NationStates Jolt Archive

She led him away from the mansion to a reletively small inn. The family resemblance in the people who worked there made it obvious that it was family owned. On her way to the "Golden Bough" people would step out of her way with a wary look. "I was known as the Dark Lady", she said by way of explanation as she walked arm in arm with him. Unlike her sister she walked with a saunter that would be appealing to the eyes if she were not in full armor. "I was a mercenary in the Eastlands and rather ummm....viscious."

The Golden Bough had a dome over the restuarant area that allowed the moon to shine in, the crystal of the dome refracting even this light to make multi-hued patterns about the room. "The food is some of the best, especially for the price. The family who runs it came from the southern westlands were the best of human and elven were mixed." She pulled out a chair for him with a cocky look, "Among the drow, the women rule."

It all seemed so very right, and needed. The Golden Bough had a homey, warm feeling, despite the the open expanse of the transparant dome. The warmth came from the people around him. He felt immediately accepted by the drow around him, due to the fact Anestia stayed wrapped to him during all the introductions. She seemed to know everyone, and Steele spent a few minutes smiling alot. He realized that this was not a bad thing. He needed to smile, and not the grim one that preceeded combat.

The smell of the food was tantalizing, but not nearly as much as Anestia. Not many women could wear full battle armor and still look ravishing, but she pulled it off with grace and style. Steele noticed that a few of the male drows were watching him with less than enthusiastic looks...even they could be bitten by the green-eyed monster: jealousy. He nodded in their direction, noting their description and location out of habit.

He was drawn to Anestia's voice, the husky purr hypnotizing him.

"Looking at you, I can understand why the women rule here." Her laugh was a sensual song, and the big man stared unabashadly as Anestia slowly started to remove some of her armor and weapons.

Michael tossed the clipboard into the waste disposal. "A new and better you and less work for me, what more could a man ask for?" After a second he said, "Holo suite" and nodded, "Capture, he has answers. Then can we dump into the airlock and accidently blow him into space without anyone finding out?" He belted himself in, "Full power, lets get him", the last being said in a low dangerous voice.

The other men stared but said nothing. Among the Drow the women held full sway and even though this was the surface it was still the home away from home for many of them. No male would cross a woman here and Anestia was one woman who was rarely crossed by anyone who knew her reputation. The armor was given to one of the male servers, "The usual for my things", she told him, meaning it would be cleaned and polished.

If she was alluring before she was devistatingly so now. She was dressed in typical female drow clothing which meant it barely covered her and what it did cover was simply made more tantalizing by the semi sheer material. She sat down, stretching enticingly and smiled at Darius. "So shall I order for you? Or do you know Drow cuisine?"

(Thank you for the compliment :) Kain should be about his normal business. He doesn't know anything that's going on yet, and actually Gawdly doesn't know how it's going either ;) I think you'll be visited by Turquine and Tanis soon. He's in charge of the actually meeting. I'll leave you in the dark as to what's going on and who's who. Kain wouldn't know so it'll be more interesting. You know Laura and Turquine and Darius. Not that Turquine is on your list of best friends I'm sure *grin* )

I've been planning to have Tanis, King Turquine and Adam be the first contact with Kain, followed by Steele and Lauralin later. I liked the interplay between Turquine and Kain at the ball, and the almost-battle between the two was great.

RV, can we come to Velmora, or will that screw up your current story-lines?

Michael tossed the clipboard into the waste disposal. "A new and better you and less work for me, what more could a man ask for?" After a second he said, "Holo suite" and nodded, "Capture, he has answers. Then can we dump into the airlock and accidently blow him into space without anyone finding out?" He belted himself in, "Full power, lets get him", the last being said in a low dangerous voice.

"Locking on primary tractors NOW...executing secondaries...engines reversed...we got him, Chief. You should see the look on his face!" With that, Eve hijacked the camera feed from the rogue Wraith, and flashed a live view of an astonished and frantically-button pushing Atchinson, across all the screens on the bridge.

"You can taunt him if you like, Michael." Eve giggled, opening communications between the two ships. She had remotely shut down the Wraiths drive and power-core, leaving it dead in the space. The tractor beams were drawing it towards her at a steady pace.

The other men stared but said nothing. Among the Drow the women held full sway and even though this was the surface it was still the home away from home for many of them. No male would cross a woman here and Anestia was one woman who was rarely crossed by anyone who knew her reputation. The armor was given to one of the male servers, "The usual for my things", she told him, meaning it would be cleaned and polished.

If she was alluring before she was devistatingly so now. She was dressed in typical female drow clothing which meant it barely covered her and what it did cover was simply made more tantalizing by the semi sheer material. She sat down, stretching enticingly and smiled at Darius. "So shall I order for you? Or do you know Drow cuisine?"

He was unfamiliar with the exotic food of the Drow, but he was very familiar with the beauty of a woman. She was all curves and skin, and every inch of her invited a closer look. Her eyes were filled with laughter, aware of her proximity to him and the effect it was having. For a moment, Steele forgot all the drama and horror of the last day, and pretended that this was what a normal life should be: good food, cold beer and a stunningly gorgeous woman on his arm.

"I think it would be best if I allow you to do the honors, and order for both of us." Steele was surprised that he got the words out...Anestia had awakened a hunger within him, one that only she could nourish.

"Atchison. Son of a bitch would be an insult to the women of the street of red lanterns in Dragonsreach. I'll see you in the hold, and I won't shoot you in back like you did to me. But before I get answers I'm going to enjoy using you as a punching bag."

Atchison looked at the monitor startled. "He's too powerful, Chief. You should have let yourself die. What I did would have been much better than what he'll do to you." Quickly he reached down and popped a pill into his mouth. The escaping acidic vapors didn't leave much of his head and was beginning to eat away at the pressurized hull.

"NUTS! DROP HIM AND RUN FOR IT EVE!"

"Atchison. Son of a bitch would be an insult to the women of the street of red lanterns in Dragonsreach. I'll see you in the hold, and I won't shoot you in back like you did to me. But before I get answers I'm going to enjoy using you as a punching bag."

Atchison looked at the monitor startled. "He's too powerful, Chief. You should have let yourself die. What I did would have been much better than what he'll do to you." Quickly he reached down and popped a pill into his mouth. The escaping acidic vapors didn't leave much of his head and was beginning to eat away at the pressurized hull.

"NUTS! DROP HIM AND RUN FOR IT EVE!"

The sudden acceleration drove Gassington back in his seat, the massive g-forces squeezing the breath out of him. As quickly as it started, it relented, and he was able to breath again. Eve's voice spoke clearly.

"Video-link is down...switching to rear-view." the screens showed the image of the Wraith, dwindling away in the distance. Eve magnified it until the ship fill the screen.

"Uhmm, Michael? Why the quick escape?"

She turned sideways and raised a hand to summon a server, doing so slow, allowing Darius a better view. When the server arrived he took her order, which she gave in Drow. She turned slowly back to Darius, "Dinner is ordered", then she leaned forward for a different view, "once done we can return to the mansion where I"ll provide you desert." Her tone was low, husky, alluring. "I took the liberty of ordering only a light drow wine for you. I hope you'll survive it. Most strong men can. The dark, however, is poison to a surfacer, but it's my favorite." She stood up and walked around the table slowly, sitting on his lap and running her fingers through his hair. "Eat light, for later I want you to eat your fill", then she leaned down, her lips brushing his teasingly.

He was on fire, the passion rising in him like some unrestrained bloodlust, taking over his senses and blinding him to all else...except the soft touch of her lips on his. He shook his massive head, trying to clear it, to no avail. He tried thinking of Lauralin, but her face kept getting replaced by an image of Anestia. For a brief, fleeting moment, Steele considered the possibility that some sort of magic was being used to cloud his mind, but the thought passed quickly as he ran his hands over her silken skin, feeling the heat of her flesh. He was consumed with desire, and had to hold himself back from taking her there, on the table, amongst all the steaming Drow delicacies.

"Maybe...we should...take this...to GO." Steele barely got the words out, his voice hoarse with need.

The acidic vapor ate away enough of the hull to weaken the canopy and the pressure caused a forced decompression. The explosion drove shards of metal into the engine and the Wraith exploded a moment later. "Why? Because these newer ships don't have your strength.....Damn." He leaned forward and began doing some calculations. "Take me to Highport. He didn't have a long window between shooting me and taking off, maybe I can still find something in his quarters. Contact Trevor, tell him I want him to get there right now and cordon off Atchisons room." Michael then sat back and rubbed his eyes. "You wouldn't have something strong would you? Some coffee beans to chew on would be great."

"To go it is", she whispered then licked the outside of his ear and gave a light nip on the lobe. "Senschasala endembria grovtenschi", she said the to man behind the bar and he quickly grabbed a key and gave it to her nodding. "Follow me", she said to Darius and slipped off his lap, taking his hand, "we have a room upstairs."

Trevor got the message and nodded, "You got it, Chief." He rubbed his eyes and then looked at Rafe, "Can you get me back?"

Turquine approached Tanis, "Galadrial....", then stopped. Why would she even think about staying with him when this was done. "When this is over...." Hundreds of years, hundreds of battles yet this was still so difficult for him. "I was wondering...."

The acidic vapor ate away enough of the hull to weaken the canopy and the pressure caused a forced decompression. The explosion drove shards of metal into the engine and the Wraith exploded a moment later. "Why? Because these newer ships don't have your strength.....Damn." He leaned forward and began doing some calculations. "Take me to Highport. He didn't have a long window between shooting me and taking off, maybe I can still find something in his quarters. Contact Trevor, tell him I want him to get there right now and cordon off Atchisons room." Michael then sat back and rubbed his eyes. "You wouldn't have something strong would you? Some coffee beans to chew on would be great."

"Arriving in Highport in four minutes, Michael...and Trevor is being contacted now. If you need to speak to him, just call his name: connection is now permanent, and open." Eve replied, happy to satisfy her Master.

"We have Boronian and Earth V beans on board, as well as Argonian chocolate-covered one's...I can synthesize others if you wish. Oh, and Adam added an Espresso function if you'd like a cup or two..." Her voice dissolved into static, and Adam's deep baritone replaced it.

"Heya Chiefy-boy...are you enjoying Eve's facelift? She certainly is...I just came by to tell you that no matter what happens in the next few days, it is imperative that you remain near Highport and Dragonsreach. Your skills will be needed. No questions please...it's better that way. And now, back to your regularly scheduled Eve!" more static, then Eve came back.

"I hate it when he does that...what a showoff." she said, sounding as peeved as a semi-sentient ship can sound.

Trevor got the message and nodded, "You got it, Chief." He rubbed his eyes and then looked at Rafe, "Can you get me back?"

"Yup, no problem. Mind if I tag along? I'm pretty good with gathering and analyzing clues and such...I've been doing it with Steele for years. Plus, to be honest...I'm hurting to get some solid ground under me."

"To go it is", she whispered then licked the outside of his ear and gave a light nip on the lobe. "Senschasala endembria grovtenschi", she said the to man behind the bar and he quickly grabbed a key and gave it to her nodding. "Follow me", she said to Darius and slipped off his lap, taking his hand, "we have a room upstairs."

He followed like a dog on a leash, and that was when he realized something WAS wrong. Steele had a voracious sexual appetite, but what he was feeling now went beyond that, an obsessive need as real as the nead to breathe air. He knew that there had to be more than just biology involved...why couldn't he remember what Lauralin looked like?

These worried thoughts came from far away, and got even farther as Anestia led him up the stairs.

Turquine approached Tanis, "Galadrial....", then stopped. Why would she even think about staying with him when this was done. "When this is over...." Hundreds of years, hundreds of battles yet this was still so difficult for him. "I was wondering...."

She smiled at him, and stopped him before he could continue.

"Shhh...understand that I am yours...now, and for as long as you'll have me. Soon all this will be gone," Tanis gestured at the placid island around her,"and you and I will be thrust into great danger and peril. We will face it together, and share in the victory that MUST be ours."

She put her arms around him, and drew him close, her naked breasts pressing against him.

"Now, tomorrow, forever...I give myself to you, my King." Their embrace was long, passionate and led to another round of frantic love-making. Adam watched with satisfaction, knowing the fate of the universe would soon lie in their hands. As he observed the joyous union in progress, Adam decided that destiny could wait just a little longer.

Michael rubbed his eyes again and nodded. "Espresso would be great, love. Do you have any idea what he's talking about? He does realize that Dragonsreach isn't my beat right?"

Trevor clapped Rafe on the back as Michael did so often with him, "Your hired", he said, "we'll cordon the quarters and then go over every inch. The Chief will want as much as we can get when he arrives, but your used to that unless I miss my guess about your boss. He seems good people, just like the chief."

She led him to the room where her armor and weapons had already been placed and the food followed shortly after. "So", she said lying on the bed, "dinner first? or dessert? I vote for dessert."

Turquine took his time, exploring Tanis with measured strokes, lingering when he found something that pleased her. When they were done he lay holding her, her head on his chest. "I would have you forever, it youd accept. Of course then you would have to perform the duties of Queen." Smiling at her he said, "And some of those are not so pleasant as others. But I would have you at my side if you're willing."

Michael rubbed his eyes again and nodded. "Espresso would be great, love. Do you have any idea what he's talking about? He does realize that Dragonsreach isn't my beat right?"

"Oh, I bet he does, but that's never mattered to him. He once told me he can see both sides of the big picture, whatever that means. Steele trusts him, if thats any help to you, Michael." Eve sounded frustrated, as if she wished to have the same world-view as Adam.

Her voice came back a moment later, filled with happy energy once again.

"One double-espresso, with lime on the side, coming right up!"A few seconds later, a previously unnoticed slot opened in the console in front of the Chief, revealing a piping hot cup of dark coffee.

Trevor clapped Rafe on the back as Michael did so often with him, "Your hired", he said, "we'll cordon the quarters and then go over every inch. The Chief will want as much as we can get when he arrives, but your used to that unless I miss my guess about your boss. He seems good people, just like the chief."

Rafe smiled in appreciation, then tried not to pass out as Trevor slapped him on the back. Rafe was so thin, a brisk wind could knock him over.

"Great...let me just grab my kit." the young man started filling a small carry-all with assorted items. "Ya, Steele is a good man, and a great boss. He acts like a tough-guy, but he's pretty laid back about most things. He had some tough times when he was younger, and you can tell that by his eyes..."

Rafe closed his pack, then strapped on a light holster with a small pistol. He hoped he would not need to use it, but Steele always said it was better to walk softly and carry a big boom-stick.

"I'm ready when you are...Adam! Can you get us down to Atchisons room, then hang around until we're finished?"

"Get you down, no problem: hang around...probably not. Big things going on, and I'll be busy. If you need me though, just holler: I'll be there for you."

"Good enough...transport us when Trevor gives the word..."

Michael reached out and took the espresso, sipping it. "ahhh", she smiled then got serious. "No offense to Adam's boss but I don't trust anyone but you. Now, especially that I've been shot in the back by one of my own." He sipped the espresso again, "Maybe I'm getting to old for this. I should have seen that coming. How can I protect others if I can't watch my own back." He sighed and sat back, sipping the espresso. "Who's too powerful? Who was he afraid of?"

She led him to the room where her armor and weapons had already been placed and the food followed shortly after. "So", she said lying on the bed, "dinner first? or dessert? I vote for dessert."

He was lost in her essence, willing to follow her into the pits of Hades itself, if only to have a chance at tasting her flesh. He knew he was being manipulated somehow, and yet he was powerless to change or control the feelings that raged within him. He grabbed Anestia, roughly, and crushed her against his large form, covering her mouth with his. He felt like a beast, an animal filled with raw passion, and he was unable to fight it. He gave himself to her, fully, completely, without remorse and with great gusto.

The guilt would come later.

The snow was falling gently upon the rune encrusted streets and cuddling trees of light blues and purples, the snow landing on everything around. In Velmora with the erratic weather that they had, snow was one of more favorite of the people.

Especially for the children.

"Come on Tom!" A child cried, as he popped out of his snow bunker and launched his payload of small balls of snow upon the other bunker which was just across the streets.

The snowball flew through the empty and ice covered streets, towards Tom, an elder boy who wore great furs, like his father wore. There were many types of culture within Velmora, and all sorts of people, all Psi. There were Psi who had left decades ago and took their residence in the winter badlands of the world, or Psi who had entered the academic community of magic in other universities, only to return to where they came to work on the projects which promised great things.

The two laughed as war was proclaimed again, the ceasefire now officially over. Snowballs flew between the two, occasionally the chanting of the other was met with the chanting of the other.

Both stood up in joining and chanted, their eyes closed and their hands moving. These children were around seven, but like all Psi, the human like race which possessed highly aware magical abilities, they were well versed in magic.

Magic flowed in the veins of every Psi.

The snowballs hovered, making themselves within the air. Each snow ball fighter had around four snowballs in the air at one time, and then sent them in, all rocketing forth in waves, sometimes hitting the target, sometimes hitting the snow defence that the boy would raise. Of course, the boys could not multitask...so it was either attack with the snowballs, or raise a small sheet of snow or ice to deflect the snow.

The two did not see the man walking silently down the street, his cloven feet making no sound or effort to keep balance upon the ice. The vampire walked as he would on normal ground, calmly and with a long stride.

He wore a great expanse of blue robes and a great heavy cloak which clung to him lovingly. His blue robes had a trim of white fur, not that Kain needed it. Due his vampiric nature, the cold held no discomfort or displeasure, but Kain did like the feeling of the fur around his green neck.

He was currently walking, slower than usual today, across the streets. Few people were out at this time in the morning, most sane people were asleep. The sun shone down glowingly upon the snow and the ice as it still fell, a warm red kind of glow, not the bright kind which dazzled your eyes. Hands jammed into those depths of blue cloth, Kain had his strangely closed as he walked, an oddity which people had grown used to.
Now breached by this vampire, the battlezone contained civilians, a fact that neither general realized.

A snowball was hurled through the frosty air, Kain walking so awfully towards it. The boy realized where the ball was sent towards after a few seconds, and had his mouth agape in the shock of what he had done.

Splat.

Kain halted, and opened his eyes. He felt something very odd across his left pale green cheek, which was slowly sliding downwards leaving a very wet and very cold path of decent. He turned, every so slowly on the spot, and dramatically, his hands still rooted in his pockets as he looked at the young boy who had dared throw a snowball at him.

He stared at him, his brown eyes making a decision. His stern face not relenting for several seconds….

Then, Kain broke into a smile, and a wave of snow landed upon the boy, sending him several feet away in a giggling fit.

“You kids…”, Kain muttered contently to himself, as he walked away, hearing the laughter of those who had been watching behind trees and buildings.

He got back to his thoughts, his mind returning to what he had been so concerned about.


Shar.

He was worried about her, and about the whole situation that she was in. Shar, being the first and only construct that walked the streets of Velmora, or even the world for that matter, was facing problems and irritations. and the fables of the Constructs that people had been taught as children by their parents, who in turn had been taught by their parents, and it had been like that since the beginning of the theories of magic.

A construct was an entity of wood, metal and raw magic, a person who had been made my an awesome display of magic. A display of magic which they were desperately trying to research into, and make common place. Shar had only achieved this physical form through her own astral powers, and such powers were beyond the people of this realm. Shar’s spirit had once existed within Kain’s own cloak, a living entity thus which defended and consoled him. Shar’s nature was a complex affair, but simply put she was a spirit that existed in one of Kain’s possession and protected him, and the spirit had found a new form due to necessity of an emergency.

Just that form, was something that all Psi revered with fascination…and some even distrusted of feared Shar, which greatly frustrated and saddened Kain. Shar was pretty frustrated by some of the things which people had come up and said to her, treating her like a…lab rat. Asking questions, stupid questions…

Kain was walking to see her. She was currently busy at work, alone, within her room within the Construct research building. She liked being alone, as she had always done. Often, she would scorn anyone entering her room, preferring to be alone.

Kain was the exception. She never denied him. Quite the opposite, she completely consoled in the person who she had traveled and protected for so long.

As he walked through the cold air on the runed pavement, he wondered if there could be anything more between them…a strange thought, Kain began to ponder. A demonic vampire and an entity made of raw energies and by many theories, could not exist….

“A strange couple indeed…”, Kain said quietly to himself.

He had never really considered anyone else after Daniella….but things change….things change.

Michael reached out and took the espresso, sipping it. "ahhh", she smiled then got serious. "No offense to Adam's boss but I don't trust anyone but you. Now, especially that I've been shot in the back by one of my own." He sipped the espresso again, "Maybe I'm getting to old for this. I should have seen that coming. How can I protect others if I can't watch my own back." He sighed and sat back, sipping the espresso. "Who's too powerful? Who was he afraid of?"

She hated to see him confused, yet she loved being able to feel hate. She decided that she had to help him, though Adam would be upset.

"Michael...have you ever heard of a vampire named Kain Shentavo? Adam thinks that whatever is happening is a prelude to something massively horrible, and that Shentavo is the key to it all. He IS incredibly powerful...perhaps that's who Atchison was referring to...?" She paused, ready to answer any questions. When none were forthcoming, she spoke again.

"Adam calls you "The Protector of Three Lands", and I'm pretty sure he mean's Dragonsreach, Highport and Skulkingdom. I don't know WHY he calls you that though...Adam keeps a lot of secrets to himself."

Across the fabric of the universe, a shudder was felt, electrifying the links of the Vampirum Illustrus. Many of the undead paused, wondering idly why their frontal lobe was being stimulated, and why they suddenly felt cold for the first time in decades. The Time had come upon them, and soon they would be swept together to fulfill the Destiny of Kain.

(OOC One word of warning DO NOT BRING THE FACT THAT KAIN IS A SHENTAVO MAJORLY INTO THE PLOT. Sure, mention it and explain situations by it a little, but understand that Kain is not the most powerful Shentavo, far from it.

If you are going to make Kain a chosen one or something, have it to do with his own experiances and past and such. Have HIM chosen, not the bloodline as such. Thanks...just go witht he flow so the other Shentavos are not involved.)

Rafe smiled in appreciation, then tried not to pass out as Trevor slapped him on the back. Rafe was so thin, a brisk wind could knock him over.

"Great...let me just grab my kit." the young man started filling a small carry-all with assorted items. "Ya, Steele is a good man, and a great boss. He acts like a tough-guy, but he's pretty laid back about most things. He had some tough times when he was younger, and you can tell that by his eyes..."

Rafe closed his pack, then strapped on a light holster with a small pistol. He hoped he would not need to use it, but Steele always said it was better to walk softly and carry a big boom-stick.

"I'm ready when you are...Adam! Can you get us down to Atchisons room, then hang around until we're finished?"

"Get you down, no problem: hang around...probably not. Big things going on, and I'll be busy. If you need me though, just holler: I'll be there for you."

"Good enough...transport us when Trevor gives the word..."

Trevor gave the word and as soon as they were down he told Rafe to go to work, then spent the next half hour answer, dodging and just get slammed with questions. He gave his instructions, "Get the teams in here, if there was a flea in here I want to be able to identify it. Check the computer, I want to know where he's been for the last three months, if he's seen anyone I want to know who, when, where and where they went." The doctor he dumped quickly and the Commander he did his best answer, then he went to work himself. The command aspect of the job he hated, the actual work he enjoyed.

He was lost in her essence, willing to follow her into the pits of Hades itself, if only to have a chance at tasting her flesh. He knew he was being manipulated somehow, and yet he was powerless to change or control the feelings that raged within him. He grabbed Anestia, roughly, and crushed her against his large form, covering her mouth with his. He felt like a beast, an animal filled with raw passion, and he was unable to fight it. He gave himself to her, fully, completely, without remorse and with great gusto.

The guilt would come later.

Anestia threw herself into them with equal passion and abandon. Hours seemed like minutes as Darius became thankful for the new ability of the exo, the woman seemed to have more energy than anyone should. Finally she subsided and relaxed, before eating. "That was WONDERFUL. I hope your going to be around awhile."

(OOC: I'm not sure were your going with the manipulation, but it can't be from Anestia. She's an anti-paladin essentially and does have magic from her deity and some innate but nothing to affect him like that.)

She hated to see him confused, yet she loved being able to feel hate. She decided that she had to help him, though Adam would be upset.

"Michael...have you ever heard of a vampire named Kain Shentavo? Adam thinks that whatever is happening is a prelude to something massively horrible, and that Shentavo is the key to it all. He IS incredibly powerful...perhaps that's who Atchison was referring to...?" She paused, ready to answer any questions. When none were forthcoming, she spoke again.

"Adam calls you "The Protector of Three Lands", and I'm pretty sure he mean's Dragonsreach, Highport and Skulkingdom. I don't know WHY he calls you that though...Adam keeps a lot of secrets to himself."

"Shentavo doesn't ring a bell, but I can check the comp in the office. Protector of the three land?", he snorted, "ESPECIALLY Skullkingdom. I'd like to drop a nuke on Shadowspawn and call it a day .... But thanks, love. You know your voice was my ex-wifes? She died during the proxima wars when they actually broke through our lines of home defense and attacked Mars." He looked out of the window. "She was more beautiful than all the stars in the universe."

(OOC One word of warning DO NOT BRING THE FACT THAT KAIN IS A SHENTAVO MAJORLY INTO THE PLOT. Sure, mention it and explain situations by it a little, but understand that Kain is not the most powerful Shentavo, far from it.

If you are going to make Kain a chosen one or something, have it to do with his own experiances and past and such. Have HIM chosen, not the bloodline as such. Thanks...just go witht he flow so the other Shentavos are not involved.)

Ah-HA, but what if the future is cloudly, and A Shentavo is the chosen one...maybe not Kain at all? Rave could be the One. Don't worry though, I have no intention of bringing them in...yet.(evil grin)

I will avoid using the name, but keep in mind it IS your name...and Kain may not be the most powerful Shentavo NOW, but things can change.

In the end...I enjoy RPing with Kain, and this whole storyline is just an excuse to get you involved!

Oh, and while I'm passing out accolades, may I say that it is a TRUE pleasure to RP with Dragonsreach...he is the yin to my yang. Thanks, bro...

Anestia threw herself into them with equal passion and abandon. Hours seemed like minutes as Darius became thankful for the new ability of the exo, the woman seemed to have more energy than anyone should. Finally she subsided and relaxed, before eating. "That was WONDERFUL. I hope your going to be around awhile."

(OOC: I'm not sure were your going with the manipulation, but it can't be from Anestia. She's an anti-paladin essentially and does have magic from her deity and some innate but nothing to affect him like that.)

<<OOC: call it Steele not wanting to admit to himself that he is completely taken by Anestia. It's his excuse for "cheating" on Lauralin...who hopefully won't catch them in bed together...hint-hint>>

"I think my schedule should be clear for at least the next few hours...what do you think we should do to keep busy?" he asked, a lasvicious grin splitting his face. It was amazing to finally be able to release the emotions that had been pent up inside him, able to give himself fully to another person. Without hesitation, he reached out for Anestia yet again.

"The food can wait." he mumbled, filling his mouth with her flesh.

"Shentavo doesn't ring a bell, but I can check the comp in the office. Protector of the three land?", he snorted, "ESPECIALLY Skullkingdom. I'd like to drop a nuke on Shadowspawn and call it a day .... But thanks, love. You know your voice was my ex-wifes? She died during the proxima wars when they actually broke through our lines of home defense and attacked Mars." He looked out of the window. "She was more beautiful than all the stars in the universe."

"You love him, don't you?" said Adam.

"Yes. Of course. Even if I had a choice, I still would." Eve replied.

"But...?"

"He still loves HER." she replied, enjoying the feeling of sadness. She loved the concept of feeling anything.

"Even if she was gone, could he ever really love you?" Adam asked, gently.

"No. How could he?"

"Love is of the soul, not of the body. Michael CAN love you if he choses."

"Why would he? I can never give him the pleasure of the flesh that humans need..."

"When he loves you, all will be possible, my dear. In the meantime...love him. Protect him. Help him to guard the Three." said Adam, mysterious as ever.

Eve looked upon the man that was not only her Master, but the man she would die for.

"Michael...please tell me about her. Help me understand...why did you love her?"

The double doors of the Construct research building gaped open, taking a great sucking breath of warm air from the busy building, much to the annoyance of the mages who stood in their fur lined robes of various colours. They held their robes tighter to themselves, but they did not return their attentions back to their panels which still had the Psi language reporting the events of today's tests and trials...but they kept their eyes fully focused on the vampire. The corridor was the first of many, which snaked around the building and then got into the main center room which was were the experiment was taking place.

Kain sucked air through his teeth, and grew steadily more angry. He saw the mages over their panels, observing information Kain already knew what it was. All the wizards said nothing, but Kain knew what they had just done. Otherwise they would not be looking for fervently at their panels, writing notes and arguing with one another. It was a sign of progress....but a progress which should not been made now.

The humming of the gems within the corridor was a give away. the jewels of various shades, dark greens, blues and reds hummed in sync, revealing what these mages had been doing. The jewels were what set Kain into a seeming figure of great intimidation.

He walked, silently, not bothering the close the great double doors which allowed the cold bite of the wind and snow into the corridor. Kain did not care. He certainly did not feel the cold, and he was going to certainly set things straight with Magnus.

As Kain walked past the observing mages, none spoke. Kain was a figure of great respect, and no-one had ever seen his angry at all, or even upset. He walked past, his great expanse of silver-white hair streaming behind him along with his great tide of blue cloak, which had upon it the symbol of Velmora; the Brightblade, a wave blade which Kain used in combat.

Another set of double doors was opened, but it was slammed by Kain's great vampiric strength, making a boom within the great hall. The hall was humming with a louder sound, the sound that told Kain that someone was within the containment cell, as it was called. Mages stood above Kain, on the balcony, watching the proceedings which took place.

The hall had the balcony running along the semi-circle building, and in the center was a dome of glass like material, with a small strange figure inside, which was upon it’s knees and looking upon the floor, very tired and downtrodden. It’s blue eyes looked up, and appeared completely glad to see the seething green figure which had made such a dramatic entrance.

And Magnus, simply looked at Kain impassively, as if nothing was wrong, from his higher window which was his own personal study. The head of this research, a Psi of highly reputable arcane power and understanding of the ideas of constructs and artificers. He sat, his fingers arranged by his face in a triangle pattern, so that he seemed scholary and wise, which indeed, he was. His bright crimson robes with gold trim made him seem like royalty.

“Everyone, out!” Kain bellowed to the mages in the room, not taking his brown eyes off the figure who sat so calmly in his study who returned that cold look with a callous and flippant one of his own. No-one had seen furious before, heard him raise his voice in anger against someone, so the mages complied worriedly. They knew they had gone against Kain’s will…but Magnus had told them to do what they had just done. And it was not too bad…considering. But everyone liked and respected Kain, and they all felt ashamed as they filtered out of the hall quietly, a few murmurs emanating from one or two.

“What do you think he is going to do?”

“I have never seen him like that.”

“Think we will be punished?”

“I wonder if she is ok.”

Kain heard the murmurs with his vampire ears, and they made his more angry.

Once everyone had left…Kain began to reprimand Magnus.

“How dare you treat my friend so heinously Magnus! I am ashamed of you! You can see that she is tired, and you are not allowed to continue your testing and research on this day!” Kain roared, a demon of noise within the echoing walls. Kain pointed a cloven finger towards at Magnus, his body shaking with pure rage.

“Aren’t we angry?” Magnus said calmly.

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/EPIC_Gallery/Gallery2/44280_C2_settingepics50274.jpg

“Aren’t we calm!” Kain retorted, walking towards the glassy walls that held the construct, Shar, within. He spoke a few words and opened the door.

There Shar was, too drained to even move an arm or leg. She just lifted her head and smiled slightly in tired relief, her blue magical glowing eyes sunken.

“We will speak later Magnus! But don’t think you can just defy my will and my rules to the way we go about this whole affair, or you will have a high price to pay Magnus, a very high price indeed.” Kain warned Magnus, as he picked Shar up, putting her right arm over his shoulder, giving her support.

Magnus said nothing more, allowing Kain to walk away with the Construct which he had been working on. He had a little strange smile on his face, one which Kain noted as he walked out angrily, with his friend and companion, Shar on his shoulder.

They walked out, the two saying nothing but knowing the mutual feelings that came from both, no words by silent knowledge that the two had grown used to.

They walked along the icy streets, attracting some attention. Word had already spread, not that Kain cared.

They walked to Kain’s home, to rest Shar who had undergone some very strange and sickening things today….

Things which Kain would not allow again in this extreme way.

Anestia succumbed yet again to Darius, enjoying the moment with all the warrior's realization of the possibility that tomorrow may never come. She would stay as long as she could, hoping that time would be only a few more hours away. But fate was not one to leave her alone. When the knocking came at the door she stood up, grabbing her sword and swearing as she grabbed the door almost ripping the door off and brandishing her sword. "WHAT! she yelled. Jozan stood calmly, the calm assurdness of the veteran soldier and just gazed at Anestia. After a moment she responded, "Intending to use that?" she asked nodding at the sword.

"Against you? Only a lunatic would go against Iron Jenny with armor let alone without. I may not be the most virtuous person in the world but I'm not crazy. I was, however, enjoying myself, now what can I do for you?" she asked as she came back toward the bed.

Jozan came in and sat down. "We need to move, Laura is gone."

Anestia looked at Jozan, "Gone. Gone where?"

"I have Ariel looking into it. I'm looking for Lea as well, I'm assuming Laura sent her to do something."

Anestia was quickly donning her armor. "What could she POSSibly be thinking?"

"I don't think she is, that's the problem. I think she's reacting out of grief right now. Then again she hasn't had the benefit of our training. Relying on those specialy trained for different things. She was an adventurer and had to do everything, basically, herself."

Anestia was ready, strapping on her swords as she headed for the door. Jenny stood up, wincing as she did, then donned her helm and followed.

Michael was as much surprised by the ship asking the question as the fact that he suddenly realized that he was intentionly avoiding the thought ever since it happened. "Well, I guess I exagerate. Physically she wasn't the most beautiful but with her personality. Thoughtful, kind, always there, you know? Hell, she even put up with me and that takes the patience of a saint. She would talk to me about anything and listen to everything I needed to talk about, no matter how trivial."

(OOC: To Reformed Velmora - As for Kain I think Gawdly is handling that. Laura is trying to reach him because what is happening seems connected to vampires and Steele had brought up the possible vampire war. I actually have a seperate plot going, actually two, so three with Gawdly, this should be fun ;). They just seem interconnected at the moment because everything is happening at once, they'll start to seperate.

Thank you for the compliment, that's 25 years of dungeons and dragons RP showing. *grin*)

(OOC Alright then, that sounds good. Just remember, I have no clue to what is going on with you people, so you are going to have to provide descriptions and such for me....that would help me so much. I will continue to give you details on Kain's appearance, just to remind you and such. Thanks.)

Anestia was ready, strapping on her swords as she headed for the door. Jenny stood up, wincing as she did, then donned her helm and followed.

Thank god for pillows, thought Steele as he hastily covered himself out of modesty. Jozan seemed to take no notice of the massive, naked man in Anestia's bed, and he liked it that way. When he heard that both Lauralin and Lea were missing, he rolled out of bed and began donning his own gear. He was dressed in clothing that was the polar opposite of the warriors around him: Pants and a loose tunic, shin-high leatherboots and a long trenchcoat to cover it all. The coat was woven with a mix of anti-ballistic, energy-disippating armor that was proof against most projectiles or light energy weapons. Despite the minimal protection, Steele himself was a walking weapon, if he chose to be.

He noticed that while he was concerned for Lauralin, the feeling was rather muted with the presence of Anestia. She captured his attention as she spoke with Jozan, standing gloriously naked, deadly sword in her hand. The attraction he felt to her was animal, visceral in texture and solidly real. She was like him, a warrior, a soldier in a never-ending war, always healing, always...hurting. As Anestia finished dressing and walked for the door, Steele stopped her, turning the strong woman to face him. He looked her deep in the eyes, opening himself to her. He kissed her, lingering at her lips before pulling away.

"When this is over, I would like to...dine with you again, m'lady."

(OOC Alright then, that sounds good. Just remember, I have no clue to what is going on with you people, so you are going to have to provide descriptions and such for me....that would help me so much. I will continue to give you details on Kain's appearance, just to remind you and such. Thanks.)

Let me help clarify. *takes a deeeep breath*

Steele, Kain and Lauralin met at a Ball. Steele had been hired to kill Kain. Laura was there for diplomatic reasons. After meeting you, something about the hit felt strange to Steele. He called it off, and warned Kain, while Tanis investigated who had paid for the hit, and why.

In a nutshell, after Kain had left the ball, ignoring Steele’s obscure warnings of doom, Queen Lauralin (Elven Vampire) and King Turquine (An Elf and her father) found out there had been a terrorist attack on Dragonsreach. There had been a huge explosion with many casualties, and the terrorists had used high-tech explosives, which was strange on a low-tech, mystical world. Steele (who had a bit of a crush on Laura by now) offered to return with them, to offer his expertise to help with the investigation (Steele is a lifetime mercenary/bounty hunter/vampire-slayer type of guy). Laura and Steele teleport back to Dragonsreach.

Turquine stays behind, to conclude diplomatic matters at the ball, while Tanis (Half-Elf, half-human Navigator and First Officer on the Vengeance, Steele’s personal warship) waits for Turquine to finish, so that the King can come onboard to help guide the ship to Dragonsreach. The King comes on board at the same time as NightClaw, a spirit-type creature that is bound to Laura. Unexplainably, NightClaw melds with Berry, the ship AI, to become a sentient creature who quickly named itself Adam. This new entity has incredible powers, a combination of mysticism and technology, metal and magic. Adam also develops an interesting sense of humor.

There is a sense of urgency for Adam to arrive, because Steele is dependant on the ship to survive, as his exoskeleton must be recharged every 24 hours, even faster if he exerts himself. Steele and Lauralin begin the investigation into the bombing, and more attacks ensue. At the scene of the explosion, a broken tooth is found (vampire), and the Iron Ring are introduced (a criminal organization) and they report to the “Seven” and they are in turn, linked to Skulkingdom (they hate Vampires) – all this time, Steele is falling in love with Lauralin, even though he knows she’s married. Arleena is introduced, a vampire, and also the wife of Lauralin. (Vampire-Elf Lesbians…ya gotta love it!)

More assassination attempts occur, this time on the Queen herself, and they decide to go to the safety of her castle by horseback, prompting the classic line:
"Go with the rolling gait, go with the rolling gait..." Steele repeated to himself as the assault continued on his buttocks. He REALLY hoped they didn't have far to go. He would rather face an angry Kain Shentavo than ride one of these creatures again. At the castle, they meet Aethac of Grimpenward, who brings information that is suspect at best. Steele starts to lose patience with the slowness of the investigation and all the royal games, and he was worried that his power would run out shortly. He decided to take matters into his own hand, hurting Ariel mistakenly in the process, but was stopped by some well-placed arrows from Rayanna, a Wild-Elf. His power drained completely, and Lauralin saved him by infusing him with her own mystic energy. This has changed him, and he no longer needs his energy to be recharged by the ship.

After many fun adventures (time-bending, dragon attacks, demon assassination attempts, two deaths, two soul-siphonings and Dragonsreach in flames in the future), Adam the ship arrives at Dragonsreach. During this time, Tanis and King Turquine have discovered their mutual attraction. Adam sends Turquine to the planet-surface, and Tanis…elsewhere. It is around now that we realize Adam seems to have some deeper knowledge, and begins playing games with people.

Adam sends Turquine to join Tanis, and they find themselves naked, on a deserted island. Adam hints that Tanis & Turquine both deserve some joy before they go off to do “something big”. Tanis believes that to be the killing of Kain Shentavo, a vampire who is either the key to the resurgence of the Vampire Nations, or the bringer of destruction on a galactic scale…or both. She is resigned to the fact that she will die doing this.

Steele is on his way to Highport, home of King Turquine, to investigate the attempted assassination of the Chief of Security there, the hard-nosed Michael Gassington. Before he leaves, he meets the ravishing Anestia Darknight, second in command of Dragonsreach security, and one hot patootie. On arrival at Highport, he meets Trevor, the acting Chief of security. When the doctors block access to Gassington, Steele gets Adam to teleport both Trevor and Gassington off the planet. They discover that though he survived his wounds, a slow-acting poison was killing him. Quickly cured by the med-lab, Gassington fingers Atchison, a security officer in his employ, as the would-be assassin.

Adam modifies Gassingtons ship, which then becomes Eve, a maximised SSF 21D Cutlass. Suddenly, Adam tells of an attack on the Queen in Dragonsreach, and they all return there to find over 200 angry rioters attacking the small but deadly forces of the Queen. They are an anti-vampire mob, upset with the new relations that Lauralin has established with the Vampires. The arrival of Steele, Gassington and Trevor quickly turns the tide, and the rebels are eliminated or captured, but not without many tragic losses on the side of the good guys.

Laura is rushed away by Lea, and Steele seeks solace in the arms of Anestia.

Chief Gassington goes after Atchison, who commits suicide instead of risking capture, his last words being “he’s too powerful…”

On the island, the King and Tanis have been having a wonderful time, and Turquine has seemingly just proposed to her.
Lauralin looked at Darius, "The plot is not thickening, Darius, it is mud."

THAT'S WHERE WE ARE NOW!

Also, in the thread called “The Forgotten”, characters from Dragonsreach are investigating a horrible killing by a cult who worships Kain.

Jozan stands silent and military straight, waiting for the two. Against her seemingly hard nosed ways she waits quietly, saying nothing.

"Oh I fully intend to dine again with you", Anestia replies, returning his kiss with passion, then turns and heads out the door. "I assume she took lightfoot", Anestia says, looking at Jozan.

"Yes, which is why my people couldn't catch her even if we knew where she went. I figured you with flamefoot and Brook with her griffon should be able to reach her once Ariel locates her."

"Can Ariel locate her?" Anestia asks.

Jozan just looks at her and Anestia nods, "Yeah, dumb question."

When they get to the mansion Ariel approaches them, "She's on her way to Grimpen Ward, Brook has already left."

Anestia whistles and a crash is heard from the direction of the new barn. A midnight black horse comes out at a canter. His hooves seem to burn and he blows flames from his nostrils when he snorts. He looks at Darius with an unnerving intelligence and then stands patiently as Anestia kisses Darius again and then mounts. "Grimpen Ward, and we're looking for the Queen." she says to the horse. The horse nods, "She took lightfoot", the horse says as he looks back at her, "I'll make all haste." Anestia nods and they take off .... literally. As he begins to run he lifts into the air, his hooves only barely visible as they come down as though they're striking the surface of another dimension.

(OOC Gawdly, I could could kiss you for that, that was unbelievably helpful. Thank you! *preps Kain for....whatever will happen*. I will give you descriptions of Velmora and where you could enter from via land sea or air in due time.

Thanks again.)

<<OOC: My pleasure, RV! I think it's helpful to ALL of us...a question though: should we split this thread now, to a new one called "Destiny"? That way, it might be easier for the different stories to continue. Obviously, Steele will not leave until he finds out what happens to Laura, and will not worry about Kain until afterwards. Tanis and Turquine are ready to hit Velmora...and Laura will eventually need to seek out Kain as well. What do you think, guys?>>

When the big horse was lead out towards Anestia, Steele's heart sank...not another ride on one of those hellish creatures! His buttocks were still tender from his last experience with equines, and he was in no hurry to repeat it, but he was willing to sacrifice himself to find the Queen. He was simultaneously happily surprised and deeply disappointed when Anestia gave him a quick kiss, jumped aboard the large black roan and flew off into the distance, leaving Steele standing with Iron Jenny Jozan. He suddenly felt very useless, and alone. Turning to the General, he lit a cigar and watched Anestia dwindle into the distance.

"Any chance you can get me to Grimpen Ward as well?"

Michael was as much surprised by the ship asking the question as the fact that he suddenly realized that he was intentionly avoiding the thought ever since it happened. "Well, I guess I exagerate. Physically she wasn't the most beautiful but with her personality. Thoughtful, kind, always there, you know? Hell, she even put up with me and that takes the patience of a saint. She would talk to me about anything and listen to everything I needed to talk about, no matter how trivial."

Sounds like me, thought Eve in her cyber-mind. When Michael spoke, his words were tinged with respect and love for the woman who no longer shared his life. As he spoke of her, his eyes were very faraway, and Eve hoped that one day, he would look at her that way. Michael had lost his wife in the Proxima Wars, a terrible time for Mars. He had never remarried, or given his heart to another since then.

"Michael, I'm...sorry for your loss. She sounds like she was a magnificent woman. I...I wish I could've known her." Eve's voice was wistful, and filled with sympathy.

"Oh...Trevor has reported in. He and Rafe have been going through the room with a fine-toothed comb, but the results are still inconclusive...wait...ok, Rafe is confirming that a trace amounts of boroxide and prestorone have been found, the same chemicals used in making the C4 explosives used in the terrorist attack. Any further orders for them?"

Turquine took his time, exploring Tanis with measured strokes, lingering when he found something that pleased her. When they were done he lay holding her, her head on his chest. "I would have you forever, it youd accept. Of course then you would have to perform the duties of Queen." Smiling at her he said, "And some of those are not so pleasant as others. But I would have you at my side if you're willing."

Her eyes widened, not believing the words that the King...the man she loved...had spoken to her. She looked at him, unsure if he was joking with her, and saw the deadly seriousness in his gaze. She would do anything for this man, this tragic and noble figure, anything to bring him the pleasure he so richly deserved. She knelt on one knee, looking up into his gentle face.

"My Liege...I would be honored to be with you, in whatever way you would have me...for as long as Destiny allows. I love you with all my soul, with every fiber of my being, and I accept any duty that allows me to stand by your side." She lowered her head, respectfully.

As the King looked down on Tanis' bowed head, Adam chuckled to himself.

"Perfect." said the sentient ship.

(OOC I think that is a really good idea Gawdly. Go for it.)

Jenny looked at Steele with cold grey eyes and her voice was colder still. "Not in time to stop the Queen. Only Brook and Anestia have the ability and the mounts for that." She turned toward a man with a patch over one eye where three deep claw marks went through the area that the orb should have been. A huge axe was strapped to his back. "Sergeant, muster the forces, for now we protect the city but be ready to march."

"MA'AM, YES MA'AM!" and he jogged off toward the gate. That done Jenny went into the mansion and into the sitting room to do what she didn't do best....wait.

"Hold them until I get there." he said tiredly. "You know, in many ways you did know her, or do know her. After her death I threw myself into my work. First for a big corp. I was on everything that happened, until I found that the president and owner were dealing with gun runners. Then when I pushed it I got fired. They dealt with the bad press and still run thier business. After the war things were bad enough but after that I hit the bottle....hard. That's how I lost the next two jobs I had. When the king gave me another chance I swore I wouldn't screw up this time. I threw everything left I had for work into it. All the love I had left I put into you. Restoring every detail, programming you with every memory I had of her." He sat back and glanced at the nearest camera even though it was hidden and winked, "You've been the only woman since her." Then he took another sip of the espresso, "He didn't set the explosives though, he was on duty then, I remember seeing him. But at least we know HOW they got the stuff."

Turquine gently raised Tanis to her feet, "No woman I love kneels to me. We are equals, it's the only way in my mind....and in my heart." He embraced her and as he held her said, "When this is done we'll see to the arrangements." He took a half step back and smiled at her, "Or we'll let Laura, Ferranifer and Ariel see to them. Especially Ferranifer, she LOVES setting up events." and winked.

(OOC:Just for my own curiosity, Tanis doesn't know Laura is vamp does she.)

Jenny looked at Steele with cold grey eyes and her voice was colder still. "Not in time to stop the Queen. Only Brook and Anestia have the ability and the mounts for that." She turned toward a man with a patch over one eye where three deep claw marks went through the area that the orb should have been. A huge axe was strapped to his back. "Sergeant, muster the forces, for now we protect the city but be ready to march."

"MA'AM, YES MA'AM!" and he jogged off toward the gate. That done Jenny went into the mansion and into the sitting room to do what she didn't do best....wait.

Not the response he was looking for, and Steele wasn't sure he liked the General's attitude. To hell with her, he thought, and suddenly remembered that he too had a mystical mount he could use. He opened his comm link.

"Adam? You busy??" he asked, hoping for a quick reply.

"Actually, you caught me at a good time, boss. Rafe is off galavanting with Trevor, and I'm just sitting here contemplating growing myself a navel. How can I help you?"

Steele smiled to himself. He was starting to like this new entity calling itself Adam.

"I need a lift to Grimpen Ward..."

"Hold them until I get there." he said tiredly. "You know, in many ways you did know her, or do know her. After her death I threw myself into my work. First for a big corp. I was on everything that happened, until I found that the president and owner were dealing with gun runners. Then when I pushed it I got fired. They dealt with the bad press and still run thier business. After the war things were bad enough but after that I hit the bottle....hard. That's how I lost the next two jobs I had. When the king gave me another chance I swore I wouldn't screw up this time. I threw everything left I had for work into it. All the love I had left I put into you. Restoring every detail, programming you with every memory I had of her." He sat back and glanced at the nearest camera even though it was hidden and winked, "You've been the only woman since her." Then he took another sip of the espresso, "He didn't set the explosives though, he was on duty then, I remember seeing him. But at least we know HOW they got the stuff."

All of this seemed familiar to her, but it was a memory that was fleeting, dancing around the edges of her mind. If Michael had truly programmed her with the memories of his wife...where were they? Maybe Adam had inadvertantly moved them, or even worse, deleted them. She wasn't sure that was a bad thing...Eve was slowly becoming her own person, as much as a semi-sentient ship can BE a person. She watched Michael as he spoke, and realized that she needed to get those memories back for him, so he could once again be with the woman who held his heart.

She would sacrifice herself, giving up Eve for Michaels happiness.

Turquine gently raised Tanis to her feet, "No woman I love kneels to me. We are equals, it's the only way in my mind....and in my heart." He embraced her and as he held her said, "When this is done we'll see to the arrangements." He took a half step back and smiled at her, "Or we'll let Laura, Ferranifer and Ariel see to them. Especially Ferranifer, she LOVES setting up events." and winked.

(OOC:Just for my own curiosity, Tanis doesn't know Laura is vamp does she.)

<<OOC: *reads back 20 pages* Nope, at this point Tanis is unaware...ooooh, more plot twists!

Tanis and Turq will be on their way soon, and if they both live through their upcoming adventure, we have fodder for a new thread! "The Royal Wedding Of Turquine and Tanis - When Two Worlds Collide". >>

Michael sipped the espresso. "You know, I like the way your coming along, or growing, or....well....whatever it is you call it. Whatever you do, Eve, don't change. What's our ETA to Highport? I could use fifteen for a quick nap unless we reach there before that. Unconciousness doesn't exactly do alot for replacement of REM, you know?"

(OOC: I'm ready to split threads whenever, if that's what you want. I think a good event after these tragedies would be good for everyone, and it could be an international invitation if you want. Then Michael would be in his glory. Of course everyone else will be driven nuts. *grin* )

"Hey, Sir?"

Trevor looked at the security man. "Yeah?"

"I found this in his storage."

Trevor took the circular stone pendant. It had a building over which was an image of a woman, though the image wasn't clear enough to identify the race. "Run it. I want to know how old it is and pull up the image and see if you can find a match."

The man nodded and headed off as the crews continued.

(OOC: I'm ready to split threads whenever, if that's what you want. I think a good event after these tragedies would be good for everyone, and it could be an international invitation if you want. Then Michael would be in his glory. Of course everyone else will be driven nuts. *grin* )


OK, it's UP! My first post goes up tomorrow AM...Turq and Tanis will be getting off Gilligan's Island, and on their way to cause havoc in Velmora.
http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=7190514#post7190514

<<OOC: OK, to continue this thread...Steele is about to take Adam to folow the Queen, though his thoughts linger with Anestia. Rafe, Trevor and Michael will dig deeper into the assasination attempt. Lea and Laura are on their way to Skulkingdom, with Anestia on their trail. Sound about right?

OK, I'll wait until the next Lauralin/Lea/Anestia post to reply.>>

Michael sipped the espresso. "You know, I like the way your coming along, or growing, or....well....whatever it is you call it. Whatever you do, Eve, don't change. What's our ETA to Highport? I could use fifteen for a quick nap unless we reach there before that. Unconciousness doesn't exactly do alot for replacement of REM, you know?"

"Then sleep, Michael...sleep. We'll arrive in fifteen minutes, and I will awaken you." answered Eve, reconfiguring his command chair into a comfortable yet temporary bed. She dropped the bridge lights down to a dim, orange glow. If Michael had asked, they could've been at Highport a few minutes ago. She slowd herself down, to give Michael the time he needed to rest. As his eyes closed, she watched him fall into a deep, REM slumber.

So this was love...

Minutes passed on the bridge. Days past in his mind. The Proximans were losing the war in space, such wasn't Michaels venue. But the ground assault was coming and all the marines looked at each other knowingly. None could challenge the might of the colonial marine corps, then again, none had ever tried. Michael stepped out with his platoon to assault the first base on the surface of Proxima four. Then, disaster struck and soon the they learned that this wasn't going to be a sweep of the homeworlds of thier enemy. This was going to be a hard fought battle. A battle that would last ten years. Around him men screamed and died and unleashed death from the weapons in thier hands. Sonic disruptors tore men apart and Michael retaliated. At first because he was avenging men who dropped, but then to fight for his very life. On the bridge he tossed and turned, becoming sweat soaked until finally he jerked awake and looked around, confused at first.

She watched as he slept, at first very calmly, then ratcheting up to nervous twitching, uttered words and cold sweat. She pumped calming endorphins into the air, trying to lessen the pain of the images in his head. Finally, it hurt to much to watch him, and she changed the air mix, adding stimulants to wake him. He came out of his sleep, hollow-eyed and confused.

"It's OK, Michael...you're safe." said Eve, staring at the human she loved.

Michael instantly relaxed at the sound of the soothing voice and he lay back again, though fully awake now. He didn't want to reach Highport, he didn't want to have to face more responsiblity. He wanted to stay here, with the ship he so lovingly recreated and with the new personality that made him feel wanted, safe and at peace. At least when he was awake. After a minute he asked, "How long to Highport", though by his tone it was obvious that there was no desire to get there quickly. But he had a job to do. A job that was given to him by the ruler of that nation. A second chance .... and he wasn't going to screw it up.

(OOC: Sounds about right except that it's Grimpen Ward, not Skullkingdom)

Brook spotted the horse and rider. She guided the griffon down at a slow but steady angle in order to be in the path of the rider. Not far off she spot the flaming trail of devil horse. Laura reigned in and looked at Brook. "Laura you need to come back."

"I need to do SOMEthing. This is taking to long and to many have paid the price."

"And what do you expect to do alone?"

"I do not know. I know only that I must try", Lauralin said vehemently.

"It's not that", Brook told her moving closer, "You're hurting and you want to hurt someone else to aleviate that pain."

"NO! I want to end this foolish conflict."

"You know I'm right, I can see it. If you take a minute to look inside you'll know I'm right." Brook slowly and gently took the reigns of the light warhorse as Anestia landed and dismounted. She stepped closer but stopped, allowing Brook time to reason with her.

"I do not want to look in myself."

"Why? Afraid of what you'll find there? You're so sure your a monster. What your afraid of is that you'll see your wrong. You're afraid that you'll see that who you are is no different from before. THAT'S what your afraid of."

Lauralin sat on her horse looking around confused. Brook was wrong .... or was she? IS that what she was afraid of? Did she not wish to look inside herself because she felt that this action would end the existance of yet another creature of darkness and that looking in herself would make her refuse to seize the moment? It was an excuse. She realized that now. She didn't want to do this for her people, for Arleena or for anyone else but herself. When had she become so selfish? How?

Brook reached up, "Take my hand. Come back with us."

Lauralin looked at Brook's hand for a long moment. Long enough that Anestia was getting ready to take her by force to stop her. Slowly she reached out and took the barbarian's hand and slipped off the horse. Brook nodded and looked at Anestia then tilted her head toward lightfoot. Anestia took the horse and began the ride back while Brook took Laura with her and headed back to Kern.

Steele waited for Adam to reply, expecting the sentient ship to transport him aboard at any moment. When nothing happened, he tried communicating with the ship, but received no answer. Since achieving sentience, Adam had a mind of his own, and Steele never knew what the ship would do next. Looking back at Iron Jenny, the big man gave her his most respectful smile.

"General...surely there MUST be some way to get me to Grimpen Ward...the Queen may have need of my skills."

As he finished speaking, he saw riders floating in the distance. He maximised his ocular impants, and clearly saw the returning shapes of Anestia, Brook and Lauralin, the latter two astride a magnificent winged creature that Brook had called a griffon. He smiled back at the General.

"Never mind."

Michael instantly relaxed at the sound of the soothing voice and he lay back again, though fully awake now. He didn't want to reach Highport, he didn't want to have to face more responsiblity. He wanted to stay here, with the ship he so lovingly recreated and with the new personality that made him feel wanted, safe and at peace. At least when he was awake. After a minute he asked, "How long to Highport", though by his tone it was obvious that there was no desire to get there quickly. But he had a job to do. A job that was given to him by the ruler of that nation. A second chance .... and he wasn't going to screw it up.

She raised the temperature in the ship by a few degrees, and sent a warm breeze across Michaels face, drying the cold sweat that still lingered there.

"Michael, we can be in Highport whenever you want. I...I'm worried that you may not be fully recovered from your wounds though...you are still weakened, my lo..." Eve stopped herself. How would he react if he knew her feelings? Were they actually her own feelings, or that of his dead wife? She would need to investigate that further, but at a later time. For now, she needed to take care of the man she...loved.

Jenny stood up, wincing in pain as she did so and grabbed her helm. "We may not be as advanced as you, Mr. Steele", she said coldly, "but we're not totally incompatent." She then strode out with a military bearing that came natuaraly to her. Not the practiced bearing of statemen, but the simple lifelong stride and bearing that came to those who served for longer than it seemed she could have.

They landed and Anestia turned Lightfoot loose. The spooked horse made immediatly for the new barn and went right to it's stall. Anestia let her own horse go and it trotted off leaving flaming prints in it's wake. Brook helped Laura down and Lea came out of the mansion, concern in her eyes and a bit upset at having been duped into leaving Laura alone. Brook took the griffon into the barn and tended to it and Lightfoot, not daring to approach the tempermental hell horse.

Lauralin stood looking around, as though looking for something, anything, to do to resolve this crisis. She no longer wore the ball gown. She was dressed for trouble. Her light blue tunic hung just to her hips. The leather pants were soft doe leather and worn as ther the high soft boots. The sash she wore proudly went from her right shoulder to her left hip and had the Defenders symbol displayed on her shoulder. Her flame red hair was braided in tight double war braids, the braids clamps every few inches with steel clamps to keep her hair from getting in her way in combat. There was one longsword scabbard on her left hip made of black dragonscale, one on her right made of white dragonscale. The longsword scabbard on her back, made of red dragonscale and with Silverlief written along it's length held the most power of the three longswords. Under the white sheath was a plain sheath with a short sword. The sword, though not magical, was enough to give an enemy pause. The thrusting blade was augemented with back curving razor sharp hooks along its top to catch and rip entrails, bone and muscle. Though she never used it, it was a remember of her defense of daggerdale when this very weapon was used against her. A knife sheath went crosswise in front on her belt and held a strange yellow flecked dagger. A quiver crossed the swordsheath on her back and held barbed tipped arrows. The ancient double recurve bone bow slid into a spot on the outside of the sheath and in her hand was the black staff with the gold dragonsclaw and huge diamond. Most assumed it a staff of station, but it was actually a very power magical staff that she had aquired during her adventures.

Jenny approached Laura, "Mr. Steele was wishing to see you. Also Michael was shot, attempted assassination, I just thought you should know." Her voice had a gentleness that Darius wasn't accustomed to hearing.

Lauralin looked at Jenny. On her face all could see the desperate attempt to put aside her grief to allow her to deal with the situation.

Lea took a position by Laura's side as she awaited further orders.

Anestia came and stood beside Darius, smiling at him then turning to Laura for further orders.

The others came one by one, all looking at Laura, not sure what to do, and not knowing how to help her deal with her pain.

Michael caught her attempt to stop herself and wasn't sure how to react. He had loved this ship, rebuilt it with his own time, money and sweat. He knew every inch, until now. He had programmed the pesonality, yet it was not the same. He actually liked this one more. It was more demure than the one he had programmed. And it was sentient. 'What the hell?', he thought, 'he's seen stranger in his time, with things that weren't sentient.

"Well my love, no time like the present. The sooner done, the sooner we have time alone." He strapped in the pilot seat and reached for the controls, then remember he didn't have to worry about it. "Let's see if you can fly as well as I can", he said and smiled then winked at the cockpit camera, "ONCE more unto the BREACH!"

Jenny approached Laura, "Mr. Steele was wishing to see you. Also Michael was shot, attempted assassination, I just thought you should know." Her voice had a gentleness that Darius wasn't accustomed to hearing.

Lauralin looked at Jenny. On her face all could see the desperate attempt to put aside her grief to allow her to deal with the situation.

Lea took a position by Laura's side as she awaited further orders.

Anestia came and stood beside Darius, smiling at him then turning to Laura for further orders.

The others came one by one, all looking at Laura, not sure what to do, and not knowing how to help her deal with her pain.

Steele bowed to the General, appreciative that she had gone to the Queen for him. He looked at Lauralin, seeing the change in her, the hardness in her eyes. She was armed for bear, as his father used to say, and she looked very, very dangerous. He wasn't sure he liked the change.

Anestia was suddenly at his side, and he was very much aware of her presence, and proximity. He turned and smiled at her, a true smile of respect and friendship.

"Thank-you for bringing her back, beautiful. I owe you dinner..." Steele winked at her, and began striding towards the Queen. He stopped short of her, his mind and heart racing. He loved her, this much he was sure of, but he had also resigned himself to the fact that Laura and he could never be together. He had given himself to Anestia, easily and willingly, two warriors sharing their last meal. Now, with the death of Arleena, all that had potentially changed.

"Your Majesty, it is good to see that you are well. I wanted to apologise for not being here when the attack occurred, and give you my deepest sympathy for the grievous losses suffered by you and your House." Steele paused, searching her eyes for a response, but she simply stared back at him, her face a beautiful, impassive mask. Steele continued.

"Yes, Michael was shot, point-blank, by one of his own men. He's fine now, thanks to the doctors at Highport and with a little help from Adam. In fact, the Chief is out hunting the traitor now." He stepped closer to her, lowering his voice.

"Your Majesty...Lauralin...look at me. Look at all of us. We are here for you, to help you with the burden you try to bear by yourself. Let us help you, for that is what we MUST do. I...we love you, Lauralin." Steele paused, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. Their eyes locked, hers betraying nothing and his, an open door to his heart.

"Well my love, no time like the present. The sooner done, the sooner we have time alone." He strapped in the pilot seat and reached for the controls, then remember he didn't have to worry about it. "Let's see if you can fly as well as I can", he said and smiled then winked at the cockpit camera, "ONCE more unto the BREACH!"

He...he called her "my love."

She replayed his voice over and over, recorded so that she would never doubt again. She would give him everything he needed and more. With growing amusement, she watched as Gassington realized his seat was changing, reconfiguring itself to fit the exact contours of his body. She saw his small smile of pleasure as the seat began to generate a combination of heat and ultra-sonics into the precise areas his back hurt the most. Eve giggled aloud when his eyes widened as she added a light vibration and full-body massage to the seat's programming.

"Comfy, Michael? Have another espresso if you like, we'll be in Highport in six minutes or so."

She didn't respond to your Majesty, but Lauralin made her look up. Look up, and listen. He was right. How many times had she extended her hand to others and said the same thing?

"Alright", she said in a weak, pain filled voice. Then in a firmer voice that everyone was more used to, "Alright. Here's what I need. I need to know the vampire connection, Anestia use your contacts. Brook, see what you can find out about the connection to the Iron Ring. Darius, if you would, could you find out what has been learned about the attempt on Michael? I would appreciate it. General, the Duchess may arrive at any time for her visit, be prepared to provide her escort from Dragonreach border to Kern. From highport if need be. I don't want an incident with a foreign dignitary. Baghtru, go over the mansion and ground, every inch, I don't want any surprises. I'm going to see if I can talk to Nightclaw. He was supposed to bring Tanis back or come back himself. Any thoughts? Ideas? Questions?"

Michael smiled and settled in with the espresso. "I wish I could say no rush, but that would be a lie. Hey, Eve? Could you tap into my link so I have access to you even while I'm not on board?"

She didn't respond to your Majesty, but Lauralin made her look up. Look up, and listen. He was right. How many times had she extended her hand to others and said the same thing?

"Alright", she said in a weak, pain filled voice. Then in a firmer voice that everyone was more used to, "Alright. Here's what I need. I need to know the vampire connection, Anestia use your contacts. Brook, see what you can find out about the connection to the Iron Ring. Darius, if you would, could you find out what has been learned about the attempt on Michael? I would appreciate it. General, the Duchess may arrive at any time for her visit, be prepared to provide her escort from Dragonreach border to Kern. From highport if need be. I don't want an incident with a foreign dignitary. Baghtru, go over the mansion and ground, every inch, I don't want any surprises. I'm going to see if I can talk to Nightclaw. He was supposed to bring Tanis back or come back himself. Any thoughts? Ideas? Questions?"

"The Duchess?" Steele spoke aloud. "I'm sorry, but am I to understand that you will be receiving diplomatic guests, your Maj...Laura? As a security professional I can say for certain that the current situation here in Dragonsreach is NOT conducive to a safe visit for dignitaries. We're short-handed as is, and having to worry about some foreign head-of-state will take a lot of our already limited resources..." Steele paused, hoping Laura would hear the wisdom in his words.

"As for NightClaw, or Adam, as he calls himself now...thats problematic. He does things at his own pace, and with his own agenda. He has assured me that your father and Tanis are both together, and safe. Those two may still need Adam's help eventually, and it may be dangerous to pull your familiar out just yet. I...I suggest we trust him, because I'm not sure we have any other choice."

Michael smiled and settled in with the espresso. "I wish I could say no rush, but that would be a lie. Hey, Eve? Could you tap into my link so I have access to you even while I'm not on board?"

Eve had already done so, wanting to be able to watch over her man, (HER man!) and to protect him when he was away from her. She could lay down a stream of pinpoint lasers around him from miles away, and even project a small force field around him or simply transport him away, if necessary. Eve would watch over her man, a guardian angel hovering over him.

"The link is live Michael, and I have a new toy for you: try these on." A panel slid open in front of him, and a pair of sleek sunglasses lay there.

"Try them on, Michael: they should fit you perfectly. Now you'll have visuals as well as magnification, radiation detection, infra-red, multi-spectrum wave generation....oh, and if you wink with your right eye twice, it fires nine thousand pounds of pure energy at whatever happens to catch your eye, so to speak." She paused as he tried them on...she quickly learned every recorded detail on what 'cool' was, and promptly decided that Michael looked very cool indeed.

Laura smiled at Darius. It was the dazzling smile she normally offered though it was still filled with pain. "I shall heed your advice concerning Nightclaw then, Father can take care of things. As for the Duchess I concur with your assessment but she had already left port and she was making her agenda en route. So unfortunetly even though we are", and here she choked up a moment before continuing, "even though we are short handed, we must do what we can. Otherwise I would fully agree." She rested her hand lightly on his arm, "I understand your concern, and I wish I could do something, but it is beyond me at the moment. If you could talk to Michael and see where his investigation is leading it would be helpful."

"Well hell", he said, "Now I'm ready for the beach. How would you look in a bikini?" he asked, "or better yet stay home in some lingerie", and wiggled his eyebrows, then froze, hoping THAT movement didn't do anything like the winking did.

Laura smiled at Darius. It was the dazzling smile she normally offered though it was still filled with pain. "I shall heed your advice concerning Nightclaw then, Father can take care of things. As for the Duchess I concur with your assessment but she had already left port and she was making her agenda en route. So unfortunetly even though we are", and here she choked up a moment before continuing, "even though we are short handed, we must do what we can. Otherwise I would fully agree." She rested her hand lightly on his arm, "I understand your concern, and I wish I could do something, but it is beyond me at the moment. If you could talk to Michael and see where his investigation is leading it would be helpful."

Her smile warmed him, and reminded him why he had given his heart to this warrior-Queen. He reached out, his large hand gently touching her arm. In a rush, he had an overwhelming urge to sweep Lauralin up in his arms, shielding her and protecting her, if just for a moment. Even though she was armed with enough weaponry for a small war, she seemed sadly vulnerable. A smart General would take advantage of this weakness, exploiting it for the greater good. Not Steele.

"I'll try to get through to the Chief, and get you that information. In the meantime, here's what you need to do: change the Duchess' arrival route, have her land at a secondary field. Get four of your best people to meet here, and I'll join them in a few minutes. We'll go and meet her, and get her here safely. Tell no one except those directly involved. Ok?" Steele knew that if the terrorists wanted to create additonal havok, a hit on a visiting diplomat would seem like a ripe target for them. They may already have the scheduled itinerary...the big man had to assume they did, and that an ambush could already be planned.

An ambush is like a dance...it takes two to tango. Tonight, the terrorists would dance alone.

Activating his comm-link, Steele listened for the familiar sound of connection. Silence greeted him. Selecting a wide-band frequency at maximum power, he spoke firmly.

"Priority One transmission requested: Chief Michael Gassington, please respond. Chief Michael Gassington, please respond." The sound of his own voice echoed in his ear.

****************************************************

She was running a search program to determine what the ideal female form would look like...a girl could dream, could'nt she? She flashed images on the walls around the bridge, beautiful women of all races and colors, in various stages of undress. Most wore bikinis. She studied Michael's physical response to the various images, measuring his temperature changes, increased respiration and heartbeat, perspiration, pupil-dilation, body-language and adding this information to her analysis.

Her heightened sensor capabilities enabled to pick up the faint transmission fairly easily. She relayed the information immediately.

"Michael, I have a call from you...it's Darius Steele on Dragonsreach. Would you like to speak to him?" Eve asked, knowing full what his answer would be.

As Darius made his call Lauralin interrupted, "There are two problems with that. I do not know when she is arriving and will not know until the dragons see her. The second is that, by secondary landing field, I assume you mean an airship. Unfortunatly it is a sailing vessel. The Duchess land is about equal to my own in technology if not further behind. Dragonsreach is a landlocked nation, she will have to come into highport. If you are speaking to Michael then perhaps you could have him handle her escort to Dragonsreach border when she does arrive. As for four people I trust, easily done. Jenny, Brook, Baghtru and myself."

Michael watched the images for a few minutes, surprised and confused as to what was happening. "Umm, hell of a show Eve, is there some reason for this?" When the call came through he was distracted by the images and the pleasant sound of her voice, "Steele .... Darius .... ah hell, I mean Gassington, go." He waved a hand indicated the images should be shut off though one held his attention none the less. It was the image of a woman with dark brown hair, naturally wavy and long, to about her mid back. She was athletic but still had femanine curves, though not too endowed. Her eyes were light, but not like the Queen regents crystal eyes, rather like the sky on a bright summer day. She was a combination of femanine beauty and solid strength. Her eyes told of pleasure but warned of strength. She was wearing lingerie, which by his reactions he seem to favor, allowing something pleasing to the eye while still leaving something to the imagination. It was not what his wife had looked like, but it was the perfect combination of beauty and strength. Someone who would be pleasurable to be with yet stand beside him, not behind, when things got tough. Yet the voice she chose also elicited a response. One that was soothing yet pleasurable to listen to and that initiates a sexual response in him.

Trevor looked over at Rafe, "Pack up, the chief is coming in, he'll be expecting us at the office. We'll give him what little we found." He waited until Rafe got his things together and then led the young man to the office.

As Darius made his call Lauralin interrupted, "There are two problems with that. I do not know when she is arriving and will not know until the dragons see her. The second is that, by secondary landing field, I assume you mean an airship. Unfortunatly it is a sailing vessel. The Duchess land is about equal to my own in technology if not further behind. Dragonsreach is a landlocked nation, she will have to come into highport. If you are speaking to Michael then perhaps you could have him handle her escort to Dragonsreach border when she does arrive. As for four people I trust, easily done. Jenny, Brook, Baghtru and myself."

Steele was surprised that he was disappointed by her choice...Anestia was not going to be involved. The fact that the Duchess was coming in by boat posed another problem...but that's why security specialists like Chief Gassington existed. He heard Michaels gruff voice in his ear, and replied.

"Howdy Chief, Darius Steele here. I'm with Lauralin, and we need an update on your situation...how are you feeling? Anything new with your investigation?"

As the big man waited for a reply, he lit a small cigar and puffed contentedly, finally feeling like things were happening. Lauralin had settled down, and taken firm control of the situation. Despite this new resolve, Steele felt a large gulf between them, as if she was purposely trying to keep him away. Noticing movement out of the corner of his eye, he turned and saw Anestia, speaking to some guardsmen. There was no gulf between them, that was a certainty. The beautiful warrior had accepted him with open arms, and seemed to value his presence, and his martial skills. Anestia saw Steele not only as a man, but as a fellow warrior and an equal.

When Michael's response was not immediately forthcoming, Steele spoke again.

"Also, you think you can make yourself available to provide some personal security to a visiting Duchess? We'll need you to escort her to Dragonsreach, ideally in that ship of yours..."

It was the image of a woman with dark brown hair, naturally wavy and long, to about her mid back. She was athletic but still had femanine curves, though not too endowed. Her eyes were light, but not like the Queen regents crystal eyes, rather like the sky on a bright summer day. She was a combination of femanine beauty and solid strength. Her eyes told of pleasure but warned of strength. She was wearing lingerie, which by his reactions he seem to favor, allowing something pleasing to the eye while still leaving something to the imagination. It was not what his wife had looked like, but it was the perfect combination of beauty and strength. Someone who would be pleasurable to be with yet stand beside him, not behind, when things got tough. Yet the voice she chose also elicited a response. One that was soothing yet pleasurable to listen to and that initiates a sexual response in him.

As he took the call from Steele, Eve shut down all the images but one: a beautiful woman with long, brown hair. She let the picture linger, confirming what her sensors had already told her. Eve replaced all the viewscreens with an external view of space, recording the specifications of Michael's ideal woman in her memory.

"EVE", Michael said with a vehemance that surprised even him, "NOT ship." He hesitated a moment to control his anger then continued, "I'll have more in about five minutes but Atchison blew himself to hell. He did confirm one thing, which shouldn't surprise you, certainly didn't surprise me, he wasn't working alone. All I got was HE'S to powerful. He who I don't know. I'll be meeting with Trevor soon to see if they found anything in his quarters and I'll give you a call then and let you know if anything was found. As for a visiting dignitary I won't insult you by telling you it's a bad idea. I'm sure you already informed her majesty. When is she coming in, how, where on Dragonsreach border should I take her and who'll be meeting me?"

Trevor led Rafe into the security which was state of the art. "Want some sludge?" Trevor asked, "they call it coffee but I have my doubts." He sat down at the chiefs desk and began looking at the results. "Old alright, about three hundred years. Local stone. No radiation. No I.D. in the database." Trevor sat back and thought for a moment then leaned forward and ran his fingers deftly over the console. He waiting a few seconds then leaned back again staring at the information there. "Ah hell", he muttered.

"EVE", Michael said with a vehemance that surprised even him, "NOT ship." He hesitated a moment to control his anger then continued, "I'll have more in about five minutes but Atchison blew himself to hell. He did confirm one thing, which shouldn't surprise you, certainly didn't surprise me, he wasn't working alone. All I got was HE'S to powerful. He who I don't know. I'll be meeting with Trevor soon to see if they found anything in his quarters and I'll give you a call then and let you know if anything was found. As for a visiting dignitary I won't insult you by telling you it's a bad idea. I'm sure you already informed her majesty. When is she coming in, how, where on Dragonsreach border should I take her and who'll be meeting me?"

"All I can tell you is...I don't know. You'll have to hang tight, and we'll get you more info as we go along." Steele ignored Michael's insistance on calling the ship 'Eve' for now, but filed it away for later.

"Thanks for taking care of Rafe for me...he's a good kid. I'll keep this channel open. Steele out." He cut the link, then turned back to the Queen. Steele relayed the new information from Gassington to her, leaving out the Eve part.

"Laura, I think we need to see if Anestia has come up with anything...the vampire connection is obvious, and still fresh." He saw her face darken, the mention of vampires bringing shame and regret to her eyes. He immediately regretted his harsh words.

Trevor led Rafe into the security which was state of the art. "Want some sludge?" Trevor asked, "they call it coffee but I have my doubts." He sat down at the chiefs desk and began looking at the results. "Old alright, about three hundred years. Local stone. No radiation. No I.D. in the database." Trevor sat back and thought for a moment then leaned forward and ran his fingers deftly over the console. He waiting a few seconds then leaned back again staring at the information there. "Ah hell", he muttered.

"If it has caffeine, I'll drink it...just add lots of sugar, please." Rafe finished packing up his samples, and watched Trevor as he labored over the computer. Taking out his own data-link, he connected his spectrum analyzer to the main database housed in Adam's brain. Rafe ran the samples through, recording the results, all of which verified what Trevor had discovered. He left the small machine to do its work, and went over to stand beside the young security agent.

Lauralin nodded after a moment, almost regretfully, with a look at the still bloody ground, then looked up, seeming to be unfocused for a moment before looking at Darius. "She is this way", she said and took his arm. "He .... He is to powerful. I can narrow that down at least to maybe half a dozen that would dare something like this based on that information. Assuming it is someone from our region of course." Her tone was thoughtful and though she bore herself a strong, firm step her voice sounded tired. She led him in through the front door and up the staircase, then to the spiral stairway that led directly into the situation room.

Anestia looked up and stood. "I don't have much. An informant of mine saw a skullkingdom representative talking to a member of the Iron Ring. The Iron Ring member was told to meet a vampire in the old mines on the mainland. That's all he knows, he wasn't about to approach a vampire, but he does know the representative and in fact he's still here. He apparently had a pressing date afterwords but wasn't able to get out before Laura locked down the city. I was just getting ready to head out and bring him in."

Lauralin nodded. "Do so", she said then looked at Darius, "unless you have another idea in mind."

Trevor stood up and got the coffee for Rafe then sat down again and ran everything over again. "Damn."

Once Eve landed Michael got up and went to the ramp. "Don't disappear on me, hon." he said before heading down the ramp and made his way to the security office.

The door to the office wasn't even opened fully when Michael started. "I need what info you have Trev", he said as he walked through the door and to the coffee pot, pouring himself a cup of the thick, dark liquid and sighing as he thought about the espresso.

"He made the bomb alright, we found trace elements in his room. We also found this", he said as he handed the odd piece to Michael. "We have age, it's local, yada, yada, but here's the bad part." He stood and pointed to the display as he said, "There was nothing recent and nothing in the criminal database, so based on the age I did an historical search. The symbol on it is a representation worn by those of a particulare school. A school of necromancy that's no longer around, but the head of the skill still is. And her name is Ferranifer Melbourne."

Michael looked at the display and then ran the search again. Only one match came up. "Ahhhh NUTS". Michael sat back. "Great .... just great." He sighed, "Eve you have this? Contact Steele. I'm just glad he's standing in front of the Queen and not me."

Lauralin nodded after a moment, almost regretfully, with a look at the still bloody ground, then looked up, seeming to be unfocused for a moment before looking at Darius. "She is this way", she said and took his arm. "He .... He is to powerful. I can narrow that down at least to maybe half a dozen that would dare something like this based on that information. Assuming it is someone from our region of course." Her tone was thoughtful and though she bore herself a strong, firm step her voice sounded tired. She led him in through the front door and up the staircase, then to the spiral stairway that led directly into the situation room.

Anestia looked up and stood. "I don't have much. An informant of mine saw a skullkingdom representative talking to a member of the Iron Ring. The Iron Ring member was told to meet a vampire in the old mines on the mainland. That's all he knows, he wasn't about to approach a vampire, but he does know the representative and in fact he's still here. He apparently had a pressing date afterwords but wasn't able to get out before Laura locked down the city. I was just getting ready to head out and bring him in."

Lauralin nodded. "Do so", she said then looked at Darius, "unless you have another idea in mind."

When she took his arm, Darius felt electricity shoot through him, a renewal of the connection that lingered since Lauralin had saved his life. He revelled in it, this feeling of closeness, unity and intimacy. He listened with half a mind as she spoke, content to just feel her touch.

"Makes sense, Laura. We'll grill the Skullkingdom rep first, and see what we can drag out of him. I'm starting to see a pattern though, and I think our next step will be to bring this thing full-circle." Steele paused, taking a long draw from his cigar.

"We need to talk to Kain Shentavo."

"He made the bomb alright, we found trace elements in his room. We also found this", he said as he handed the odd piece to Michael. "We have age, it's local, yada, yada, but here's the bad part." He stood and pointed to the display as he said, "There was nothing recent and nothing in the criminal database, so based on the age I did an historical search. The symbol on it is a representation worn by those of a particulare school. A school of necromancy that's no longer around, but the head of the skill still is. And her name is Ferranifer Melbourne."

Michael looked at the display and then ran the search again. Only one match came up. "Ahhhh NUTS". Michael sat back. "Great .... just great." He sighed, "Eve you have this? Contact Steele. I'm just glad he's standing in front of the Queen and not me."

Eve had anticipated Michael's request, and was already downloading the information to Steele. She was recording the Queens reaction as she learned of the possible betrayel...she thought Michael might enjoy watching Lauralin's hissy fit. Simultaneously, she was having a discussion with Adam.

"...but you promised!" Eve yelled.

"Now, now...I promised that you would have a form that would suit the one that loves you...and you do." Adam replied, distracted by his own preparations. He was about to begin the last phase of his plan, and he needed to concentrate on the task at hand. The nagging he was getting from Eve was not helping.

"Then...keep your promise, and give me this body!" Eve flashed the image of the brown-haired beauty that appealed to Michael.

"I have kept my promise: your form suits the one that loves you." he said, cutting the communication. Adam was very satisfied with the current form of his future mate.

****************************************************

Rafe was adding yet another dollop of sugar to the sweet mess that claimed the name "coffee", and considering what to do next. His advanced analysis had found something that Trevor's computer had not been able to identify. The information was potentially sensitive, and his first reaction was to hush things up, and inform Steele at the earliest opportunity.

The young man looked at Trevor, his polar opposite. Where Rafe was small, skinny and seemingly malnourished, Trevor was big, tall and in peak health. Still, both the men shared the same sense of humor, and the same ability to go over every detail in an investigation. Rafe had come to really like the young security man, and trusted him implicitly. Then there was the Chief: This was an easy one, simply because Gassington reminded Rafe of Steele: tough as nails, filled with piss n' vinegar, and the wrong man to piss off...ever. His decision came easy to him, and he cleared his throat.

"One other thing, gents...I also picked up some trace elements of a dirt that is not native to this area...in fact, it shouldn't be on this planet at all. I found a soil sample, and the mineral breakdown suggests it can only come from one place." Rafe took a sip of his thick, black coffee-syrup and paused, not only to swallow, but to add a sense of drama to the moment. He sometimes liked to imagine himself as a vid-star, and the pregnant pause was a staple in the space-opera's the young man enjoyed watching.

"The sample is from Velmora...a vampire planet, and the home of Kain Shentavo."

Anestia moved immedietely as Laura nodded to her and moved off toward the gate. Lauralin looked at Darius, "So far I have been unsuccessful in contacting Mr. Shentavo. I fear that our knowledge outside the borders of this region is minimal at best." She sighed and shook her head. "I fear I am more of a hinderance than a help."

"Never heard of Velmora", Michael said. "But if it's a vampire planet then I'm all for orbital nuking and letting them blow away on the cosmic winds."

"The Chief isn't exactly fond of vampires", Trevor put in, "as for me, well, I don't really believe in them. There's rumor that the Queen of Dragonsreach is a vampire, imagine that one. I've SEEN her walk around in daylight and she doesn't even tan, let alone fry." Trevor rolled his eyes.

Michael just looked at Trevor, no words could be found, obviously he was shocked by his seconds ignorance of the existance of the creatures.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eve was standing before a man of great stature, taller than any human she could remember, but she WAS standing, in the form she had chosen. The man was of heroic proportion with full beard and mustache, his blue eyes regarding her silently. A horn hung on his left hip and a sword hung from his right.

Turquine and Tanis suddenly found themselves standing before this man, to thier right was a woman with dark brown hair, naturally wavy and long, to about her mid back. She was athletic but still had femanine curves, though not too endowed. Her eyes were light, but not like the Queen regents crystal eyes, rather like the sky on a bright summer day. She was a combination of femanine beauty and solid strength. Her eyes told of pleasure but warned of strength. She was wearing lingerie, allowing something pleasing to the eye while still leaving something to the imagination. Turquine was in his old battle armor with 'Retributions Voice' at his hip and, uncustomarily, he dropped to one knee bowing his head, "My Lord". In the mans hand appeared a vessel. One that Eve and Tanis would recognize instantly as Adam.

Adam was suddenly much smaller, or things were much bigger, he was also able to do nothing but watch the proceeding around him and in his mind Nightclaws fear lanced through him like a chery red sword through flesh. "It is HE", he kept muttering in Adams mind, "It is the Kings God."

The man looked at the ship in his hand idly and then those about him. "Enough", he said, "rise my avatar, this upstart shall harm nor control thee not."

Slowly Turquine rose, though he kept his head bowed. "This one interferes with our celestial plans and shalt be dealt with. Yet thee hast a path afore that thou must trod. Events go forth that must with haste be given address. And you, my loyal servant, shall address them as thou hast served unto us in past with all due haste and merit. I bind thee not to action in regard, yet set thee forth to do as thy see best in interest, as thee hast done so oft afore and unto us given satisfaction."

He turned to Tanis "Thou hast now free will to choose. Yet let me say unto you that this blessed child goes forth to do what is best upon us and not merely to slay. Not all may be as it seems, child. We charge only that ye give unto this venture free will and fear not for the repurcutions of the arrogant accident of fate that deems itself so great as us. Let me give thy eyes pause for thought upon that which you believe all evil. For this man you love could not possibly be so evil and therefore afore we place you upon the soil of the man ye shall go upon, I send thee firstly unto the daughter of this man whos heart you hold and in his hand yours doest hold. See then if all evil is bound in the fleshy fears of your imaginings."

With that Tanis and Turquine appeared in front of Lauralin and Darius.

The man then gestured to Eve to move forward. "Step forward, child, and address us. Your heart does hold bars of prison for this mortal you would dress yourself so for. Yet this one" he said holding up the ship in his hand, "does wish thee for its own and thus did give unto thee breath of life. If though so choose, know that we shall send thee unto him whom holds your heart and give free to this form and that from unto which you were born, for to limit thyself from the celestial mirth of the stars is to much for even us to ask. Dual in form as others we have created. Fear not for thine creator for we have use for him and he shall be placed among us to herald in the new from the old. Even we learnt long ago that the free will of man is not for us to control and to create for oneself free will then seek its dominance is in error beyond bounds. Would thee choose the one which holds this heart of yours? If so, speak yea and go unto him."

Tanis and Turquine

She felt the warm safety first, as if her father had taken her in his strong arms, protecting her from the biting winds. The words were song, lilting and lyrical and lacking in meaning but clear with intent. Her world was color, and the only reality was Turquine, standing proudly beside her. She knew that something had changed, and the weight slowly lifted from her shoulders.

She didn't understand the words, but the meaning was clear: the shackles of Destiny could be stretched, and even broken, if she so chose. Of course she would, how could she say no? Then, years of training and experience kicked in, and Tanis began to suspect that this was simply an attack...an attack on her resolve. Somehow, she was being made to believe that a God...Tanis never had any use for them...was telling her that everything she knew to be true was a lie. This "God" was using her love of Turquine, and her deep dream of a peaceful life with him, as buttons to be pushed to get her to act.

Tanis WOULD act, that was for sure. She would listen to herself, and save the universe.

Suddenly, Darius and the Queen stood in front of them, Lauralin dressed for war, and Steele looking...sad? Without a word, she buried herself in the big security man's arms. She had known Steele for more than half her life...he had saved her life, and she had returned the favor a few times. As she grew into womanhood, she not only shared in Steeles adventures, but she shared his bed as well. She had seduced him, plain and simple, after he had rejected her shy advances for the umpteenth time. They loved each other, but Tanis had realized long ago that it was a love borne of need and shared pain, not like what she had with Turquine. Out of the corner of the eye, she saw the King embracing his daughter, and for a moment, a very small moment, all was right with the world.

Eve

She was unsure what had been offered to her. Was this being, who she saw simply as a yellow light composed of millions of data-streams, offering her a mortal form? If this was the case, Eve had some choices to make. As the ship called Eve, she had Michael inside of her all the time, able to serve him, share in his dreams and protect him from harm. She was his partner, and protector. As a woman, she would be his companion, and his lover. Her love for the security Chief was all-emcompassing, and she thought of his needs before her own. Right now, Michael needed a ship, one that could kick ass from here to Dragonsreach and back. Being mortal would be good for HER, but not necessarily for him. With a mental shrug, she shook off the enticing thought and came back to the hard reality:

Michael needed Eve the ship more than he needed Eve the woman right now.

Adam

A stranger stood across from the board, observing the pieces without touching any of them. He had a solid wisdom about him, and the look of a player. Adam kicked the small stool across the floor, his way of offering the stranger a seat. As he sat, the stranger pulled out a long pipe, and began to puff on it gently. Adam replaced all the pieces on the board, and lifted his head, looking the newcomer in the eye.

"Best 2 out of 3?" he asked.

"Trev", Michael replied, "let me put this as simply as possible. They exist." Michael held up a finger before Trevor could say anything then looked at Rafe, "We have to let the Queen know about Ferranifer, and she doesn't like me. She certainly won't believe me. Ferranifer is her High Advisor."

The babble of voices came like a wave, each trying to tell its own story. Steele, Lauralin, Turquine and Tanis were standing in a circle, describing their recent activities, catching up and enjoying a moment of peace with their loved ones. It was obvious that Tanis and Turquine had develloped a special relationship, and Steele was very happy to see the love in the Kings eyes when he looked at Steele's navigator. Tanis, in turn, did not see that same closeness when she looked at Darius and the Queen. She know more about Lauralin than before, felt the weight that the young monarch had taken upon her slight shoulders, and understood the sacrifice she made to save her people. Tanis loved Lauralin, had become part of her whether she was aware or not...and Tanis loved Steele as well. Two tragic figures, kept apart due to their own obligations and egos.

After they had all caught up, Tanis looked around and asked the simple question that everyone had been thinking.

"Now what? We were on our way to Velmora with Adam...and now we're not. Kain Shentavo still has questions to answer..."

"I think that destiny still lays before us, beloved." Turquine replied. "Our time of peace lies before us, I think".

Lauralin looked at her father when he mentioned beloved, then smiled at Tanis, happy for them both. Her happiness was brief, however, as the loss of Arleena struck her again.

Her mood change was obvious, and abrupt. Steele noticed immediately, and was very aware of what had caused the change: Arleena. He still had a slight, psychic connection with Laura, and the image of her dead wife was clear in her thoughts. Without thinking, he reached out to her, drawing her into his arms before she could react. She came without protest. Cupping her head in his hand, he looked down at her and spoke quietly.

"She will be avenged, my heart. This I swear to you."

He let her go as they both realized the position they found themselves in. Recovering quickly, Steele looked at the group.

"Well, seems we still have some work to do. I'm thinking that Tanis and the King should continue their mission to Velmora, and find out what the hell is up with that green-skinned Shentavo. I think Laura and I may be busy here for awhile..." he looked at her, the iron in his eyes reflecting the steel in Laura's.

"We have a murderer to find."

He called out to his ship, surprised when he got no reply. He looked at Tanis, shrugging his shoulders.

"Adam isn't answering: you know something I should?" he asked Tanis who had wandered over to stand by the King. She held his arm firmly as if afraid that he would disappear.

"No boss...he's just been acting a little weirder than usual." she remembered the few days of peace she had spent with Turquine, discovering their love, and realized that Adam had given them that gift. She owed the sentient-ship a big favor one day...

Lauralin stepped close to Darius, placing her hand on his chest and then laying her head on it. She seemed to exhausted to go on, but when she stepped away after a moment, as though gaining strenth from Darius, her eyes held resolution. But Laura had an innate sense of courtesy and stepped forward toward Tanis. Her eyes roamed over the half-elf who even in her armor looked good. Laura began to extend her hand then pulled it back quickly and dropped into an appropriate light curtsey instead. She had sought to hide her cold flesh but had forgotten about the blood on her cheeks that had run from her eyes. "I am Lauralin Silverlief, it is an honor to meet you." Her voice was lilting and musical and more thickly elven accented than her fathers. She looked at the man she sought to emulate and always in her mind found herself falling short and winked at him.

Turquine stiffened a moment then smiled at Tanis and placed his arm around her. Then the moment of pleasures was gone, as were her father and the king. Laura stumbled somewhat as the divine power that took them to Velmora pulsed around her and reached out toward Darius in her moment of weakness.

Michael took Eve in his arms, "Hey .... hey" he said and then moved back but not out of her grasp. He lifted her chin then wiped away her tears, "It's real. I'm real. YOUR real. And for once in a long time I'M happy. I hope only that I can make you as happy as I feel right now."

Trevor wasn't used to such display of emotion or affection from the Chief. At least no emotion other than anger, especially after waking him up shortly after a long shift. He politely cleared his throat to try to get thier attention.

Lauralin stepped close to Darius, placing her hand on his chest and then laying her head on it. She seemed to exhausted to go on, but when she stepped away after a moment, as though gaining strenth from Darius, her eyes held resolution. But Laura had an innate sense of courtesy and stepped forward toward Tanis. Her eyes roamed over the half-elf who even in her armor looked good. Laura began to extend her hand then pulled it back quickly and dropped into an appropriate light curtsey instead. She had sought to hide her cold flesh but had forgotten about the blood on her cheeks that had run from her eyes. "I am Lauralin Silverlief, it is an honor to meet you." Her voice was lilting and musical and more thickly elven accented than her fathers. She looked at the man she sought to emulate and always in her mind found herself falling short and winked at him.

Turquine stiffened a moment then smiled at Tanis and placed his arm around her. Then the moment of pleasures was gone, as were her father and the king. Laura stumbled somewhat as the divine power that took them to Velmora pulsed around her and reached out toward Darius in her moment of weakness.

He was moving towards her as she fell, catching her lightly before she touched the ground. He helped to right her, letting her stand on her own. He looked around, seeing no sign of Tanis or Turquine.

"What the hell...Adam?" When the ship didn't reply, he turned to Lauralin.

"I'm not sure what just happened, but Adam is offline. Looks like we got left behind...are you ok?"

Lauralin nodded, keeping her feet, first, with Darius help then quickly regaining strength. "It was not your vessel, Darius, that took my father and your crewmate this time. It was father's god. The gods power is in direct concordance to my own. At least mine that eminates from the negative material plane that gives me my vampiric powers. Just the proximity of it's usage was enough to weaken me. I fear that my father's presence is unconfortable to me, even though I love him so. It is because he is the representative of that diety and the power that eminates from him is a constant reminder of the choice I have made. Father can sense me as well. It is a reminder to him of the price I have paid. So we embrace in love as father and daughter, yet feel the pain of what I have done." She stood, defiantly looking at Darius, as though waiting for his disdain. "Yet given the choice between the life of my people and the death of my soul I would make the SAME decision." She said it as though it were not the first time she had defended her choice.

When she spoke, she had the soul of all those that had passed before her, great Kings and Queens who fought for their people, dying on the field of battle for their freedom. The regret in her eyes was clear, but so was the resolve and willing sacrifice. He loved her, more so than before yet tempered with the reality that she...would never love him back. Not until she let go of the responsibility of being a Queen, and came to terms with her needs as a woman.

Steele had spent many years hunting vampires, dispatching the fearsome creatures back to the dark hell they had spawned in. Now, he was hunting the only Vampire he truly wanted to capture...Lauralin. Briefly, his thoughts touched on Anestia...wild, passionate and free with her heart, matching Steele's swordarm or his heated embrace, stroke for stroke. He cared for her, this much was true, but not in the same intensity that he felt for the Queen. It was as if Anestia knew this and accepted it, taking whatever Steele was able to give, and never asking for more. For a brief moment, Darius wished he had met the wild warrior first...maybe things would be different now.

"My Queen...Lauralin...your past is your past, and the choices you made are the ones you live with today. Those that truly know you, understand you. Now...we need to focus: we should start by talking to that Skullkingdom fella, no? I'd like to pick him clean before he conveniently forgets everything."

Lauralin smiled at Darius appreciatively. "Yes, Anestia is retrieving him as we speak. What was the word from Highport?"

"Well, Michael seemed to be in fine form, and tracking down leads regarding the attempted assasination, as well as the explosion here. He has my boy Rafe working with him, and the kid is sharp. It looks like there were some traces of the explosives found in the assasins room...and he agreed to provide security for the visiting Duchess, assuming he isn't busy with something else." Steele paused, letting Laura digest the information.

"He ended the conversation strangely, though: he simply said "Eve?", then the link went dead. Adam doesn't reply to my summons, so I have no way of trying to contact him again."

Suddenly, Steele was hit with a wave of sadness, one that threatened to overwhelm. He realized he was living the pain that Laura bore on a daily basis...his mystic link to her was strongest when her pain was most apparant. He wished he could take her away from all this, the pain, the loss, the sacrifice...and bring her to a new world of peace, love and passion.

But she was a Queen, and he, a simple Pawn. She ruled the board, and decided the outcome of her game.

"Eve", she said, "I wonder who this Eve is." she said thoughtfully. Then she looked at Darius, "Well if you cannot contact him then we can. Mr. Gassington that is. Come, please." She took his arm and headed for the mansion, her expression thoughtful.

As they walked in comfortable silence, Steele realized that he had not yet broached a somewhat delicate subject with Lauralin...the death of her mate, Arleena. He could see the repressed grief that the Queen held inside, could feel it like a solid, palpable thing. Despite her personal loss, certain questions needed to be asked for the sake of the investigation. This was a planned hit, and not an easy one: Steele had considered Arleena to be his equal in the art of war, and she was a Vampire to boot. It seemed obvious that the explosion earlier, the attack on the Queen, the attempted assasination of the Chief and the murder of Arleena were all somehow intertwined.

He stopped walking, bringing the Queen to a standstill. Steele spoke hesitantly.

"We...need to talk. As much as I am sorry for your loss, I need to know everything I can about the circumstances of Arleena's death. I know this is hard for you, but I think it's very important for our investigation." He paused briefly, seeing the sudden flare of pain in her eyes.

"Listen...why don't you contact the Chief, and see if he has any other info...I'll grab Anestia, and she can bring me to...her." Steele waited for her reply, hoping she could see the necessity of this. An investigation of murder always started with the body.

Though her blood tears began again her voice was firm. "Anestia is getting the Skullkingdom man. As for Leena's .... body .... you must know that once a vampire is killed there are no remains. There is nothing to look at." She closed her eyes and wiped her tears, staining the sleeve of her light blue surcoat, "If I can answer anything then of course I shall." Though she looked at Darius with intent and with the iron will that had carried her through so much, she still looked ready to crumble. It was the fact of her will alone that kept her going.

He reacted without thinking of the possible consequences. Steele pulled Lauralin into his arms and kissed her, trying to draw the pain out of her, and into himself. His passion rose, but his love rose even higher. He broke the embrace, before Laura had time to react. He held her still, not wanting to let her go, not wanting the moment to end.

"You will never be alone. I gave you my heart long ago, and it will always be yours to command."

Lauralin touched his lips lightly then gave him a soft kiss. "Just give me some time." She smiled, though, and seemed somewhat better.

<<OOC: I'm going to hand off the reins of control to you here, bro...I'm not sure where you want to lead this. I just hope it ends in a Lauralin/Anestia catfight over Steele!!!>>

Lauralin led Darius back into the situation room. Without Arleena and Anestia to run the machines she had no idea how to proceed. She turned to Darius, "Could you contact Michael for me?"

Smiling at her, he gestured to the console in front of him.

"Just say what you want...Adam improved your current systems, and you can voice-activate it now. Like this: computer?"

"Working...voice ID - Darius Steele - ready." came the tinny, metallic voice of the primitive computer system. Steele looked at Lauralin, raising an eyebrow towards the console.

"Go ahead Laura...think of it as a familiar, and command it."

hello

Lauralin eyed it warily. "Hello?" She waited, but there was no reply so she tried again. "Computer?"

"Working...voice ID - Lauralin Silverlief - ready."

"Umm, please send a missive to Michael. I want him to contact me."

"Please restate request."

"Send a missive to Michael Gassington, Highport Security. I wish him to contact me."

"Michael Gassington is in Security Office, Highport Palace."

" I know WHERE he is. I need to send him a missive."

"Please restate request."

Lauralin glared at the computer and uttered something in elvish.

"Please restate request."

"LIRNSISIA, LIRNSISIA!"

"Please restate request"

Lauralin turned to Darius, obviously frustrated. She was saying something in elvish to him as Baghtru and Brooke came into the room .... and promptly turned around and headed out as Baghtru uttered, 'She pissed about something she's spouting off in elvish again.'

It was all he could do to not roar with laughter, and when Laura started speaking Elvish to the computer, he thought seriously for a moment that he was actually going to wet himself.

"Uhmm...Laura? It's not programmed for Elvish. Here, let me show you: computer? Open channel to Michael Gassington, please."

"Thank-you. Working. Communication request has been sent. Channel is open."

Steele smiled at Laura, trying not to smirk.

"We'll see what we can do to teach it some Elvish for the future, my Queen. Now we wait for the Chief to reply."

The console beeped insessintly for attention as Michael looked into Eve's eyes. He seemed oblivious to everything around him but her, his fingers working through her hair, across her face, taking in her beauty. Trevor stepped to the console, discreetly putting himself between the monitor and the Chief. "Trevor, go."

Lauralin stepped forward and said a few words in elvish before stopping and using regional common, "Is Chief Gassington there, please?"

Trevor turned, still keeping himself between the monitor and the Chief, "Chief, QUEEN Silverlief on the link for you."

The title broke Michaels reverie and he approached the monitor. "Michael, go."

Lauralin arched an eyebrow, "I most certainly will not go. I need to speak with you."

His thoughts preoccupied and caught off guard Michael looked at the screen for a moment then realized that she didn't know the lingo. "I meant go ahead and speak", he said reaching back to take Eve's hand as though afraid she would disappear.

"I was wondering what you came up with."

"Well I went over it with Mr. Steele, didn't he tell you?"

She glanced back at Darius then shook her head, "No he did not inform me, please continue."

"We I.D.ed the shooter but he commited suicide. We found a pendant in his room along with trace materials of the explosive utilized. The pendant belongs to one of yours, one Ferranifer Melbourn, your High Advisor isn't she?"

"Indeed."

"She seems linked to this. Rafe found something else too. Dirt traces. It's from a place called Velmora, a vampire planet it would seem. It would make sense. It goes along with the tooth. Do you know the whereabouts of your High Advisor?"

"Yes", Lauralin replied defensively, then thought about it. "Well, sort of, she's at a conference in Resurgient Dream."

"Convenient", Michael replied.

"I wish to see the pendant."

"I'll bring it right over .... that is if you'll give me clearance of course."

"Granted", she replied distractedly.

"Be there in a few. Gassington out."

Michael turned to Eve, "I need to go to Dragonsreach. Do you want to go with me or stay here?" Stay here was said reluctently but he would give her the choice.

Lauralin sat down in the chair. Betrayed from within, her wife dead, her people dead or injured. She wondered how her father dealt with it for over two centuries. "Darius .... Should I have her recalled?"

Anestia entered the room with Brook and Baghtru in tow. "I'm sorry but he commited suicide, no getting anything from him."

Eve turned to Michael, marvelling at his height, and the crinkles near his eyes. She was ecstatic in her new body, and wanted nothing more than to give it to the man she loved...but right now, he needed her other body.

"I'll go with you, of course...in fact, I'll take you myself!"

The beings that Turquine had called Gods, had told her she could switch forms easily, though she had to remain in her ship configuration for four hours a day. She had never attempted to switch back since the change had come to her, and she wasn't sure how to do it. She brought an image of what she looked like as a ship in her mind, and concentrated on it. Michael saw her start to shimmer, then dissolve into a swirling tornado of sparks which floated upward, and through the ceiling. Before Michael could react, Eve's voice came through the loudspeakers of the comm unit.

"Now THAT was cool! Michael, you can board me anytime...*giggle*..I mean, you can come aboard at anytime...*giggle*...well, you KNOW what I mean."

*****************************************************

At the news that the Skullkingdom man was dead, Steele slammed his fist into his palm in frustration. Another lead was gone, and they were no closer to answers than they were before. He looked at Laura in frustration.

"No. If your High Advisor IS involved, recalling her might just make her suspicious, and she may run...we need to catch her unawares. My suggestion would be to wait for Michael and check out that pendant thing, then we go to this Resugent Dream place ourselves, and confront her there. Surprise is our best weapon right now."

Anestia was standing in the doorway, resplendent in her battle armor and looking every inch like the warrior she was. Her presence brought the animal out in Steele, as well as the romantic. He smiled at her, hoping for one in return.

Michael made his way to the bay with Rafe. He saw the cutlass sitting there and was a bit disappointed. But if she could become the ship then can't she switch back? He strode aboard and pointed to the weapons chair as Rafe came in behind him then took the pilots seat. "Alright my love lets go."

My friends,

Sadly, Real Life will be kidnapping me for the next few weeks, and I will be travelling to San Francisco, Las Vegas and San Diego on business. I will have very limited access to the net, but I will try my darndest to get on and post. In the meantime, I'll award control of my characters to Dragonsreach so that y'all can keep the story going. I return Oct.30, and will post my ass off at that pont. Have fun, stay well and RP ON!

I can, and will be posting ALL DAY Friday, Oct.15

Steve (Gawdly)

STORY ARC CONTINUED HERE

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