Upon Vestia: Chapter Thirty-Four

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"We could stay here and see if Vestia can start getting some movies on file for us." Shane said with a shrug.

Luka beamed. "We did what we needed to do. I was just following my orders." She set her tools down. "I don't mean to be rude but.. why are you here?" She asked. "I can't be the only person no board to talk to." She hesitated and reached out a hand "Not that I mind of course! I like the company!" eugh, so awkward.

"Still, we appreciate it," James told her. He flinched a little at the question, "We don't get many chances to talk these days, so I thought I should come say hi. I won't bother you if you're busy though."

Luka shook her head vigerously "No no, I can take a break!" She straightened up. "Sorry... I just.. " She sighed. "Say the wrong things you know?"

James nodded. Yeah, he knew Luka well enough to know that she pretty much always meant well, even if her words didn't come out quite the way she intended. "It's all good," he told her, smiling softly, "But seriously, don't take a break if you don't wanna. I know how much this ship means to you."

"poor old girl isn't going anywhere fast." Luka sighed. "Rigel's working on the hull damage, repairing the more complicated stuff... I'm not really an engineer." she stretched. "Wanna go for a walk?"

"Sure, a walk sounds good," James said, smiling. He looked thoughtful, "Man, part of my old job was fixing up damaged spaceships. I should probably be volunteering to help Rigel or something. Then again, maybe we can make my brother help instead. Asher has a weird fondness for fixing spacecraft."

Luka smiled. "It'll be nice to see him again. Strange, but nice. Do you think he's still the same?" Ten years was a long time right?

"I've been talking to him a little, and so far he seems similar at least," James said. "I mean it's hard to know for sure though, I can't help wondering if he's putting on an act, trying to act more like his old self than he really is." He shook his head. "Man, being in a new century is weird."

Luka nodded, looked anxious. "It's going to take a lot of adjustment. Poor Asher... and Nova.. and the children. I wish we could fix it you know? That by some chance it'll all work out and everyone will just... I don't know, slip back into how it was..." She sighed, she knew it wasn't realistic.

"Yeah, I wish we could too. Short of telling each other a whole lotta lies, I don't think we can manage it though. I mean, raising kids and losing loved ones, even temporarily, really does change you," James said. "Have you been able to get in touch with your family at all? I know it's difficult to communicate with anyone in the Imperium, but there must be some way right?"

Luka sighed. "I've been trying, but getting a message through takes time. Everything gets monitored and my codes are all out of date." She shook her head, it sucked and it hurt.

James frowned. "Damn. That's rough. Maybe it'll be easier to get word to them once we're closer? I mean, we're going to have to go through their space to get to Tala's homeworld." He looked uncertain though, he really had no idea how Imperium security worked.

Luka nodded. "I hope so... we'll find a way... i'm sure." She didn't sound so sure, but she was trying to convince herself.

"Yeah, we'll find a way. We're good at that," James said, giving Luka a reassuring smile. "Is the twenty-ninth century going well for you otherwise? It hasn't been too bad for me so far, other than me and Kay not talking to each other cause he's a dick." He smiled sheepishly. Kay being a dick was only half the story, and he knew it.

Esk had been in the sparring room and now returned to his room, taking a long shower. He closed his eyes as hot water ran over him, there it was again, the noise, the whispering. This time he definitely made out words.

lissssten

He frowned.

Yessss boy, lissssten to me.

He turned off the water. Where were they? The voice was, he thought, unmistakably female, the way it hissed its words uncomfortably familiar.
But he could see nobody.

His eyes scanned the room, resting on the speaker through which Vestia spoke. There were no cameras here, just a microphone and speaker. He stood beneath it, listening in case that was the origin of the noise.

Sssweet boy, ussseful boy... I wisssssh to make a deal... the voice continued.

Esk frowned, it wasn't coming out of the speaker.

"Where are you?" He demanded at last.

He swore he heard bubbling laughter.

His eyes narrowed.

Wrong quesssstion sssweet boy... wrong quesssstion.

"WHO are you?" Esk tried.

More laughter.

Esk's temper flared, his hands balled into fists. "ANSWER ME!"

Husssssh... sssuch a temper... ssssuch a temper... like hissss father perhapssss... ssssuch an insssolent boy he wasss, sssso ungrateful.

Esk glared at nothing. "What do you want?"

At lasssst, at lasssst he getssss it. The voice sounded delighted. We have a... mutally beneficial arrangement yessss?

Esk looked dubious. "What?"

Do you know where your father issss?

Esk shook his head. Eva had said he'd gone to ground had she not?

I want him.

"Why?"

Becuasssse he is MINE.

"let me guess, you want my help with that?" Esk was still searching for where the voice might be coming from, pausing in front of the mirror. He saw his own reflection staring back, but behind him was... something else. He whirled around, but there was nothing there.
He looked back to the mirror.
She smiled back over his shoulder. She was beautiful, humanoid with long dark hair and large bat-like wings. Her eyes were amber, just like his own, but cold, cruel.

Esk stared.

"h.. how?"

Ssssshhh, shhhhh preciousssss boy... In the mirror the woman caressed his face tenderly but he felt nothing.

She was in his head wasn't she? His eyes widened in horror. "no..."

You hate him no? Want him to ssssuffer? For what he did to you? to your mother? The woman in the mirror smiled wickedly, revealing tiny sharp teeth. Help me bring him home boy.. where he belongssss... sssso he can never harm anyone again.

Esk shook his head. "Why would I ever help you?"

Our goalssss align. She replied. Her smile broadened. Now she reminded Esk of a shark. Do assss I assssk and I will leave you be... defy me, deny me and I will force you to obey

"Yeah good luck with that." Esk glared back, tearing his gaze away from the mirror. What could she do? She couldn't touch him, she was just a voice in his head.
He was nobody's puppet.

Insssolent boy! She shouted after him.

He shot a middle finger at the mirror and left the bathroom to get dressed.

Stupid voice in his head. He HATED telepathy.

Luka smiled, a little colour coming to her cheeks. Yes, yes the new year was treating her well. Ahem.
She frowned a little at James' statement. "What happened with Kay?" She didn't deny he was a dick, the guy was rather prickly for sure.

(Do you want Vestia hear Esk through that mic, or to not have been listening in? Cause that sounded susssspicioussss hahaha)

James saw Luka's expression, and hastily looked away. Oh, he wanted to ask about her and Rigel, whether they were a thing, but he'd told himself not to do that. Luka could tell him if she was ever ready to, he wouldn't pressure her any more.
"He's been suuuper bossy and grouchy lately. I don't like getting bossed around so I stood up to him, and we got in a pretty big fight. I said some stuff I should probably apologize for, but I'm kinda not into doing that when he'll probably just keep being a dick," james said. "You're lucky to not work in the med bay. That room is a tempest in a teapot, man."

(hahah Vestia's attention I imagine would be caught by his sudden yelling, so if she wasnt listening before that point, she probably was after)

Luka nodded. "He must be really stressed right now..." She mused softly. "not.. not that he's not a really difficult person, he ... kinda makes me uncomfortable but... " She sighed. "Maybe he's being worse because of Asher? The person he loves has had ten years pass without him, that's got to be strange and unsettling for both of them. How do you just pick up where you left off after ten years?" She shook her head, she worried about that with her brothers and father, she couldn't begin to imagine how much more it would hurt if it was your lover. "Just maybe...go easy on him? avoid him?"

(so yeah, for all Vestia knows, Esk could have been talking to someone via tablet or something. Or someone else talking telepathically. There's at least 3 telepaths on the ship, one of whom is related to him.... weird for sure, but maybe not overly suspicious)

(Ah, makes sense to me. Poor Esk hahaha)

Vestia normally didn't listen in on what people did in their bathrooms... because that was just awkward. She generally tried to tune it all out. But still, if someone yells in the bathroom, it's only common sense to listen, right?
She listened to the one sided conversation worriedly. She wasn't totally sure who he was talking to in there, but he didn't sound happy to her. Normally she wouldn't interrupt, but maybe this once she should make an exception."Esk, are you okay?" She tried through one of her speakers in his quarters.

~~
"Yeah..." James looked a little guilty. "I've been avoiding him since then, it's better for both of us I'm pretty sure. I guess you're right and I shouldn't be too mad at him for being grouchy, since he does have a good reason for it, but it's still frustrating. I mean, he's not the only one who has family out there. I'd be nice if he'd cut everyone else some slack too."
He shrugged. "Anyway, that's my rant of the day. Other than that, things have been pretty good lately."

Esk glared at the camera. "I'm fine." He didn't look like he wanted to discuss it.
He sighed. "Just... don't worry about me okay? I'm fine." Last thing he wanted was people crowding around making a fuss, he'd work this shit out himself. Whoever this woman was, all she seemed able to do is talk into his head. Maybe she'd give up if he just tuned her out.

She wanted Hytar, she could find him herself.

---

Luka patted James on the shoulder. "It's okay, you can always rant to me."

"All right," Vestia said. She knew Esk wasn't going to tell her anything unless he felt like it, so there was no use pressuring him. Still, she was a little concerned, he'd seemed a little off lately. "I'll be here if you need me for anything." And she'd be keeping an eye on him, whether he wanted her to or not.

~~
James smiled at Luka. "Thanks. You're a good friend." Wanting to move to a happier topic he asked, "So, have you been browsing the web at all lately? Finding out fun facts about the modern era?"

Esk nodded "Yeah, I know." to be honest, knowing Vestia almost always had eyes on everyone WAS reassuring. It meant whoever that woman in the mirror was, she couldn't sneak aboard now could she?

He was nobody's puppet, he sure as heck wasn't about to start doing errands for some strange bitch who had some connection to his father.

---

Luka laughed "Aside from catching up on a few bits of news, not really..." She admitted. "I've uh.. been a bit distracted. The Devil and... all that." Ahem. She looked a bit shifty there. She shrugged. "Any good bits I should know about? "

Vestia nodded her camera to Esk. There wasn't much else she could say, so instead she went quiet.
She really hoped there wasn't anything to worry about here. Maybe someone had just forgotten to turn their telepathy off. Or Esk was hallucinating a bit. Something relatively harmless like that.
She could hope, anyway.

~~
James's imagination helpfully conjured up a few images of what 'all that' might be, but he did a pretty good job not letting his thoughts show on his face.
Although he kinda sorta wanted to make jokes about sleeping with captains all of a sudden.
"Oh man, what hasn't happened out there? Apparently there were some huge dance crazes, with ridiculous one-hit wonder songs to go with them. And there's a prequel series to the Shapeshifter Call Girl Chronicles. Oh, and you'll love this one. I'm on the fence about telling him cause he might be insufferable afterward..." he got out his tablet to look something up.

Luka remained blissfully oblivious to James' suspicions and listened, grinning at the idea of a prequel series to the call girl chronicles. Oh dear, for sure James had shown her that madness.
She peered at his tablet screen curiously.

James held out the tablet for her inspection, grinning.

On the screen was a photo of a statue in what looked to be a city park, although there were no plants to be seen in the picture. The statue depicted a cyborg felid holding a laptop in one arm, looking down upon the people in the park with a kindly expression on his face. His free hand was held out, as if offering something to the viewer, although it wasn't clear from here exactly what he was holding.

Clearly the statue was popular, people seemed to have left a lot of small offerings at its base in the form of flowers or scraps of paper which were probably letters.

"Can you believe it?!" James asked delightedly.

Luka stared at it. "Is that... Is that MOURN!??" She burst into laughter. "Is he a hero to the Androids now? How'd they figure out it was him? Who commissioned a statue!??" So many questions. "You haven't shown him?"