Space Station named Defiant

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The two shuttles both grabbed the rogue shuttle in their tractor beams and together towed her back to the shuttle bay where more security officers were ready and waiting to question her.

"Irritating?!" Quinn looks up indignantly, "I'll tell you what's irritating you half-assed imposter of a cow--"

"Belladonna Nightshade!" Vanessa suddenly thundered, glaring down at her. "This man's lifestyle is of no importance to you! You're in enough hot water as it is! I suggest you keep quiet!" She calmed down again and turned to the officer. "Yes, I will pay the required fee for her. I am her charge as her teacher, and I shall take responsibility."

~~~~~~

"Oh, two medics? I guess that works." Sara stood weakly but leaned on the side of the holder. "I think I'll be okay..."

He stared back at Quinn, the faintest look of surprise in his red eyes. "Most people aren't stupid enough to challenge a minotaur." He told her matter of factly.

He regained his composure, nodded and handed the forms over for paying the fee.

"Glad to hear someone's reasonable." He glowered at Quinn suspiciously. "I'm certain you can come up with a far more fitting punishment for her than I can though. "

"So we can take days off without leaving everyone without a medic," Asher explained cheerfully. He sighed, "I suppose it would be rude to fly back to Vestia without waiting for Vanessa and Quinn, wouldn't it?"

"Not really a minotaur, though..." Quinn muttered.

"Quinn! No, wait -- Is... Is that you, Third?"

The fox grinned cheerily, "Yup! In the flesh -- er, mind." Third returned to writing out the forms.

"Well -- That explains such irresponsible behavior! Two two should be ashamed of yourselves. And have I not already said that this man's choice of lifestyle is of no importance to us? Leave him be... Although it certainly does answer a few questions..." She began filling out the forms for the fine.

~~~~~~

"A little, but they shouldn't be too long." Sara said dizzily, "I should have known this 'Third,' was a troublemaker as soon as he showed his face... shadow... thingy..."

"And you're not really a fox." He replied to Quinn cooly.

"He has a questionable history," Asher agreed, remembering Third's clashes with Ellie. "I don't really understand how their relationship works, but he seems to take control and do questionable things sometimes."
He looked around to see if Merith was still nearby. Might as well invite him into the shuttle if he was.

"Touche," Third grinned, "I think I might grow to like this guy."

~~~~~~

Merith stepped inside the shuttle and looked down at Sara, saying nothing but managed a smile. "Well, considering Third actually listens to Vanessa, we could probably ask her about that relationship."

Asher laughed and sat comfortably in one of the seats. "I may have to ask her, then. It all seems somewhat complicated." He looked at Sara, "How are you liking traveling with Vestia? I thought I overheard somewhere that you were enjoying the library a lot."

"Oh, I do." Sara replied enthusiastically, climbing out of the cup holder and sitting on the top of the rim. "Quinn and I were book shopping before Third decided to add his own version of fun. I've just haven't had a lot of experience getting to read and learning for the sake of it. Plus it helps me avoid Mourn..." Her sentence tapered off and she looked sheepish at the thought.

"Mourn is a good guy, but he does have some very strongly held beliefs," Asher said, smiling. "Have you looked into reading ebooks at all? The Terran Imperial Library has an incredible selection available to download."

"Does that include putting tiny people in jars?" She sighed once, before growing a bit confused.

"Ebooks?" Saraphine echoed, blinking once and looking up blankly at the android, completely clueless of the term.

Asher winced. "Apparently so. I don't approve either; it's insulting to treat a sapient that way." Answering her question he added, "Ebooks. You can read them on computers, which means you don't have to carry around physical copies of them, and can access a lot more of them a lot faster." He pulled out his tablet and opened a book for the girl's inspection.

Saraphine went over to inspect the element of this apparent magical 'ebook,' quickly developing a giddy love for it as she flicked through pages with a lot more ease than the heavy inked parchment of hardbacks. "This. Is. Amazing!" Her voice squeaked in her fawning, "Now if only I could find a tablet my size..."

Asher couldn't help smiling at Sara's excitement. She was so genuinely in love with books, it was fun to see. "I'm sure it's possible to find something smaller than that for you," he said, "Might be difficult, but the technology definitely exists."

"Hopefully." Saraphine nodded absentmindedly, still drawn to the ebook and having a hard time tearing her eyes away from it.

Asher went to the shuttle's console and began checking its readouts for signs of damage from the joyride, letting Seraphine read in peace. "Merith?" he asked after a moment, "I have a slightly odd question to ask."

"What is that?" Merith asked, partially off-handed as he tore his gaze away from the starry constellations outside the station.

"Vanessa seemed to know what you were planning, when we talked in the med bay the other day, which made me wonder how regularly you unnervingly shape shift to make a point." Talked hardly seemed like the right word, but what else could he call it? "For Kay's sake and my own, I hope that was an unusual situation that we can avoid in the future." He looked amused.

Merith couldn't help but bust out a string of mild light-hearted laughter. "Oh, it's something I used to do often, a very, very long time ago, when friends were just that, and not people who wished to see you murdered time and time again..." He appeared suddenly melancholic on the thought. "I will refrain from it in the future."

Asher laughed softly. "Admittedly, it is funny in hindsight. I was a bit distracted that day, so my sense of humor was lacking." He looked over the shuttle's readings. "Looks like this shuttle really is unharmed. That's a pleasant surprise."

"Though Quinn is reckless, I wouldn't say she's clumsy. Vanessa applauds her in talent." Merith commented, returning his gaze to the stars around them.

"That's good. Sometimes I almost forget that Quinn isn't actually as much a teenager as she acts." He liked at the shuttle readouts again, pleased, "She does know what she's doing."

"You can't blame her. The human Quinn was... seventeen? Somewhere around there, when they morphed. Really an oddity. Not many anamcara are born from stressful and violent situations. It unfortunately does cause problems, like split psyches like Third..."

Asher nodded. "That would make things very difficult, I imagine. What happened to her other soul? She used to have three, didn't she?"

"Thankfully, Quinn and Spéir have fully fused together and are now one mind. It's Third that's the problem. Anamcara are usually one mind, not two or more." Merith explained, "But it's difficult for Anamcara born from strife or violence, as the souls may clash or fight for dominion rather than fuse together as one. It's apparently a not too uncommon problem, especially ones born on war-torn planets..."

"A bit like the hivemind I met today, only they split apart over time, instead of merging," Asher said thoughtfully. "What could happen if Third doesn't merge?"

"Then Quinn and Third will forever fight for dominance of the body." Merith said simply. "There will be times when one takes over the other, causes chaos and confusion in some way, and a major tiring, eternal headache and struggle for both of them."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Then again, I've never heard of a Follower of Inari losing contact with the Leash like Third was... And most certainly not for as long as Third said he was..."