Hegira: Rising Omega

by Guardian_Gryphon

Chapter 8

Earth Calendar: 2117
Equestrian Calendar: 15 AC (After Contact)
December 7th, Gregorian Calendar

Fyrenn

"...And I'm telling YOU, there is NO conceivable way to load THAT much antimatter in THAT kind of TIMEFRAME! Unless you WANT to turn this entire complex into a CRATER!"

Neyla stood, and interjected sharply, snapping her beak to get the room's attention, and cutting off the Human woman before she could continue inciting her colleagues.

"ENOUGH."

Silence descended like a sodden blanket, extinguishing the fires of frustration; Replacing them with a healthy appreciation for the very real physical dangers associated with provoking a ticked off Gryphon.

Neyla continued in a firm, but much less angry tone. I savored every chance to watch her lead. She was a natural like almost no one else I knew. Even more so than Sildinar in my estimation. Perhaps I was biased.

"We should all take a few minutes for breakfast. Then divide into smaller teams, each with specific tasks."

Martins flicked the cover of her DaTab shut, and nodded emphatically, rising and straightening her suit in the process.

"Hear! Hear! I think it's safe to say that being grumpy when you're hungry is a universal constant. Take fifteen, people. Then we'll meet back here to split into action groups."

Before I could even finish standing, and stretching, Alyra had bounded from her seat, right over the center of the table in a graceful arc, and landed beside Martins.

Looking up at the Councilor with childish enthusiasm, and a smile that practically oozed youthful curiosity, she launched into her clearly long-held request.

"I was wondering if, maybe, I could get a tour of one of the ships? Not many people are going to get to see these things up close, and I want to be one of them!"

I raised a claw to object, almost reflexively, but Skye leapt to Alyra's rescue before I could put words to thoughts.

"I'll tag along. No reason we can't mix business and pleasure!"

Martins nodded, and gestured towards the door.

"Alright then! We'll call it an extended working lunch. Fyrenn, I think you and Astris can handle divvying up team assignments."

Alyra glanced back over one shoulder, face falling slightly in anticipation of safety related objections. Skye proffered me a covert wink, unseen by all else, as if to say 'No harm will come to her. Relax.'

Exhaling slightly, I nodded, doing my best to smile. Alyra's giddy expression of joy, and instantly renewed sense of energy, made it all worth it. Skye's approving smile was just the icing on the cake.

I reminded myself, forcefully, that Alyra wasn't a Human anymore, and that in terms of maturity she was no fledgeling either. She was deadlier than most anything a Human could throw at her, and growing by the day.

Between the three of them, Alyra, Skye, and Martins, I would have bet those women could have crushed an HLF division on their own, with nary a spot of backup.

It was time to trust that warrior spirit I knew they all had, and worry about things which deserved my concern.

As the three ladies departed, chattering animatedly in engineering terms which I only dimly grasped, I began scanning the room for Neyla.

My face fell briefly, before I made a conscious effort to plaster an expression of professionalism to my beak, and subsume my emotions once more. Neyla was already deeply engaged in a logistics discussion with two of Martin's highest ranked Humans.

My revelation would have to wait.

Damn.

I hated waiting.

Especially when it was life-altering decision making.

Alyra

"Lights. Viewer on."

At Martins' words, the bridge was instantly transformed. Consoles sprang to life in standby mode, a dim, pleasant amber hued light issued forth from hidden diffuse sconces, and the forward screen came alive.

The view of the Shenzhou's berth was projected across two hundred seventy degrees of the ovoid shaped space, starting below and ahead of the forward stations, and stretching all the way up over the apex of the roof at its highest point.

To my eyes, though it was clearly an illusion, it still gave the distinct impression of standing on a small metal pedestal suspended in the middle of immense gantries and buttresses.

Skye whistled, and stared up at the grey clouds, suffused with teal afternoon light. Her voice betrayed a breathlessly youthful demeanor in equal measure to her starstruck expression.

"Imagine what it'll be like to see space through this!"

Martins smirked, and stepped forward to the nearest standing console, entering a series of commands on the touchscreen with practiced ease. In response, the voice of the computer issued forth in a firm, but soothing cadence.

"Displaying orbital weather platform Delta live feed: Sensor Cluster Seven."

One moment the bridge seemed to be just another platform in the midst of a steel jungle, the next it was a tiny island in a sea made up half of stars, half of a vast teal, gray, and blue orb.

The visual impression of motion was distinct, and awe inspiring. The orbital path of the weather sensing satellite, combined with the front-facing camera viewport, made it seem for all the world as if the ship itself were aloft, and circling the globe.

Both Skye and I reflexively gasped. Clearly neither one of us had ever been inside such a large holo-dome before. I couldn't even recall ever seeing a high resolution image of the planet of my birth on a small screen, let alone such an immense holographic canvas, with such a convincing three dimensional aspect.

To my surprise, I felt tears forming in my eyes, of their own volition.

The satellite's position on the opposite side of the world hid the barrier bubble from view, and the angle of the sun was just right to cut the ugly teal of the ruined atmosphere with a scattering of true sky blue.

The sensation of scale, of distance... It struck a chord that went beyond the scientific, or the mental. What Dad called a spiritual experience.

"We're so... Small..."

Skye placed one front hoof over my shoulders, and leaned in affectionately.

"You can say that again kiddo."

Wordlessly, Martins stepped around the console, and let herself down into a cross-legged seated position on the other side of me.

After that, none of us uttered a word.

No words were needed. The sight, and the feelings it provoked, were beyond words.

Was this what it had been like for Garagin? For Glenn? For Tereshkova, and Ride?

The sentiment was keenly felt, and deeply shared; A desire to look on the world as it was, in a way that few would ever see it.

To see it in a way that, soon enough, no one ever again would.

And commit it to memory forever.

Earth Calendar: 2117
Equestrian Calendar: 15 AC (After Contact)
Twelfth Month, Ninth Day, Celestial Calendar

Carradan

"So we agree then? This is what we're going to plonk down in front of them and say 'This is the best plan we've got,' all in?"

I sat back on my haunches, stretched, and then yawned in spite of a solid effort not to. Predawn gray was slowly turning into the golden fingers of first sunlight, indicating the Royal Sisters were awake, and tending to their duties already.

IJ nodded slowly, and thumped one hoof against the table around which we conspirators sat.

"Absolutely. They need this, as much for their own safety in the long-term, as the short term. This is an arena of warfare with which I am intimately familiar, and if this task were mine to complete for the Hive? Then one of them would be my next target. In as public, and gruesome a fashion as possible. A statement, and a challenge."

Shining held up a hoof, and shook his head, fighting back a yawn of his own, his ears flattening briefly in the process.

"You'll get no argument from me. I've been pushing for this for years. Our future is more uncertain than ever. If the world is going to change, we have to change too. I spent years protecting them, and this city. I'll back any play that furthers that goal once more."

Ok, so maybe tightpants McPrince wasn't so bad after all. I was warming to him. Slowly.

Sildinar took a deep draught of coffee from the warm tankard clutched in both claws, before adding his own thoughts, backed by the rustle of his wings shifting reflexively. I'd come to find that a comforting sound, whether it was my wings, their wings, or IJ's.

It reminded me I wasn't alone. In the best way.

"Luna will side with us. Of that I'm sure. She's reached out to me through diplomatic channels, and back channels at least twice a year every year, trying to get something like this to happen. The only one we really have to convince is Celestia."

Kephic snorted, and twirled a nut idly on the edge of one index talon, eyeing the half-depleted bowl in the center of the table.

"She won't like it. Not one tiny bit."

Varan inclined his head, and raised one eyebrow, his voice reaching for an uncharacteristically optimistic register. If the Vulcan was bein' optimistic, the odds were definitely in our favor.

"She is stubborn, but we've seen her under pressure too, and we know her to be reasonable in the face of logic, fair to a fault, and capable of pragmatism in the service of her own. Especially when the danger is so clear, and present."

I chuckled slightly at the Gryphon's unintentional filmic reference, before holding out a hoof over the center of the table.

The outstretched limb was swiftly covered by two more hooves, and three golden claws. I'd always wanted to do that.

I grinned like an idiot, exchanging a sly wink with IJ as I spoke once more, to which she gave only a cursory good-natured scowl in return. For her that was tantamount to a passionate kiss.

"This is gonna put the Police Academy remakes to shame. Ready? Break!"

Earth Calendar: 2117
Equestrian Calendar: 15 AC (After Contact)
December 7th, Gregorian Calendar

Neyla

As the door to their quarters slid open, Fyrenn offered his daughter a warm smile, and words so sincere that he almost believed them himself. I knew differently. But only just.

"Go on and start your evening practice. I'll be with you in a minute or two. I just need to work out tomorrow's logistics with Neyla."

For once Alyra's obsession with playing matchmaker would be of great use to him. As a distraction. I, for my part, had always encouraged her machinations. I wanted so badly to call her daughter, and for it to be official.

The young Gryphoness grinned, and winked mischievously.

"Take aaaallllll the time you need with Mom, Dad."

The pointed way in which she delivered the last two words was not lost on me, nor on Fyrenn. As he turned to follow me into my quarters, I gave him a sly wink as well.

Fyrenn held up a claw, and narrowed his eyes.

"Don't you start."

The second the door closed, Fyrenn's demeanor reverted to an open expression of his anxiety, as did mine.

Something had been bothering him all day. It would have taken another Gryphon to see it, and one that was deeply familiar both with him, and with the nuances of hidden emotion. Alyra, for all her familiarity, was not yet so experienced that she could pierce that veil.

I raised one eyebrow, and gave the sort of look that could speak volumes without words.

Fyrenn's words came unsteadily at first; In spite of his emotional growth, he still seemed to find it difficult to share certain pains, or worries with others. I just wished he didn't find it so difficult with me.

"I... I received a notice of legal action this morning."

My head cocked sharply to the side, and her eyes narrowed reflexively.

"I thought---"

Fyrenn held up a claw, and shook his head, his voice steadying itself under pressure from his anger.

"It's about Alyra."

I blinked sharply, and my ears pinned backwards. Scenarios for a quick evacuation from the planet began to fill my mind, almost as quickly as plans to find and annihilate the source of the 'legal action.'

Fyrenn continued unabated, tearing off the proverbial bandage as quickly as he could.

"Apparently a sample of her blood, taken while she was Human, was recovered when the Military Integrity Commission disassembled Echelon Twelve operations in Connecticut. It was automatically submitted to central medical records, and generated a match."

He exhaled slowly, and shook his head, visibly trying to hold on to some small release of tension from sharing the information that had been consuming him all morning.

"Her birth-father is alive. He was formally notified of the situation, as Earthgov law apparently requires. He wants custody."

A pause ensued. The words landed in my gizzard with the force of a ten ton concrete brick.

All at once words tumbled from my beak like water in a brook, as my emotional logjam began to clear, to the point that Fyrenn had to hold up a claw to stop my train of thought.

"But he *can't* just demand to be allowed back into her life can he? And what about criminal charges for his abandonment... For all their disgusting attempts to cut the heart out of the family unit throughout history, Humans still require parents to care for those they birth, do they not?! And then what about---"

Fyrenn sighed as I snapped my beak shut in frustration and anger, using the momentary silence to collect his own thoughts, before proceeding in a dour tone.

"No, he hasn't got the right. By Earthgov law yes, but only if she were still a Human. Her only citizenship lies with the Kingdoms now, and those laws take precedence."

Fyrenn raised an eyebrow, and a tiny mischievous glint entered into one eye briefly, before snuffing out once more.

"In theory, I could sue for his execution under our code of family honor and responsibility, and I'd have a solid chance at winning. But that wouldn't help matters, politically, or in the familial sphere."

I felt, to the contrary, that they would help political matters immensely. As far as I was concerned, he whom I wished my mate had been far, far too merciful and reserved in his dispensation of justice. I would have had no objection to an outright invasion and forced disassembly of their 'Council' in blood.

Fyrenn looked up, and locked eyes with me. I softened my expression, and gingerly set myself down beside him on my haunches, placing one wing comfortingly over his back as he continued to speak. Bad as the situation was, I took some small part of my mind and heart aside to treasure the moment of contact. He allowed so few of them.

"She has a right to know. I can't withhold that from her. I won't. You don't lie to family that way, even if by omission alone. I couldn't live with myself if I did that."

I nodded, and kept my gaze fixed on Fyrenn's, doing my best to summon a comforting tone of voice. I didn't think myself particularly good at giving comfort verbally, no matter how many times Fyrenn and Alyra both said otherwise.

"I know. I don't think you'd be able to be one of us if you were capable of that sort of deception against someone you call family. So what are you frightened of? That she might want to get to know the man from whom she came?"

Fyrenn tensed visibly, and I had to bite back the urge to move away as I felt his muscles tighten down into veritable steel rods, buzzing with power, and rage, and fear. The electric thrum of tension was fully audible in his voice as well.

"Exactly. I have *no* room in my heart, or my life, for the kind of scum who abandons a child, and her mother. I haven't got it in me, God help me, to even offer simple forgiveness for that sort of behavior. I don't care if he's different now or not. And I know he isn't anyhow."

Again I cocked my head to the side, flattening one ear, even as the other stood on end, and my crest feathers rose reflexively out of curiosity.

Fyrenn sighed, and shook his head, before answering; Staring out the room's slit of a floor to ceiling window, into the concrete maze beyond, as he did so.

"I screwed up the wherewithal, during one of our meeting breaks, to log in with the temporary investigative access credentials Martins issued us, and do an extranet search on him. He has convictions for domestic violence, assaulting officers of the law, drug dealing, gambling, and con artistry, some of them as recent as a couple months ago."

Both of my ears pinned back, and the subtle foundation of a growl formed deep in my chest as I began to dredge up my JRSF tactical classes on how to kill Humans, and apply the mental images vividly to the imagined face of the man we were discussing.

Fyrenn continued unabated. I could spy a tenth-second flash of an appreciative smile on the left side of his beak as he did. I knew that he had some idea what was going through my mind. I also knew he dearly wished I would act on it, and would do nothing to dissuade me. And I also knew it would in no way be what was best for Alyra. Not yet, at any rate.

"He doesn't want to get to know her because he cares. That's clearly apparent. If he did, he would have come here when he found out she'd be here. No. He wants custody for two things."

Fyrenn held up a talon, to underscore his point, the distant orange glow of a gantry light sparkling off the wickedly sharp edge.

"First, he wants the Earthgov safety-net payments that all impoverished parents of children under eighteen are entitled to. Probably to gamble them all away. I pulled his banking and credit records, and he's in very deep with both legitimate, and criminal interests. To the point that his life is probably in danger. Too bad he isn't dead already..."

A second claw snapped out, in a way that pointedly illustrated Fyrenn's desire to bury it deep into the eyeballs of the man to whom he referred. Had he but said the word, I would have happily done it myself.

I was still contemplating doing it regardless.

"Second, he wants her for the automatic Conversion sponsorship. With a criminal conviction sheet like his, he would only have Ponification eligibility through basic mercy and forgiveness clauses in the Conversion Accords. No other race would be allowed to take him, even if they were willing, by Earthgov law. Unsurprisingly, they're not keen on violent criminals being handed an arsenal of biological weapons scarier than any standard combat rifle."

Fyrenn rose, shrugging off my wing gently, and began to pace, trying to diffuse some of his tension into his movements, as he finished the grim thought.

"But with her? He'd have his pick. Any other race, especially the martial and unscrupulous ones, would be happy to court ties to someone whose daughter is a Gryphoness. And Earthgov law must give way, because she would make his circumstance a 'special mitigated case.' I checked."

I rose to join Fyrenn, again placing myself beside him. He sat once more, and again allowed me to place a wing over his shoulders as she spoke. We both agreed, silently, to simply take comfort in each other's physical closeness, and worry about other emotions later.

"But even if she wanted to see him, don't you trust her to see him for who he is?"

Fyrenn nodded, and exhaled, his voice nearly cracking at the emotional strain.

"Yes, of course! She's brilliant, and intuitive, and loving, and sweet... And I can't *stand* to see her go through that pain. And what if it fundamentally changes our relationship? Or what if this is the final straw that pushes her over into bitterness, and reclusiveness?"

I pulled Fyrenn in as close as I could under one wing. For once he didn't even think of pulling away. I had very little emotional headroom to savor the moment, but I spared a sliver nonetheless.

Anxiety consumed my every thought, spilling out into my words in spite of my best efforts to remain steadfast and comforting.

"Well... There's no way of knowing until, or unless, it happens. You don't know. She may have no desire to see him at all. As hard as it is to, as Humans say, 'sit on this,' you shouldn't say anything to her until our task here is over."

Fyrenn nodded, and sighed a final time.

"Agreed."

For a moment we sat, bathed in the pale, harsh light of a million illumibars; Neither of us having any desire to move, nor break the silence, each desperately trying to quiet our spirits.

Each of us hoping to draw some sliver of comfort from the other, before heading off to a fitful rest. He at least would have his daughter by his side. I would be alone. Again.

I wondered not for the first, nor last time, whether a point had finally been reached where I could reach out and pull him fully into a relationship.

Or whether the point had finally been reached where it was time to admit that day would never come.