Vanya's Journals, Chapter 62: A Tense Meeting When you pause between chapters, you immediately notice that the woman across the table from you is still visibly upset. You glance around the room, and notice the guards have resumed their positions, and Dr. Thian Russ is sitting in a chair at the far side of the room, boring into you with his eyes. You get an uneasy feeling from the man, and it isn't the first time. "Please continue," he advises you in an icy tone, and with a slight frown, you press the button to start recording again as you continue translating Vanya's journal. Leaving the shuttlecar, I walked to the center of the little lobby.
"Welcome to Applied Sciences' Liquid-Cooled Unit 3-403-F96BTS, codename Cephalopod," a feminine AI's smoothly modulated voice intoned. "Identifying employee. Please remain still."
I'd been to the underwater laboratory where Solnay worked a few different times, and I knew what to expect, standing straight and erect as patterned laser grids scanned me. "Vanya Carena, military grade classification," the voice spoke again. "Invitation granted by tier three researcher, 'Solnay Hylcelon'. You may proceed."
Before the AI had even finished speaking, I was already walking quickly towards the doorway on my right.
"Would you like a tour?" the AI asked, just as it always did.
"No thank you," I answered, adding, "and I'm fine without directions." The laboratories were familiar to me now. During my days at Mr Frog's, he'd honed my memory to the point that I could easily remember the path through Solnay's building after just one visit.
With a brisk step, I walked down Cephalopod's hallways, brushing past solitary researchers idly examining their PEAs, headed towards Solnay's lab. It wasn't long before I reached it, pressing my palm to the handprint scanner by the doorway. Moments later, the door slid open smoothly, and I went inside.
Solnay and her assistant, Gareth, were standing hunched over a table, wearing protective goggles as they pored over a sizzling piece of equipment. It was actually the first time I'd seen Gareth. Usually he was elsewhere, or Solnay had him running errands for her, like she had the first time I'd visited her. I only knew who he was because of Solnay's description: he was skinny with thick, straight blond hair, and he looked like he was a few years older than me.
"It's the primary transmitter," he was explaining. "When you squeezed it too hard, it overloadedthe capacitors and started sending electrical pulses through the secondary feedback loop, and the induction coils there are creating the electromagnetic interference that's sending an erroneous data stream to the onboard computer. It's glitching out the firmware and expanding the portal's iris to its maximum diameter." I'm still not sure what any of it meant.
"That's impossible, sweetie," Solnay replied in her regular patronizing tone. She went on to detail how she thought it didn't make sense, but I didn't understand a word of it either.
Quietly, I walked up beside them to see what they were working on. In the center of the little table was the handheld thrusters Solnay had shown me the first time I'd been at Parasol... the ones that had tiny portals in them through which a fiery jet was released, to permit the user to thrust themselves upwards. It was actually one of the things I'd been hoping to get while I was there, because I thought it would be useful if I could jet away from Trebor if he decided to attack me. Unfortunately, the model they were working on was in pieces, the circuit boards splayed out over the table, loosely attached with color-coded wiring. If this was the only prototype they had, it didn't look like I'd be using it... and I didn't even know if they would have let me borrow it anyway. Really, I was only there on the hope that Solnay would loan me some sort of an edge.
"Hello?" I asked softly, when they still didn't notice me.
Gareth jerked his head up quickly in surprise as he stared at me, wide-eyed, apparently forgetting where his hands were: he almost knocked over a couple of flasks that were sitting on the table, and had to jump for them clumsily to keep them from falling over. I had to stifle a laugh at his awkwardness; this wasn't at all like Solnay had described him. Still, it was a little cute, in a way.
Solnay's reaction was one I more expected. "Vanya, sweetie! You came to visit me!" She was already stripping off her gloves to greet me with that same warm, clammy hand-squeeze she always did. "And Gareth is here this time, too! I've told him so much about you," the researcher went on.
The man swallowed, nodding awkwardly. "I, uh... um... hello?" he managed, looking embarrassed. Suddenly he lurched forwards to keep a shifting stack of glass discs from falling to the floor, barely managing to keep them together. It was almost comical, but then something else caught my eye: his ears.
"You're an elf," I blurted in astonishment. He was the first elf I'd seen at Parasol.
He nodded quickly, unable to meet my gaze. "Yes, I'm uh, an elf." His hand moved upwards as if going to wipe moisture from his forehead, but stopped halfway, pausing indelicately before he turned it into scratching the back of his neck. He changed his mind about that as well, seeming terribly uncomfortable as he let his hand fall to his side. "I'm... There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"
"No, it's okay, I'm an elf, too," I replied, trying to help him feel a little less awkward. "It's just that I've never seen another elf at Parasol."
When Gareth responded with a nod, Solnay took over. "Sweetie, if you came to watch me play with stuff, today isn't the best day we already have a project we're working on. My VPTs the portal thrusters one of them broke, and we're trying to figure out why."
"FPTs," Gareth insisted quietly, looking at his feet. Solnay didn't respond to it with anything more than a wide smile.
"Actually, I'm hoping you could do something for me," I began hesitantly, shifting my eyes back and forth between them, watching their faces. I felt a little guilty that I didn't have anything to offer in return, but I didn't really have any options. "I'm going to be doing something dangerous in a few hours, and I need some sort of an edge. I may be attacked, I don't know... Someone is trying to kill me, and I'm trying to confront them outside the Vynalus Forums."
Solnay dipped her head a little, frowning as if in disbelief. "Trying to kill you? Why, whoever would want to do that?"
"I can't talk about it," I answered, frowning apologetically. "I'm really sorry, but I don't want to get them in trouble or arrested."
With an understanding nod, Solnay took my hand again in both of hers, giving it another squeeze. "I understand. I'm very sorry, though none of my work is supposed to leave the laboratory. I wish I could help, but we can't give you anything without losing our jobs."
My heart sank, and I nodded listlessly. "I understand," I whispered softly. I hadn't really thought about the finer details of my plan, and I didn't want Solnay to lose her job for my sake... especially as I hadn't been able to save her husband, Jonah. "Thank you anyway... I'd better go get ready then," I said, offering them both a forced smile before I turned, walking towards the lab's doorway. If I didn't have an edge from them, I'd have to just trust on my instincts and hope that my gods would watch over me.
Suddenly, Gareth spoke up from behind. "So, that's why the, um... that's what the... what the armor is for, yes?"
I nodded, looking at him over my shoulder as I paused, reaching for the panel beside the door. "Mr Frog made it for me. It's supposed to look something like Ballpoint armor."
"Given that you're going to the Vynalus Forums, that's not a good thing the guards would assume you were Ballpoint and attack you on sight. We, uh... we can't send you out with any of our equipment, but... um... well," he paused, searching for words. "We could paint it," he suggested, glancing over at Solnay to make sure she approved.
"That would help," I agreed, turning and examining my gray-and-black armor with a thoughtful stare. "Wouldn't it take too long to dry, though? I only have three or four hours left..."
Solnay smiled. "I could fix that, sweetie," she cooed with a sly wink.
I spent the next few hours in a corner of the laboratory, sitting on a chair behind a makeshift cardboard changing screen, completely naked except for my dysfunctional portal bracelet. Mr Frog had designed my armor so Id be comfortable in it, and as people on Everoc dont generally wear undergarments... the armor he made for me didnt require any either. I'd slipped out of it and handed it to them one piece at a time, and they'd put it on an armor stand and started working. Solnay had mentioned it before, but it hadn't occurred to me: one of her projects was a type of latex paint that sprayed on dry, so you didn't have to wait while it was wet. It seemed ingenious the only caveat, she'd told me, was that it was more or less untested.
"Just be careful with it," she warned me, laughing in her overly bubbly way. "I've needed a field test of it, and this is the perfect opportunity. It may scratch away if you're not careful."
"All right," I said, poking my head out around the screen to watch them. I found Gareth particularly amusing: it was obvious he wasn't at all sure how to handle himself, with me sitting naked less than twenty feet away, and he felt incredibly awkward about the whole situation. It seemed to make him clumsier than usual, which was cute. Unfortunately, "spraying paint" and "clumsy" don't tend to go well together, and eventually Solnay had to take over the spraying herself, while Gareth moved to a computer console at the other end of the room to try to fix the VPT software.
In all, it took a lot longer than I'd expected. Even without waiting for the paint to dry, it's a tedious, time-consuming process especially with Gareth off by himself where he couldn't cause any harm.
"I've made this look as much like military gear as I could," Solnay assured me as she sprayed the last colors on. "I used to be in the military myself, you know. I was a soldier for Parasol, but nothing special. That's where I met my Jonah, during the war of 183... he was such a good boy... I married him after the war was over. When they re-drafted me in 200, he stayed behind to work on his theories. Then I got captured five years later. I did eventually escape, but I lost my leg." Here she pulled up her lab coat and pants leg to show me a leg made entirely of steel, and gave it a kick to demonstrate its functionality. "When I got home, he was gone... he'd joined the military to try to find me, but he got stuck in 48D."
"I'm sorry, Solnay," I said quietly.
"Don't be, sweetie," she told me in response, putting a few finishing touches on my armor in cyan paint as she did. "He was a good man. He died protecting everyone... and I'm very proud of him." Straightening, she looked over her work. "That looks to be about right," she said, taking the chest piece off the rack and bringing it over to me, a very slight limp in her step. I hadn't noticed it before, but her artificial leg apparently wasn't as effective as a real one.
Thanking her, I slipped the armor on, while she went off to get the other pieces. It felt odd to see white armor in my peripheral vision, rather than Ballpoint's gray, but I figured I could get used to it.
It wasn't long before I was fully dressed. The black trim I'd had before stayed the same, but she'd sprayed the gray areas with white paint, and put cyan detailing on the rest of it to better match Parasol's colors. I felt... shiny. The new paint reflected light a little better than I would've liked it to, but I figured I could live with it, especially since armor at Spearbreakers had been made of metal, and therefore even shinier.
"Thank you for helping me out," I said, trying to keep the pleasantries short as I hurried towards the door. "I stayed a lot longer than I'd expected, and I need to hurry."
Solnay motioned for me to stop. "Wait!" Hurrying over to me, she held out a little card. "It's a security bypass card I use to get into R&D archives," she explained quickly. "I don't know if it will help, but I have a spare and it shouldn't hurt my job by giving it to you, so long as you don't say it's from me. If it's really life and death, then..." her voice trailed off, and she watched me expectantly.
I looked at it curiously for a moment before thanking her and putting it into one of my pouches. I wasn't exactly sure where I would have a use for it, but I figured it couldn't hurt to have it with me.
It wasn't long before I was walking up the little ramp to a shuttlecar, meaning to start towards the Vynalus Forums... but I didn't have my edge, only a suit of freshly painted armor. I didn't feel at all ready to meet Trebor, and I was horribly afraid of what would happen... but I didn't really have a choice.
Placing my hands on one of the two sets of glossy black control panels, I heard the now-familiar voice of the shuttlecar's AI in my head:
Please remain still while we make the connection...~~~
The Vynalus Forums were just as beautiful as the first time I'd visited, but this time, the weather seemed a lot less friendly. Sometimes it's easy to forget that while the planet is artificial, the weather is every bit as real as it would be for a normal world. Parasol has wind and rain, too, and there isn't much they can do to control it.
I walked down the shuttlecar ramp and left the station as quickly as I could, looking for an appropriate spot to wait. I needed to be ready for anything. Above me, the darkly clouded sky did little to help my anxiety, and neither did the giant trees that swayed gently far above, their young spring leaves fluttering about in the wind. Finally I reached the middle of the main walkway, halfway between the shuttlecar station and the Forums' main entrance. It would hopefully give me enough time to spot Trebor before he saw me, and there were plenty of people idling under the trees, talking among themselves. Guards patrolled the path at varying intervals, and as they walked past me, none of them so much as batted an eye at my "Parasol armor", and I thanked the gods for watching over me. If I hadn't gotten my armor painted, I probably would've gotten shot down as soon as I'd set foot onto the grounds... something I'd overlooked.
After a moment's pause, I decided to stand up against one of the tree trunks, out of the way. Once I had, I turned down the tree-lined path, facing the shuttlecar station, and began praying to Armok. I didn't know if I'd have to use either of my spells, but I didn't want to wind up being forced to without having put any prayer in.
And so I waited.
Before half an hour had passed, I spotted him: Trebor Mallarkus, walking swiftly from the shuttlecar station, turning his head left and right as he scanned the area for me. I didn't see that he was armed, but I also knew it wasn't difficult to conceal a weapon... with that in mind, I slipped a hand into one of the pouches at my waist to reassure myself that my daggers were still there.
Thunder crashed in the distance with a roar, lending a dangerous feel to an already perilous situation. Feeling breathless, my heart pounding in my chest, I stepped out from behind the tree and headed towards him, my hands held a little out in front of me. I was ready to form a magic shield at the slightest sign that he was going to try to kill me.
And then he saw me. It was difficult to see his overshadowed face beneath the trees, especially with the group of people who were standing right in front of him, but I saw him break into a jog, and I tensed, watching him vigilantly and bringing my pace to a crawl.
I was terrified.
It was coming. He broke past the people who were standing before him and continued to jog in my direction, his dark jacket flapping in the air as he ran. Every fiber of my being urged me to run, but I fought against it, praying to Armok, wherever he might be, for protection. Finally, Trebor reached me, slowing to a stop a careful fifteen feet away from where I stood. For a minute, we stood silently on the tree-lined path, eyeing each other carefully, both of us tense, our hands at our sides.
"So, you wanted to talk to me about Katie?" he finally asked, looking at me suspiciously. He couldn't help but notice I was wearing armor, and I think it put him even more on edge than he would've been otherwise.
Thunder boomed from afar, the grass on the fields around us rippling with the wind. The air tugged at my hair, whipping strands of it across my face, but I ignored it and swallowed back my fear. "I wanted to talk to you about the reason she's in hiding," I replied, raising my voice slightly to make sure he heard me. "Kenzon thinks someone is after Katie, and wanted us to stay hidden until the danger was over." The entire conversation felt forced, and very, very awkward.
"Ah, and that's why she hasn't been returning my calls, then," he guessed, folding his arms and glancing uncomfortably at a female security guard as she passed us. "You know, that makes a lot more sense. I'd wondered if she'd started hating me."
"She doesn't hate you," I assured him.
Here it comes, I thought, clenching and unclenching my gloved hands nervously. "However... I know that
you hate
me."
Trebor smirked. "Oh, it's that obvious, is it?" He paused, and added with careful emphasis, "
Hotlips?"
"Kenzon thinks someone is after Katie, and maybe that's what he was supposed to think," I said slowly, cautiously, "But I know they're after me. Not her."
With a smile, Trebor raised his head in a half-nod. "Ah, and I'm supposed to be involved, aren't I. How about you just be blunt? You think I'm assisting this... 'mysterious killer'... with information because I hate you. That explains why you brought me out here. A mystery is solved!"
"You
know I know," I said, glaring at him. "Why don't you come right out and admit it?" His nonchalant, mocking attitude was starting to get to me, even though I was trying really hard not to let it. I was beginning to feel incredibly stressed out by the whole situation.
He folded his arms, seemingly amused by our conversation, and possibly a little irritated, too. "Come out and admit what? I'm doing nothing like you think I am, and even if I
was," he scoffed, "you don't have any proof. You don't even have a motive for why I would be doing it. ...Hypothetically, you know." He gave a wry smile.
If I hadn't been before, now I was sure. I furrowed my brow in frustration. "If you kill me, it still won't bring your sister back," I began, ready to try to convince him killing me wasn't the best idea, but that was as far as I got: my words really ticked him off.
"Armok's beard..." His mouth fell open and he stared at me, astounded. "You think
I'm trying to kill you? Are you serious??" He put ran his hands through his close-cropped black hair, shaking his head. "You're insane... How on
Parasol did you come up with
that harebrained theory?"
His reaction really wasn't one I'd expected, and it threw me for a loop. "You're... not trying to kill me?" I asked him, trying unsuccessfully to brush the hair out of my eyes before the wind could sweep it back.
"No, of
course I'm not trying to kill you!" He seemed legitimately disgusted at my accusation. "I'm a
doctor, Vanya. We take a vow to heal and protect not kill every person we feel the slightest bit of hatred for!" Shaking his head, he started to walk away.
"What about Almory?" I asked in confusion.
"Almory?" He turned around stepped closer, having seemingly changed his mind about leaving. "You think I want to kill you because of what happened to my sister, right?"
I swallowed guiltily. He was clearly upset.
"That was
my fault!" he hissed quietly, moving even closer until we were almost toe to toe. His head slightly downcast, he stared me in the eyes as he spoke. "That was
my fault, Vanya, not yours. I left my coagulants at the trench and I could've saved her if I'd remembered to bring them along."
"Then why do you hate me?" I took a step back to put distance between us.
His lips pursed while he seemed to internally debate something, but he finally said, "It's a stupid reason, but it's because I would've died along with her if you hadn't come along.
Everyone would have
all of 48D and you took that away." He pointed at me accusingly, dramatically, with a piercing glare. "Here I am without her, when I ought to be dead, and it wasn't even your fight to begin with. You
don't belong here, Vanya, and you sure didn't belong
there, either. Sometimes people don't want to be saved... not if their loved ones die."
I'd definitely been wrong about the person who'd tried to kill us. It wasn't Trebor like I'd assumed... but it left open the question of who the
real killer was.
It wasn't much longer before I learned of a way I could find out.
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Topic: [34.11] Spearbreakers - It shudders and begins to move (Read 2193420 times)