Appia... Is complex. But she will try her best to reform MSI because there's a part of her that wants to impress me."

I take Mum's hand. "What did you do to her when you talked? Did you threaten her."

Mum goes still. "No threats."

Valerius answers. "Naomi was there when Appia broke up with me, although it's only now I realise that you were the other present."

Mum looks at the floor. Mumbles. "I... Didn't know she was going to call you just to dump you. I'm sorry."

I look at Valerius. "Ok, so you know Appia as an old romantic partner, and Mum knows her because Mum-"

Mum is now carefully scrutinising Dad.

Dad is as stoic as a statue.

Which means Dad must know. I look at Mum. "How many times did Appia lease you?"

"We aren't here to discuss my history..."

Sor-Gor interrupts. "Naomi, I beg to differ, this could be a crucial area we can make gains with, if you or Valerius have an exploitable hook on the new leader of MSI, we could-"

Dad glares at him, teeth on show.

Sor-Gor notices. "-My mistake."

Ykrett looks at Dad. "Sor-Gor is right though. Obviously, we can't reuse Naomi, but maybe we can send in-"

Mum shakes her head. "Bad idea. She found someone else."

Valerius looks at her. "Did she call you?"

Mum nods. "Yeah."

Valerius looks at the table.

I look at Valerius. "Valerius? Are you ok?"

Valerius looks at Mum. Mum looks at the floor. "Appia... Hurt me deeply. I guess I never recovered."

I look at Mum. Wonder what is so interesting about the vinyl floor to her. Yeah. I look at Valerius. "Did Appia tell you that she'd hired Mum?"

Valerius looks at the floor. He sighs. "She told me that she had disovered that one thing that we did have in common was that we would be batting for the same side in the future."

"So what was Mum's involvement?"

Mum whispers in my ear. Oh. Oh no. Oh my. I turn back to Valerius. "I'm sorry Valerius, that must have hurt so much."

"Quite."

Silence hangs. I try to end it. "Look, what we have to think about is what Appia's position is now, not as it was then. If Appia is in charge, MSI aren't going to launch an attack on us. This itself is the opportunity we need."

Odoos looks at Mum. "What did Appia ask in exchange?"

"Appia asked if we'd avenge her if she was killed or imprisoned. I pointed out we aren't yet in a position to respond."

Valerius nods. "She's playing a high-risk game."

Hmm. "And someone might decide to take her off the board."

Ykrett looks at me. "So now we are going to play bodyguards to an Olinbari?"

I nod. "That's our exploitable hook."

Dad looks at Valerius. "Would Appia take swapping an agreement to protect her in exchange for a fuel depot and refinery so that we can actually make our new ships go?"

Valerius leans back in his chair. "Quite possibly. They are practically off the shelf pieces of well-developed kit after all."

I look at Mum. "Put the offer to her, and see what she says."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Getting An Outpost"
6th Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Naomi Of Unity​

Appia joins me. She's surrounded by holodevices showing all sorts of data and information. "Afternoon Naomi."

"Good news; we've reviewed the possibility of coming to help you if someone tries to attack you. And we are willing to help. The downside is that we need a fuel and refinery depot otherwise we can't actually come to your aid."

She flicks through her ships. "I see, just looking for a construction ship..." There's a pause. "None available for a few months."

"Oh."

There's a glint in her eyes. "But, well..."

"Go on?"

She smiles. "Take your clothes off for me, and I'll reassign one immediately."

I think about it. It's nothing she hasn't seen before. "Promise?"

She picks up a communicator. "I'll make the call while we talk."

Is getting up and running a little earlier worth it?

It's nothing I haven't done before, one more piece of dignity sacrificed.

I stand. She licks her lips in anticipation, eagerly watching as I lift my dress slowly past my knees.

I see my wedding ring as I get halfway up my thighs. I let go. "I'm sorry Appia, I belong to my husband now."

Her eyes rove me. "I'll settle for just the dress off."

"I can't."

She softens. "You really love him."

"Buri means everything to me. I can't cheat on him."

She sighs. "I need a wife."

"I thought you had a woman?"

"I did. But we didn't work out. Long distance relationship broke down after I joined the navy. Then her father disinherited her and she joined the merchant fleet."

"You never did say who she was."

She sighs. "Vopisca Octavius."

"Daughter of Remus Octavius?"

"Yes. You know her?"

"Since I was twelve. It's a small world."

She laughs. "Sometimes I wonder what happened to her in the end."

"She signed up with Gaius, and he put her with Hortensus Dexcius."

Her face falls. "She's dead then. How did she die?"

"She survived hiding on the ship for a few years. She was emaciated when we found her. I took her into custody hoping to talk her out of her xenophobia-"

Appia bursts into laughter. "That was never going to work."

"-and she tried to take a gun off me. And then tried to take Hortensus' Parazonium off me, after which one of my people shot her. She died of her injuries in a medical bay that night. She was the first Olinbar that my daughter saw alive."

She's quiet for a while. "Yeah... It's sad. I figured she'd live out a full life. Wait, you and Buri have children? How did that work?"

"Yes. Rivkah is adopted, and Ruki is our biological son, genetically engineered. We're thinking about having a third child next year."

"Oh that's sweet." She stands, and turns to the window. "I'll send the construction ship as soon as I can. Goodbye, Naomi."

"Goodbye, Appia."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Midnight Train Going Anywhere"
6th Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Buri Of Unity​

I feel the tension inside her as she struggles to relax. I nuzzle her. "What's wrong?"

"Appia... I discussed the construction ship idea with her."

I run my claw tenderly along her back. "I can feel your stress."

She looks into my eyes. "Appia said that she didn't have any available for several months."

"And?"

"Then she said that she'd make one available if I took my clothes off."

I nuzzle her. "I watched the recording."

"You recorded it?"

I nuzzle her again. "I knew you would play games with her. I thought teasing her like that was a masterful move to intrigue her."

"I'm sorry Buri."

I lay us on our sides. "You did what you have always done. It's not you I'm worried about."

"What do you mean?"

"She's playing the same game you are Naomi. That worries me... Your objectives are known, but we don't know hers. She's got you emotionally compromised. And I'm worried that you might not be as good at it as she is."

She looks at me. "You aren't wrong..."

"I don't want you to see her any more."

"That could be tricky."

I smile. She licks my right sabre. "Tell her that I said I'd eat her if she tried to seduce you, and so for her safety you're restricting contact."

She hugs me. "I'm glad you understand."

I hold her face. "You don't have to do this any more Naomi. You've done more than enough. I want us to take a real break, just go somewhere where we can be alone, and be us. You've earned free time."

"I have."

"Plus, I'm worried about you mentally." She lays still. I continue, running a claw along the hole in her chest as I talk. "You're so stressed that it's affecting your health. I want to take you somewhere peaceful where you can have a break, and heal."

She smiles. "I'd like that."

I stand, and hold out my arms. She joins me, and I sweep her off her feet, her arms wrapping around my neck. I carry her to our buggy; we nuzzle as I lay her in the passenger seat. She calls Appia audio only and explains. Smiles when the call is over. I drive one handed, the other entwining our claws and fingers. She looks at me until she falls asleep as we journey gently into the night.

She's still asleep as we hit the tarmac spiral.​

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Pupation"
7th Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Naomi Of Unity​

I wake in his arms as he lifts me out the buggy. I look around. It's deep underground, and so brightly yellow. "Why are we in New Bulawayo?"

He draws me close as he carries me inside a building. There's pods all along the walls, filled with a strange green fluid. A Neumann in a biological body and HK-47B wait for us besides two pods that are open. The picture I drew in the prison cell is on the wall. I look at Buri. "Buri, where are we?"

He puts me down. "Do you remember how you wanted to change for me?"

"Yes."

He takes my hand. "Do you really want to?"

I smile. "I do."

He nods to the Neumann. "Sir, madam, please lie in these vats."

Buri guides me over. I look at the Neumann. "What is this?"

"The Holocron instructed me to use the analogy of the caterpillar. It lives, feeds and grows, then grows a chrysalis in which it becomes a protein soup, then emerges reconstituted as a butterfly."

I look at Buri. "Is this?"

He holds both my hands, then leads me to the smaller of the two pods. The Neumann looks at us. "Your wedding rings please."

Buri hands his over. I look at the Neumann. "Why?"

"We will place the artefacts into your hearts during your reconstructions, and, we will use their dimensions as templates to grow you permanent rings out of your new bone structure."

I look at Buri. He smiles. "What are you going to do to us?"

"Daas came to us, concerned about the prospect of genetically enhanced children outgrowing their parents. He wanted a way for the parents to be overhauled. We modified the engenerator technology we developed for transferring us Neumanns into biological substrate to be able to handle total transformation of a biont." He nods to the wolf on the wall. "The process is very time intensive. It begins with the disassembly stage, in which the old body is broken down and recycled. Only essential organs remain the same. During this stage, your brain is being fed stimuli from our simulations that look and feel like real life, but are actually virtual experiences. Within this virtual world, you will live with your future body, adjusting to what your future capabilities will be. When you and your husband are ready, one of us will enter your simulation, and we will guide into falling asleep in the virtual world so that you wake up in your new body in the physical world."

"But what will my body be like?"

"Primarily, the functionality is to give you all the upgrades that Ruki posesses. In terms of appearance, coinciding with the disassembly stage of the body is a self-creative stage in your shared virtual world. We have numerous scenarios developed in these virtual worlds in which you will define how you want to appear, and then you may test out your appearance and refine yourself to your liking."

I pull away. "I don't want to do that without Buri."

"Buri will be with you permanently; for the duration of your time in these pods, you are inextricably linked and confined to the same virtual world. Additionally, you may share a mental connection if you desire, allowing you to hear Buri's thoughts and feel his emotions, just as he can hear your thoughts and feel your emotions."

Ooooh. That sounds really interesting. "I like that. Will we keep it after our new bodies are finished?"

"The simulation will give you plenty of time to decide whether you like it as a couple, and your future bodies can retain it."

I look at Buri. "I'm up for it if you are."

He nuzzles me. "Are you ready?"

I smile. "Yes."

Buri takes my wedding ring off my finger, and gives it to the Neumann. The pods re-orientate to lay flat on the ground. I look at the Neumann. "Should we undress?"

"The pods will automatically disintegrate worn clothing after recording measurements to modify the garments ready to be worn when the future-body is finished. Sentimentally significant garments are therefore not recommended to be worn."

Buri climbs into his pod, sinking into the green fluid. I look at the Neumann. "How long will this be?"

"Regrettably, the process takes several weeks to months of real-world time, hence why we Neumanns are ourselves still in progress with our transformations."

I nod. I come right to my Buri's side, and undress as a Human for the last time as he watches. Then I dip a foot into the suprisingly thick green fluid, then the rest of my body. The fluid soaks into me everywhere it can access. I keep my head out until the last moment as the pod door closes. The Neumann's voice comes through a speaker. "Please don't resist the fluid. Lean back, and relax, let it soak into you. As soon as you fall asleep, we will begin."

"Buri?"

"Naomi."

"I love you."

"I love you."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Laboratory"
7th Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Naomi Of Unity​

Consciousness slips back as my eyes open again.

Does it still count as waking in a virtual world, knowing the real me is a somewhat disembodied brain in a vat?

Nevermind. I don't want to think about that. Ground myself.

I am in a room, laid on a hospital bed. White walls, white floor, very clean. I look down. Still early fourties Human woman. Buri is next to me, both of us wearing white gowns.

Well... I am. His has ripped because it really doesn't fit. I get up.

Do we eat or drink in a virtual world?

I decide to go exploring. Our hospital bay for two opens up into a corridor. Most of the doors don't open with the handle, but I find two that are open. One is an operating theatre, the other is a consultation room with snacks and drinks.

Hmm.

Yep, still tastes of food. Even has that metallic feel hospital food has.

"Naomi, come here."

I smile, then walk out to the hospital bed. Oh.

Try the theatre.

There he is. I lean at the door as he gets up.

He sees me.

He rips what remains of his gown off. I stare. "Buri, that's... Intriguing."

"I'm here for upgrades."

I can't help but blush. I walk over, and whisper in his ear. "It's a little bit too much of an upgrade."

He lies back down, and the changes revert to something... Merely proportionate. He gets up. "You just lie down and imagine the changes you want to make."

I lay down. I close my eyes, imagine myself covered in black fur.

I open an eye. Then both.

I look at my husband. "What do you think?"

"Imagine a brown-black fur. You don't look right in a blue-black fur."

I lie back down. Close my eyes. I call to mind the wolf-like me from my dream. Buri whistles. Well, he tries.

I laugh as I open my eyes. "What do you think?"

He grabs my hips. "Your artwork didn't do it justice." His claws rove my new body, running through my braided fur.

Hmm. That much braiding would take days to do. Oh well. "You like it?"

He runs his tongue along my sabre teeth. "This feels like you."

I lick him. Then I stand.

And fall over backwards immediately. Buri picks me up, places me on the bed. "What happened?"

Hmm. I think it through. Look at my clawed feet, and I realise the issue. "I'm not used to digitigrade feet."

"Here."

He walks slowly for me. I watch my husband's toes, the way he places his weight. I leap off. He holds my hand, claw to claw, guiding me. I shift my balance forward, lift my toe claws clear of the ground...

"You'll find you can move much quicker than your old-flatfooted nature."

He begins to dance with me. We move out the theatre, back in the corridor, and he waltzes me up and down, twirling me around. It's quite good fun, but also limited.

I curl on a chair in the consultation room. "Where do you think we can go?"

"Maybe we're stuck with just the medical lab?"

Hmm. "I have an idea."

I stand in front of a door.

I open it the Xenayan way.

Of course, a Xenayan would keep their balance... But I'm through, into a different room. It has a circular stone arch around a stood upright in the middle of the room. Buri starts reading options. "This portal allows us to change locations."

I join him, wrapping my now much longer arms around him. "Oh?"

"Space opera, post-apocalyptic, fantasy, laboratory... What are these?"

"Genera of media and setting."

"Which do you fancy?"

"We're living in a dream world. Fantasy?"

He nuzzles me. "Fantasy it is then."

We place our claws on the dial together. A blue whirlpool fills the arch. I lick his ear. "Race you."

We leap.​

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Fantasy RPG"
7th Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Naomi Of Unity​

The gentle rumble of a horse and cart travelling a cobblestone path beneath the trees and birdsong fills my senses. New scents I've never picked up as a Human too.

"Hey you, you're finally awake."

A Human, dressed in blue dyed fur on chainmail and leather armour talks to us. I'm not sure what to say...

"You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there."

The thief scowls. "Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn’t been looking for you, I could’ve stolen that horse and been half way to Hammerfell. You there. You and me — we should be here. It’s these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."

"We’re all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief."

The driver of the cart yells. "Shut up back there!"

It doesn't stop them. Horse thief keeps talking. "And what’s wrong with him?

"Watch your tongue! You’re speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King."

"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You’re the leader of the rebellion. But if they captured you… Oh gods, where are they taking us?"

Chainmailed guy takes a resigned tone. "I don’t know where we’re going, but Sovngarde awaits."

Thief panics. "No, this can’t be happening. This isn’t happening."

"Hey, what village are you from, horse thief?"

"Why do you care?"

"A Nord’s last thoughts should be of home."

Hmm.. Well, my home isn't here. Thief continues. "Rorikstead. I’m…I’m from Rorikstead."

A soldier calls out as we pass through a gate. "General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!"

The general calls out loud enough for us to hear. "Good. Let’s get this over with."

Thief starts praying. "Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me."

"Look at him, General Tullius the Military Governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this. This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. Wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in. Funny…when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."

Everyone on the cart falls silent. I listen to some of the villagers talking instead. A boy catches my attention. "Who are they, daddy? Where are they going?"

His father strokes his head. "You need to go inside, little cub."

"Why? I want to watch the soldiers."

The father gets firmer. "Inside the house. Now."

The cart follows the path round.

They start unloading us. Hmm. Leather armour, steel swords... They tick the others off the list. Leaving me, and no Buri yet. Where is he?

One of the soldiers addresses me. "Who are you?"

I'm yanked out of my body as my perspective shifts to the third person. Hmm... I don't want to make any alterations without Buri. Get yanked back into my body as they push us into a line.

That's a big axe.

What's the angle here. Why am I at an execution scene? Am I supposed to tear these flimsy bonds and escape? and who's the roaring?

Priest is rambling. One of the prisoners gets upset.

His body glitches out as he gets beheaded. They might want to fix that...

Why me?

They drag me over. Do I resist? I don't know what I'm supposed to do. The headsman looks at me. Lifts.

A black monster lands on the building behind him, and roars as Buri leaps from his back and uses the headsman to land. I smile as he sweeps me up and barges through a gate as the dragon and the soldiers start fighting.

I have the best husband.

He sprints for some time, bounding through the snow until we come to a forest at the bottom of a cliff. He lays me down, and unbinds me.

Tears my prisoner's rags off, tears my muzzle off. "Thank you husband."

"You're welcome, wife. Where are we anyway?"

I frown. "Don't know. I'm not so keen on this world." He walks away. I follow. "Got an idea for where to go?"

He pauses. "The Neumann said we could test ourselves out."

"Learning our new capabilities."

He looks at me. "We've not really tried them, have we?"

I smile.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Professionalism, Part 4"
15th Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Rivkah Of Unity​

I enter Leonardo's office block; he has the first working concepts ready for my consideration.

Gillian greets me, the long dress she wears to cover her missing legs joined by a golden cape around her shoulders.

"That's quite stylish Gillian."

She smiles. "Leo will explain. I'll guide you to the display room, and find him afterwards, let you look around."

She drives into a display hall, where... ooh, easily into the hundreds of mannequins representing all the species on Unity are displaying concepts for uniforms. Lots of capes, vambraces, chest plates, harnesses and other items that are more easily shared across species are present. There's an entire cabinet filled with medals. He must have gotten through rolls upon rolls of labelling tape, as he's done a really comprehensive job; he's got the hallway divided into ranks, with different uniforms for officers, enlisted crewmen, scientific staff, medical staff, logistics staff, and there's even options for civilian militia.

I scan a few pieces and find he's even thought of putting UV marker pen on the detailing, with infrared tags.

And then I see he's even included dress uniforms for discharged combat veterans. Gillian is wearing one of the cape options. I feel the weight just to see if it's real gold or just golden painted steel like everything else that's gold on the other uniforms, and judging from the weight he's used real gold.

I especially love the fact command staff wear blood red; Mum would definitely approve of that.

Eventually, I finish walking around. Gillian returns, and Leonardo follows her. His Tungsten armour has been polished to a mirror-like finish, and with the blood red cape he looks imposing. Well, for a Human that is.

He smiles. "Salvē, domina."

I smile. He is getting better at not showing his fear. "Excuse me, but I was told I was here to see the first working concepts, but well, I can't seem to find them." I wave to the mannequins. "They can't be these, because what I'm seeing is really far too impressive for working concepts."

Gillian's smile goes as wide as her face.

Leonardo bows his head. "Well, I wouldn't presume to put them into service without your approval."

"How soon can you get them up and running?"

"I'd aim to have it phased in over the rest of the year, starting with command and combat forces as the priority."

"Perfect. So, we'll have to run the ideas past the others in leadership, but you've done a job that would surpass anything I'd have come up with."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Dreamsculpting"
15th Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Naomi Of Unity​

My husband lazily runs his claws through my fur as we lay together on the endless marble that defines this empty virtual world. Then he takes my hips, and rolls me to face him, pulling me close by entangling our horns and our claws as his mind enters mine. I love you, Naomi.

I smile. I love you, Buri.

I'm so glad we mated in the forest.

Me too. I love having you in my mind, I don't feel alone anymore. I laugh. In hindsight, it was obvious that making love would be what activated the mind link.

He smiles. And now we'll always be inside each other.

I lick his sabres. You can be inside me any time.

He laughs. Naughty Naomi.

We nuzzle. I run my claws along his arms gently. We both have got one last memory we couldn't face before to walk through together.

Gaius for you, my first wife's death for me.

Who goes first?

I will.

I nuzzle him. I'm proud of you Buri. I'm forever grateful to be your wife.

He untangles our horns, and nods. He stands, and as I join him the marble is replaced by his memory. I entwine our claws. My husband is in a cage, his wife and children lined up. I feel my husband's fear. I nuzzle him. I'm with you.

His heart calms.

Then the B'Turnas come. I run my claws through my husband's fur as his rage fills our mental space. Breathe my love, breathe.

I'm trying.

You're doing so well.

They grab his daughter, Piri. The biggest B'Turna carries a metal chain with studs; her cries rend the air, until they don't. My husband screams rage and grief. My claws hold his. I love you Buri. I love you.

They grab Buri's first son Ruki next; he tries to resist, but they pin him to the ground with four people on his arms and legs, and then a fifth splits him from groin to sternum.

They tie Buri's twins with the same rope, and hang them.

Then Curi...

They make Buri's first wife kneel to him in the cage.

Buri and Curi share one last nuzzle.

They lift her head and cut her throat; her blood spurts out all over his face. It's the last thing my husband sees, as they throw a hide sheet over the cage.

My Buri weeps. I dry his tears with my fur, I tell him that I love him verbally and mentally, lay his head in my lap and cradle him in my arms.

Hours pass as he works through the rage and grief, knowing this time he isn't alone in it.

Eventually, we are ready to face Gaius.

Buri feels surprisingly uncomfortable as we watch a much younger me remove her clothes after returning to her bedroom. You look... Young.

Not quite sixteen years old.

He goes very quiet. Then he sees the man I put down open the door. Rage builds in Buri as he watches the way Gaius leers at me, then touches me. He looks at me when Gaius strips. Closes his eyes when Gaius... Takes me.

I feel Buri within me as I watch the reason I cut Gaius down the way I did. The way I had to pretend to enjoy the agony he put me through. Buri pulls me close when he sees the pain in my eyes even as I act like I'm enjoying it.

Eventually he's done breaking my body, and we watch the younger me rub her soreness, alone.

How often did he do this to you?

I didn't exactly keep track, but I wouldn't be far off if I said a thousand times until he did that for the last time. He was one of my most frequent regulars... If it wasn't every day, it wasn't far off.

Did it feel good when you executed him?

Temporarily yes.
Buri draws me into his arms. He watches me look at the balcony. Slip a dress on and look over the edge. What's happening?

Yeah... I realised that this was my life... To be endlessly raped until I get old enough that no one wants me and then be recycled. This is me thinking about ending it all. Right now I'm calculating if it's a big enough drop.

Buri watches me climb the railing. Watches me close my eyes. Watches me let go. Watches me bounce on the forcefield and slide back into the brothel. He holds me as I break down and cry. Both in and out of the memory...

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Mental Tweaking"
16th Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Buri Of Unity​

I watch her working on the holo-displays for a little while.

She has models of us, I can see that.

I nibble her ear. "What are you doing?"

She fiddles with a dial. "Where's your favourite place to touch me?"

"Mating?"

"I had in mind in general."

I bend her to nuzzle her from behind. "Like this."

She smiles, then fiddles her display. I look at the models of us, and see she's edited our noses. She turns to me, and nuzzles with me. "It works for me."

"My nose feels more sensitive."

She licks my sabre. "I edited our noses to respond with more pleasure nerve stimulation."

"What else can you do?"

"I've been thinking it would be nice if we found each other calling our names arousing."

We nuzzle. "I thought we did?"

She kneels. As arousing as this.

"Oh."

She stands. "What do you think?"

I embrace her. "Go for it."

She makes a few more tweaks, then climbs me to whisper in my ear. "Buri. Buri. Oh Buri."

I can't help but enjoy her. I turn on her, lick her ear. "Naomi. Naomi. Oh Naomi."

She's enjoying it. "This really works for me."

We nuzzle. "So are you only altering our sexual enjoyment?"

She smiles. "No, while it is fun, all of this is mere proof of concept. Ruki has got to develop the ability to do what I can do here in himself; but from here I can refine the functionality of our minds before we actually get our physical new bodies." She takes my hand. "Walk with me."

I hold her hip with my other hand. We waltz slowly as she rearranges the models. "This one is Tipheret's datum mental toposophic state as originally calibrated for her clone, this one is my Mum's actual state from before she was taken by MSI. This is my baseline state, and my new state."

I look at the biggest change. "Big gains in sensory processing."

"That's to make me match you, Rivkah and Ruki, as we can see by looking at these two, your baseline and your new state."

"So what are you working on here?"

She nuzzles me. "We can become more together. Buri, I want to be your perfect wife. I want to be the best version of myself. I love you, and I want you to help me become all I can be."

"The bit I don't quite understand is how the compubones work."

She leads me to my two states. "The compubones augment us by offering integrated computers. Unlike Ruki, we can't actually modify brain structures, so enhancements of our biological brains really depend on tweaking inputs to the brain rather than the brain itself. The compubones are our expansions of capability."

"What can they do?"

She brings up some mathematics questions. They start simple enough, but quickly move into symbols and operations that no Xenaya uses. "Have a go at these."

By question ten, I'm wishing I had some paper to write on. By thirteen... "I give up. I don't even know what this means."

She looks. "Square root sign." I still look at her wishing to understand. She nods. "Squaring a number means multiplying by itself, so the square root is the opposite."

"So, it's 3 then?"

She nuzzles me. "Yes. What I'm now going to do is activate your compubones, as they don't activate automatically to avoid overloading you with information." There's a wait as she fiddles with my new state. "Try the next question."

I look at it. "4."

"Next?"

"10."

"Next?"

"10.5. How am I doing this? I'm just looking at the question and the answer pops into my head."

"Yes, that's the most intuitive implementation, I've set the way your brain interfaces with your compubones to automatically pass the calculation on and just give you the result."

"So I just look at it and it does it for me?"

"Yes. Try question 20."

I have no idea what this is. Oh. "x = 0, x = 1.”

"So this was solving a quadratic equation for value of x when y equals 0."

”How are yours set up?"

Her claws slide around my waist as she joins me. "Same way as yours is, but instead because I do understand the question and how to work out the answer, I just can't be bothered with doing it myself."

I nuzzle her. "Do you think less of me for not being able to do these?"

"No. Most Humans would give up and get a calculator by these questions, it's part of why compubones were developed." She kneels. It's about knowing what the numbers mean more than just the numbers themselves. Try the rest of them while I do my best to distract you.

I... Try to focus. "x=+/-2, y=+/-2."

Good. Try 30.

I'm looking at a stream of numbers and letters. And they aren't all x and y now. I run my claws through her braids. "Ri is 0.76 AU, Ro is 1.1 AU."

I'm on question 50 by the time she stands. "Definitely works."

"Yes. I don't think I could manage question 1 with you doing that."

She smiles. "Neither could I if we swapped places, but that's not the point. This is just the beginning of what compubones can do." She nuzzles me. "Genius is the beginning for us."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Professionalism, Part 5"
22nd Hoggagha, 10 (2189)
Gillian Veres​

Another week of refining ideas and preparing the gallery, and we are open to the public. I watch with my husband as our gallery is filled with people walking through the exhibition. Rivkah smiles to us; I look at Leonardo. "I definitely wish the Xenaya hadn't adopted that from Naomi."

He laughs. "The first time I saw that, I thought she was going to eat me."

I shrug. "The only one of us in danger of being eaten by a Xenaya is Naomi."

It's a good ten seconds. "Are you suggesting that Naomi gets... That from Buri?"

I laugh as I fiddle with my cape. "I asked her about what letting Buri have his way with her was like once."

There's a long pause, and a sigh. "Go on, I know you want to say."

"I got three words: 'Nine inch tongue.' Then a huge smile with her eyes lit up."

My husband declines to reply. I go back to looking at Rivkah.

Rivkah has adopted the uniform enthusiastically, and she's stood in black power armour with Command Crimson uniform pieces. No eight year old has ever looked so menacing. I join her. "How are you finding it?"

"Thando said I'd make Darth Vader leave brown stains."

"Great, that's one of the nicest things someone has said so far."

"What feedback have you had?"

I rest my hands on my lap. "Leonardo is still unpopular, and there's been some complaints about the difficulty of looking after capes."

She frowns. "The capes are the best bit, they look so cool. What have the other leaders said to you two?"

"Thando and Alexandra are getting measured up at the moment. Ykrett complained about the magnetism of some of the materials, Vorosh and Daas liked it, Sor-Gor thought it was ostentatious, Valerius, Caeso and Agrippina think it puts MSI's uniform to shame, Sophia has asked for a promotion to Scarlet Leader so that she gets the crimson... Your brother likes them. Tryykad approves based on the holographic models we sent. Overall, positive. Nothing from your parents obviously."

"They're still in the pods. I'm told internal organs are being constructed."

"Would you implement it without her seeing the uniforms?"

"Mum will love them. I'm certain."

"And Buri?"

"He'll like them." She smiles. "Which might make Mum unhappy, as he'll stop cleaning his sabres too."