Upon Vestia: Chapter Thirty-Two

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James went into Armin's room. "Hey man, watcha working on?" he asked, seeing that Armin was sewing.

Matt snickered "and yet, we kept doing it." okay mostly HE kept doing it, Web was way smarter than he was. Damn... he really hoped Web was okay. He'd be okay right? he was always okay. Well... alright not okay but... alive and coping.

"I did, Sawna distracted me for longer than I expected, but it was good." Starr said honestly.
~~~
"Yeah, like Terrans with lactose intolerance, they can't have anything with dairy." Shane said with a nod.
~~~
Rigel chuckled then shrugged "Well, I am guessing that James is staying, so an alternative way to keep this place clean will be good." He said and looked to her then nodded. "You have changed and you aren't sure if you can fit in anymore? Just remember, you are always welcome to stay on the Devil, if you want. Sometimes it helps simply to have a choice when doing something stressful to you."

"I think organic kids may, in fact, be kinda dumb," James said, amused. "If it makes you sick, don't eat it!"

"I object to that! Us organics are super smart as kids!" Ellie called from the fridge.

Armin bowed his head. "You deserved a break." He assured her.

----

Luka frowned a little. "You intend to leave again?" She had to admit, she'd sort of assumed they'd all stay together now, here on Vestia, taking the Devil for away missions and that but ultimately returning to the cruise ship.
She raised her knees up onto the frame of the bed and rested her head on them. "I'm... worried about that yes, but also... it's home, my family is there... but you... all of you... " She squeezed her eyes shut "I'm not sure I can choose, or... or if I want to." things were so much simpler when she could pretend she had no choice and couldn't go home. Now they were heading that direction it was just... uncomfortably real.


----

Matt laughed "I dunno, I mean... Kay threw me in a river once in a huff and we used to climb the barn just for kicks." They were really dumb kids. Ahh good times.

"Breaks are sensible," Tala agreed.

Ethan was probably holding that book a little too tightly right now. He wasn't entirely comfortable being here at the moment although he was trying not to show it.

~~
"I really don't know how organics make it to adulthood," James mused.

"I guess we're kinda... more robust than we look or something?" Matt suggested.

Starr chuckled then shrugged "It would be good to have professionals on this ship, and helping save the Capricorns is a bonus. I did need that break."
~~~
"No, well, we do expect to have missions away from Vestia." Rigel said with a shrug. "Having a robot to clean the place will keep us ready to go in between." He got up and went to her to give her a hug. "Whatever you do, remember that it's your life and your future. You have to do what is right for you."
~~~
Shane chuckled and nodded "Kids can get away with a lot that an adult would never do." Not that he had much personal experience with that.

Luka nodded and leaned so her head was now resting on Rigel's chest as he hugged her. "that's the problem... I don't know what's right. I've been away from home so long that... I don't know how easily I can slip back into that mindset. I... I love my brothers and I love my father but... " She trailed off. She loved it here too, she loved the people here, maybe she even... loved Rigel, but she didn't dare say that. "If.. I run off with aliens it's unlikely i'll ever be able to be accepted back." She didn't believe her father would disown her, he was a good man, better than that, but she worried about everyone else. She'd heard stories of what happened to traitors, they seldom ended well.

"Maybe it's cause they heal faster than adults or something," James said. Yeah, he didn't know. He mostly avoided kids.

"I mean, not all of us set tents on fire accidentally or climb barns," Ellie said, bringing some cheese out of the fridge.

~~
Tala nodded. "It is a good plan. We shall make it so."

Matt cackled "but surely that's what makes for an interesting childhood!" He insisted.

flying_purple_monkfish wrote:Luka nodded and leaned so her head was now resting on Rigel's chest as he hugged her. "that's the problem... I don't know what's right. I've been away from home so long that... I don't know how easily I can slip back into that mindset. I... I love my brothers and I love my father but... " She trailed off. She loved it here too, she loved the people here, maybe she even... loved Rigel, but she didn't dare say that. "If.. I run off with aliens it's unlikely i'll ever be able to be accepted back." She didn't believe her father would disown her, he was a good man, better than that, but she worried about everyone else. She'd heard stories of what happened to traitors, they seldom ended well.

Rigel frowned and rubbed her back gently. He couldn't make such a choice for her after all. "Well, at the least you can visit them, see how they take the new you."

"I guess? I dunno man, I think adulthood's where things are supposed to get interesting," James said. "When you're mature enough to understand it, you know?"

Shane shrugged and went over to check on the meats, curious how this machine was doing. It was a lot more updated than the one he had used.

~~~
Starr chuckled and nodded "We can see what it would take and talk to Vestia. Figure out what floor would be best and get it ready for them."

Luka nodded. "t.. thank you." She uncoiled a little and cuddled into him. She felt safe with him.

---

Matt shrugged. "I dunno, my life has been kinda.. full of interesting. Good and bad, but always... yeah.. interesting." He made a face and finished off the omelette because nobody else was.

"I think I have a good floor we could use," Vestia said from a nearby speaker. She liked listening in, okay? "It'd need some changes to hold water, and we'll need to make sure it doesn't throw off my maneuverability. Water is gonna add a lot of mass."

"We can find the specifications for suitable accommodations on the internet," Tala added. "I believe such is there."

Ethan was starting to relax a little, he stopped squishing Starr's poor book.

~~
James nodded. "I guess so. Life just doesn't let up, man."

Ellie wandered over with her block of cheese and a knife.

"If they can't handle it, you can choose to stay with me here, they can always send messages if it comes to that."
!!!
Shane shrugged and looked over to them again. "Life is interesting, it's just that kids can get away with stuff."

Starr wasn't sure why Ethan had brought a book with him, but she figured it was because he was nervous or something, so she ignored it. "Yeah, we wouldn't want to make it hard for you to move." She agreed with Vestia.

"We can figure it out over the next couple months," Vestia said. "With your species' magic and knowledge of space, and my wonderful decks, we can definitely house some sea creatures." There wasn't any rush, they had time.

~~
James nodded. "Maybe the older people calling kids dumb means the kids are allowed to get away with more."

Ellie started slicing pieces of cheese. Not very cleanly though, since it was kind of a big, ungainly block of the stuff.

Starr smiled and nodded "Right, and we have plenty of magic users to help make whatever we need as well."
~~~
"What are you doing Ellie?" Shane asked curiously. He didn't want her to cut herself or anything.

"thank you Rigel." Luka murmured, putting one arm around him in return so they were basically cuddling each other now.

---

"You might be onto something there." Matt grinned at James.

"Anytime Luka." Rigel said gently, happy to hold her as long as she wanted. It was nice to hold her like this.

"Yes, we'll figure it out," Vestia said.

Ethan looked hesitant. "Off topic, but I wanted to give you this book," he told Starr. "I thought you might like it."

~~
"Slicing cheese. The way they did back on Terra, before they invented technology," Ellie said, concentrating very hard on the project.

James smiled at Matt. "I'm a smart dude, man." He gave Ellie an odd look.

Luka closed her eyes, snuggling into Rigel comfortably. She desperately wanted to see home again, but she really did fear how she'd explain everything to her father. She'd betrayed her people, yet, here she was, not feeling overly guilty about it, just sad and conflicted. Everything she'd grown up being told about the universe outside Imperium borders was, it seemed, wrong, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to go back to that narrow blinkered mindset, nor that she'd ever fully trust the air force again. She was certain they hadn't meant for the experiment to fail, or for Eckhard to die like that, but how could she fight in wars against people she was no longer certain were the savage monsters her superiors claimed they were? Tala was strange for sure, but she certainly wasn't a monster. It was difficult to come to terms with the knowledge you'd been lied to, no, decieved your whole life, but she loved her homeworld and she kept telling herself that there was another explanation, that it wasn't deception, it wasn't lies, her government were good people trying to protect the Imperium from insidious outside forces!
sadly, she was now one of those insiduous outside forces.

Why'd this all have to be so complicated?

"isn't there a machine that can do that?" Matt asked, to be fair, he didn't tend to go near the dairy products, he had no reason to.
He grinned at James rougishly. "Smart, hot and strong." He laughed. "you'll make a fine captain!"

Starr looked to Ethan and smiled softly. "Well, thank you" She said as she came over to get the book and look at what it was.

~~~
Shane chuckled at that and came over to see how that was working for her.

flying_purple_monkfish wrote:Luka closed her eyes, snuggling into Rigel comfortably. She desperately wanted to see home again, but she really did fear how she'd explain everything to her father. She'd betrayed her people, yet, here she was, not feeling overly guilty about it, just sad and conflicted. Everything she'd grown up being told about the universe outside Imperium borders was, it seemed, wrong, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to go back to that narrow blinkered mindset, nor that she'd ever fully trust the air force again. She was certain they hadn't meant for the experiment to fail, or for Eckhard to die like that, but how could she fight in wars against people she was no longer certain were the savage monsters her superiors claimed they were? Tala was strange for sure, but she certainly wasn't a monster. It was difficult to come to terms with the knowledge you'd been lied to, no, decieved your whole life, but she loved her homeworld and she kept telling herself that there was another explanation, that it wasn't deception, it wasn't lies, her government were good people trying to protect the Imperium from insidious outside forces!
sadly, she was now one of those insiduous outside forces.

Why'd this all have to be so complicated?

Rigel tried to think about what he could do to help her, but there really wasn't much of anything other than simply being her for her. "We still have some time to figure it out before we get there."

Luka nodded but said nothing, she just wanted to be held right now.