UPON VESTIA: CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

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Ethan nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Do they execute the ruler, or do they have to keep them alive?" He probably had too many questions.

~~
"Oh, I know that feeling," Vestia said sympathetically. She watched Amari snooze. Aww.

Kay stood up, coming over to Asher. [Our lives will always be complicated Asher, that's just life. ] He smiled softly. He didn't mind a delay in the robots rights thing though, it was a relief really, he was scared of what it would mean for the man he loved when it did start. He reached out and gently stroked Asher's cheek. [I'll stand by you whatever you decide. ]

"Well we don't need to go out of our way to make our lives more complicated than they already are," Asher said. "It's already an awful lot to keep track of."
He sighed, and leaned into Kay's touch a bit, even though he couldn't actually feel it. He appreciated the gesture. "You've been so patient with all this." He waved a hand in a gesture that meant everything that had happened since the battle, from his disability, to Amari, to being separated from Danika for so long. "You must be exhausted from it all, and I'm sorry I've been putting you through so much lately."

Kay frowned. [Asher, this isn't your fault. You've not put me through anything, not really. If you didn't want to help someone in need you wouldn't be you. ] He smiled. Yes, this was very much Asher wasn't it?

Asher nodded. For all that he knew it didn't work like that, there was still a voice in Asher's mind that told him if he wasn't doing something to help the people who helped him, he was just a burden on them. He knew it was pointless to think that way, but it was hard to shake sometimes.
"I'm just running around helping everyone except you lately. You're important to me too, I don't want you to think you aren't, because you are," he said. "And you've been here for me the whole time."

Kay tilted his head. [Asher, you're here now.] He glanced back at his desk. [Why don't we take a break? You've been running.. well, wheeling around all day. ] Poor Asher, he was exhausted too wasn't he? Definitely time for a break.

Asher considered that for a few moments, then managed a small smile. "That does sound like a good idea," he agreed. Yeah, the Amari situation had taken a lot of mental energy today. His body might never feel fatigue like an organic's would, but his mind sure did sometimes. "I think everything's taken care of for now, it'd be okay to take a break."

Kay nodded, he didn't have anything left to do either. [So where to? or shall we just wander?] It was nice to get out together, with Asher so distracted they hadn't really seen that much of one another outside of bed time. Kay always enjoyed their random strolls.

"Let's wander," Asher said. Making decisions about where to go was tiring, he'd rather just explore Vestia for a while. "She must have some more interesting rooms to look at, she usually seems to."

Kay nodded and followed along, trusting that vestia would have something good to see.

Asher pushed some random buttons on the teleporter to beam them to a random floor.
They ended up on a floor that definitely wasn't for first class passengers. All the rooms were close together, so they must be small, and the lounges were clean and tidy, but didn't have any chandeliers.

"Oh good, she didn't give us the worst rooms on the ship," Asher remarked, trying for humor.

Kay peeked into one of the rooms. [Still more space than military school bunks.] He replied.

Asher looked in as well. "Has to be economy class. Look at the size of the bathroom, it's tiny." It was pretty cramped, there was only a small shower, no bathtub. "I've never been to military school, and I'm glad about that. Anything more cramped than this sounds terrible."

Kay nodded [Two bunks, one above the other. Not much space. Only time i've ever been glad to be small.] He smirked. Yeah it was a pretty terrible time.

"That really does sound unpleasant. Did you get the top bunk, or the bottom one?" Asher asked. He looked amused suddenly, "Maybe it's for the best that you aren't normal Satare height. I'd probably damage my neck looking up at you from this height." Kay looked pretty tall when you were in a wheelchair, okay?

flying_purple_monkfish wrote:Ivor looked unsure, glancing back at his bed and frowning. "I... I will come..." He'd learned long ago it was better to just comply.

---

"Hello Miss Starr. How did your conversations with the rest of the crew go?" Armin asked politely.

---

Luka nodded slowly. "well, we hired a guy who actively tried to murder us all. He can't be much worse than that right?" She managed a weak laugh.

Starr dipped her head then shook it "I didn't talk to them, only Ellie." She admitted

~~
Skye frowned a little "A holodeck is technology that can make it look and sound like you are somewhere else."

Armin frowned beneath his mask and came closer. "Are you alright Miss Starr? What happened?"

---

Ivor looked at her like she was nuts. "is.. that not very dangerous?" He'd grown up in a place where several of the inmates had believed themselves to be somewhere else, it had never ended well.

"It's not that dangerous, nothing in the holodeck can really hurt you unless you do something dumb," James said. He closed his hand, hiding the scar on his palm where Asher had glued his skin together. "It's just fun, mostly. And you can see all sorts of neat things."

"Dawn learned to be a medic mostly in there, practicing." Skye said and smiled softly.

~~
Starr shook her head "A misunderstanding, Ellie said something that I took wrong but she apologized."

Armin put a hand on Starr's shoulder. "If you wish to speak about it, I am here to listen."

---

Ivor looked confused. "I... don't think I understand."

Starr looked to Armin and touched his hand gently, shaking her head a little. "We were talking about Amari and she was talking about not keeping him because he's a child of a slaver. My thoughts went to my egg, we don't know who her father is and it is possible he is a slaver. All I know is he's pure." She tried to explain.

~~
"It's not easy to explain. It's kind of like illusion magic, but made with technology, you can see, hear and touch things, but they aren't real and vanish when the program is turned off." Skye said then shook her head "We have a ranch here too, have you had the tour yet?"

"The holodeck can simulate a med bay-like environment where Dawn could practice her medic training," James said. "It can even make people who aren't real for her to practice on. I guess it is kind of weird to imagine, huh?" James nodded at Skye's idea, "Yeah, the ranch is nice too, and one hundred percent real." He grinned.

"Do you believe any star dragon would become such an abhorrent thing after their own enslavement?" Armin asked. Poor Starr. He stroked her hair gently, which was supposed to be comforting. "Miss Starr, All that matters is that your child is yours, and she will be, I am certain, as strong and as wise and as kind as her mother."

"i... I think real is... safer." Ivor nodded. Yes, imaginary things frightened him a bit.

"If they have no choice, they have." Starr said softly. "Knowing that is one reason I can forgive Marcus so easily, he felt he had no choice too. The ones that can are fighting back, but there are still a few who can't."

~~
Skye nodded and smiled again, turning to walk with him to the ranch.

Kooshie wrote:"That really does sound unpleasant. Did you get the top bunk, or the bottom one?" Asher asked. He looked amused suddenly, "Maybe it's for the best that you aren't Satare height. I'd probably damage my neck looking up at you from my current height." Kay looked pretty tall when you were in a wheelchair, okay?

(In case this one got lost in the shuffle, here it is. )

~~
"Okay, let's see some goats and tall spotted horses," James said brightly. "You'll like the ranch, Ivor. Well, I hope you will. Do you like open spaces?" James didn't really, so he thought to ask.