Unity Station

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Just outside of Imperium space, a small but well equiped research station.

Unity is a joint venture between multiple worlds, hence the name. Xenobiology, anthropology and astronomy are some of the things researched here.
There's a small school, a few shops, one or two tiny restaurants and a coffee shop but generally speaking, the majority of the inhabitants are either researchers or family of researchers.

The chief of medicine is an insectoid woman named Yessalia.
Chief of security is a man named Tias.

"Jerral lived with us when we were on the planet." Danika replied, glancing over to Jerral with a smile then looking back to Kay "You couldn't help being gone, but I am glad you are back."

Starr smiled happily, glad Asher had found happiness in his life. "I'm glad the whole fight for rights went well even without us around."

"We did what was needed to set things in motion, and they did the rest," Asher said with a smile.
"Unrelated, but can I ask how Luna's doing? I'm sure this is all very weird for her," he added. She was his baby sister after all, so of course he was curious.

Starr smiled and dipped her head a little "She is well, considering. So many can't help their thoughts on how she was conceived from showing, though she is a sweet child and very quick minded."

"That must be hard for her," Asher said. "I'm sure people will get used to it in time, and think about it less, but hearing those sort of thoughts has to be unpleasant." He still found Luna's origin a little unsettling himself, although it didn't disturb him the way it had at first any more.
"Has she been making friends with the other dragons kids?" he asked hopefully. Maybe kids had nicer thoughts than adults. Maybe.

"She is trying as are the others to be kind." Starr replied then sighed softly. "I just wish I could have had my heir through love."

"I'm sorry it happened the way it did," Asher agreed quietly. "You deserved to make your own choices about your family, not have them decided for you." The whole situation was so unfair to Starr and Luna, and he had a feeling it would probably effect their lives for a long time to come.

"Well, good thing is that now that I do have my heir, I can make such choices. I started dating Armin recently." Starr said, it was something good from the bad anyway.

"You and Armin are dating?" Asher repeated, startled. He'd known that they were close of course, but somehow the news still took him by surprise.
"I'm glad you have the freedom to date who you want now. Armin's a good guy, and I'm sure you're great together," he said, smiling. "Does the rest of the crew know?"
He had questions, but he still remembered the things people had said when he'd started dating Kay, and the memory of that unpleasantness made him reluctant to pry.

"We talked and decided to try dating. Most of the crew know from finding out as soon as we decided." Starr said, relating that conversation with Ellie and Shane to him. It was kind of funny now.

"It always was hard to keep secrets on that ship," Asher said. He shook his head at the recount of the conversation, "Oh Ellie. She always did get a little too interested in other people's business. Hopefully the others are staying out of the conversation though?"

Starr shook her head and chuckled softly. "It was a big topic. The others have settled to the fact though."

"Good, I'm glad they've calmed down," Asher said with a little smile. "You guys shouldn't have to deal with the crew's silliness, it can be so frustrating."
In spite of his words, he did have nagging questions. He kept them to himself though, now wasn't the time to ask them.

"It can be frustrating, though it was more so for me since I didn't know the answers or how to answer some questions. Ellie did bring up a good point that Armin may think he has to date me just because I asked, but then again, in his culture the female has to make the first move." Starr said and shook her head a little. That did bother her a little.

Asher nodded. Yeah, that was one of the questions that he had been holding back. He had a strong distaste for power imbalances in relationships, thanks to cautionary tales Androids had told him when he was young. So he supported Starr and Armin, but was still a little concerned.
"That does make things more complicated. And I admit, it's something I was wondering about too," he said carefully. "I suppose that Vavare traditions do make this more... normal to Armin, in a way. And if you're both happy, then that's what's important. Still, it's an issue you should keep in mind."

Kay frowned, confused. [Why?]

"My father wished to test me." Jarral replied dully, only half paying attention to the conversation.

Kay looked more confused.

Jarral looked faintly irritated. "He wished to know how quickly I could learn a completely alien language, at least, that is what he claims his motivation was." He'd learned over the years not to fully trust Web's motives, he was usually lying.

Kay didn't really know what to say to that. he was utterly bewildered. Maybe he'd get a clearer answer from Web.
He returned his attention to Danika. [Even so, I wish we could have been here sooner. So much has changed for you all and so little for us. It's... quite disorienting.]

Starr gave a wry smile and nodded at that. "Please, don't be afraid to ask me questions Asher. If I can't answer or don't want to, I will say so. I did make sure he understood he could say no and I wouldn't be mad. You know how I feel about forcing people to do things against their better judgement when there is a choice."

~~~
Danika looked to Jerral and tilted her head a little. "I figured he brought you so he would have an excuse to come see us and so you could meet 'aliens'. Being friends was a bonus." She said then looked up to Kay again "It was scary when we couldn't hear mom, we could tell she was still alive, or at least not dead, but we couldn't reach her. It was amazing when we heard her return."

"Thank you," Asher said. He appreciated that she was willing to answer his questions, it certainly wasn't something she was obligated to do.
"I fully believe that you'll respect Armin's wishes. Your beliefs about right and wrong are too strong for you to do anything else." He considered and added, "Please remember though, it's easy for a powerful person to tell someone that they're free to speak as they will, but it's harder to get the person to actually believe they have that freedom. Even with your reassurances, he might find it hard to say what's on his mind sometimes."

Starr frowned a little in thought about what he said then sighed and nodded "How then can he be reassured if he won't believe my words?" She asked, starting to worry more about this now. Was Armin really not wanting to date her and just being his normal, kind self? She refused to invade his mind, she had learned first hand how cruel that was with Kay and her other universe self.

Asher frowned at Starr's expression. He was glad she was understanding what he was saying, but now she looked kind of freaked out. Oh dear.
"The best way to reassure someone, is to let them see over time that you really do care when they do share their opinions with you," he said, "There's no way to hurry it if it hasn't already happened, it's about building trust."
His expression softened and he added, "But Starr, there's another side to what I'm trying to tell you, too. And that's that you should trust what he says, unless you have a good reason not to. If he seems happy to be dating you, then you should trust that. That goes for anything he says. By default, you should believe that he means what he tells you, and only doubt it if he seems seems to doubt it himself."
He paused, watching her, then continued, "You respect his right to say no, and it's also important to respect his right to say yes. Trust what he says, just understand that there may be times when he'll have difficulty saying it."

Starr sighed then smiled softly and nodded "Another good reason to have stuck to dating, at least for now. Both of us have to get used to being able to show our feelings to one another, as do the others on the ship. I know he at the least has a crush on me, if it becomes more or leads to marriage, time will tell." She said and shook her head at the thought. "It was really not a fun conversation with the elders to find out the rules for me being allowed to date or marry for love and not politics. Armin did say that he would rather have the title of consort if things go that far, though he said it was so I could have a political husband if I wanted or needed to. I think that he just doesn't want that much of the responsibility of the title of king though. That is understandable of course, and one way he helps keep me grounded."

"You and Armin really are in a... unique situation. It does sound like a good thing that you're trying out dating first, so you can find out more about each other without so much pressure," Asher said. "Not needing to decide on a title for him right away is probably a good thing too."
"I didn't realize that your people still rules for you about dating for love," he added, voice quieter. He thought that after everything Starr had done for her people, she at least deserved to choose her own romantic relationships without getting approval from the elders. Asher managed to keep himself from saying as much out loud, but he still looked unhappy.

Jarral shrugged. "You may have a point." He conceeded to Danika. "My father is fond of excuses."

Kay frowned a little. The kid really didn't seem very fond of his father. He wondered why but he also didn't really want to know. He had already learned more about Web than he wanted to know, it had rather shaken his idea of his brother.

He nodded to Danika instead [I'm glad you at least knew we were still alive, that must have been some consolation, even if we were lost. ] A small one though. He looked sad. [I'm glad Nova and Asher could be here for you all at least.]

"The heir must be pure blood. I could date for love, but I still would have to find one of my own for the father of the heir." Starr said then shrugged. "As wrong as it was what happened in her conception, it did free me from that rule."

~~~
"Yeah, Having Asher and Aunt Nova here was good for us." Danika agreed with Kay before glancing to Jerral again. He really did hate Web, didn't he?

Kay patted Danika hesitantly on the shoulder. It still hurt that he'd missed so much. [Have you had a chance to see the ship?] He asked at last, desperate for a change of subject.

Jarral ignored their looks of concern.

"I'm glad that you don't need to follow that rule now," Asher said, although the circumstances that had made her exempt were still awfully unpleasant, "Choosing a mate for such a pragmatic reason hardly sounds like fun."
Someday, he realized unhappily, it was going to be Luna on the throne, with the pressure on her to produce an heir and rule a species. A long time from now of course, but the girl still had her entire future planned for her from the moment she'd hatched, just like Starr had. To him, the planned futures of the Star Dragon heirs, like the planned and controlled lives of the Keepers, felt a little too familiar for comfort.
"I understand the genetics of Star Dragon royalty, but I'm afraid I may never understand all the obligations placed upon you guys," Asher admitted.

Danika shook her head and looked back to Kay again. "No, not yet."

~~~
"We are the glue of our people, we hold the past and the future and hope of all our people. To do that we must be pure so we can tap into all the powers of our kind. At least we aren't expected to stay in a loveless alliance, just to have our heir be as powerful as possible to help handle the position. At least that is how it has been explained to me." Starr said then shrugged a little. "It's understandable, especially if the creation stories are even half true. One has to be powerful to keep control of people who can create universes together."