The Odor
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*Discussion Here*
Theol looked at the machine… He didn’t quite feel ready to tell them but… Those Ferhrans were good at this… He looked to his side where Yoniel stood, her arms by her sides, her eyes blankly staring forward over the baby baskets that hovered in front of her. She had been very helpful during this… Project. Both as a liaison and a friend during his 9 months in their city. For the first six he had some Ferhi friends who had been helping them but as the original phase one scheduled end had closed in they started leaving one by one… Now he and his children were the only Ferhi left in the city… In a few ways it was nice… He had gotten away from the looks… both the judging ones and the ones brimming with pity… and it had allowed him to earn better relationships with some Ferhrans, like he had with Yoniel. He turned to the baskets and looked down on his children. Noel looked up at him from under the tussled mop of blond hair, not unlike his own, with his green eyes. The boy giggled and raised a hand towards him which Theol answered by reaching out one of his own fingers that the boy grabbed with a squeal. In the other basket his girl was sleeping soundly. He felt a smile spread across his face. His thoughts went back to the night before when he had dinner with the governess… They had been talking about making his stay more… permanent. At first it had felt… Unreasonable… Not returning to the forests… Not having his children have a Ferhi childhood… Noels future training would get trickier… But for each of his arguments the governess had come with more than reasonable and calm replies and the concept did no longer feel alien. The Ferhrans already had a large number of vast park areas, and since their alliance with the Ferhi they had started expanding them. They were anticipating a continuous immigration of Ferhi to the city and so there would be no lack of ways for his children to get both the cultures of Ferhras and could also achieve great status if he was the first ambassador of the Ferhi, Ferhran alliance. And as she so kindly had pointed out he was an Arch-druid and could most certainly train his son with the aid of the immigrants and his new Ferhran friends, who despite their lack of magical ability held large theoretical knowledge in many subjects including vast knowing about of the science behind the Magical arts. All these facts and… a number of things she had been too polite to bring up over their meal had led him to seriously consider it.
“Arch-druid? Are you prepared to try the low power activation?”
He turned from his children and looked at the speaker. One of the Ferhrans he knew less about… He had come on the project as the Ferhi left after the first resistance tests and just helped construct the technological parts… He believed the man was an engineer… but their science was often mixed to a lot so he might just have had another job and just been doing some designing on the side…
“I am ready.” He said and smiled at the man. He stepped onto the raised dais in the centerpoint of the machine, with the four metal arms holding the meronite Rhombus straight above his head. As his bare feet touched the white metal of the dais he felt a light stream of energy flow into his feet and make the hairs on his arms stand. He shrugged off his robe before he spread his ebon wings wide to the sides. At their full width they almost touched the arms on each side of him.
“Okay, Theol, are you ready to start this thing?” he heard through a speaker somewhere outside the machine. The Ferhran scientists were heading up to the observation room, along with Yoniel who brought his children with her.
“I am ready when you are.” He said, by now knowing that the people in the observation room could hear him… Wow things had changed in this time. He remembered the first time they had used their communication technology near him… He had torn a hole in a wall…
“Okay… We are all set up here so… Let’s go.” The voice said and he felt the machine hum to life. The energy coming through the dais increased in intensity, making his knees lock. He drew a deep breath. The generator was working… Now he just needed to… Use it… He focused on the energy running through his legs and started to lead it into the black form above him making blue veins appear as the ore was filled with magical energy… But it needed a whole lot more before it was ready… He let more power stream into his body which made him grit his teeth.
“Eh... Do you need to stop?” He heard the speaker burst out, and traces of static followed the message. He just shook his head. He had been aware that this would be difficult but they needed it fully charged to both try the moving and to know where and how to make improvements. Plus it wasn’t nearly dangerous yet. He had gone through far worse during the stress tests. The blue veins widened, now covering a pretty big area of the meronite block and more kept appearing… They weren’t ready to contain a full charge so he forced himself to open his mouth and say over the buzz that had crept into his ears: “Open the shaft!”
He had but finished the sentence before a loud rumbling noise filled the room and sunlight shone done on the scene. The roof of the tower was open… and the rock was almost filled by the blue energy veins.
“Theol, we are ready for transmission. Are you set?” the speakers said, the tone of the voice filled with worry. If an error would occur it would be in this stage. He might not reform, the machine could explode…
“I am prepared.” He said and the blue light rushed down and struck him like a lightning bolt.
When Gloriel pressed the large red button on the control panel a blinding flash of light filled the transmission room which was shown on the screens. Yoniel studied everyone in the small observation room. Theol might be calm but she knew a good handful of the scientist had been on the many Destruction projects being run before the peace… And she knew many of them were uncomfortable working with one of the Ferhi. She too had been filled with doubt the first time she had been told by the governess that the Teleportation project was a joint project between the two races sharpest minds… And she had resented having to abandon her normal tasks to tend to the needs of one of their Arch-Druids. Everyone in the room stared at the screens, most of them showing diagnostics of heat, energy containment and the integrity of the structure but a handful showed pictures of the room. The machine was filled with a pillar of light beaming out through the shaft in the roof. She leaned over the shoulder of lead Energist Glorion to look at the screen inlaid to the control panel he was working with. It was filled with more diagnostics.
“How is it going?”
He jumped at her words. He wasn’t used to being so close to one of the guards of the Governess.
“Eh… Well this line…” he said and indicated on the screen. “… is informing me that the machines structure is not degenerating at a rate faster than expected, while this tells me that the energy output is constant and steady and this tells me the main core is handling the transmogrification. Oh and you see…” As she saw him point to another screen with even more pointless numbers she gave him a glare.
“A simple “good” or “bad” is quite enough, Energist Glorion.” She said, thanking the councils that the one managing the main controls was a man she knew the name of. His eyes turned fearful for a second before whimpering: “It appears to be going excellent, Miss Yoniel.”
She stood again and looked over at the baskets she had been put to watch… Lien and Noel seemed to be sleeping soundly… That sure had been a surprise when the Ferhi had appeared by the city gates…
Many of them had brought their children which had turned out to be their guards main task… she secretly believed the Ferhi had a good laugh at assigning the elite soldiers sent to watch over them to babysitter duty… Theols children had been the youngest in the group… A pair of twins, not more than a couple of weeks old when they came to the city. In actuality she had been their guardian far more than she had been Theols… He and the other druids who had come were far more than capable to deal with any trouble that came upon them. When they had found the trouble of flying or walking the roads on the city due to the heavy traffic in both they had taken to traveling over the house tops, by leap or run. This had continued until the governess had agreed to clear a path between their quarters and the workplace, both over land and through the skies above. She had never seen one of them enter one of the many vehicles put to their disposal and they had all been filled with confusion and some even saw it as an insult. She shook her head at the memory and looked back to the screens. The light beam was slowly thinning down. She wasn’t a scientist but she understood that if there was any issues there would be more of frenzy amongst the collected geniuses.
Another pair of screens flickered to life, one showing the large flying machine that was right now hovering roughly 15 kilometers above the tower to which the light beam connected while the others showed the receiving room. The floor had a large circular window which the beam passed through and then stopped close to the rooms ceiling where it was cut off by a force field. There were a lot of scientists and ship personnel standing around the beam. None of them stepped within the red line that surrounded the window with a two meter marginal. The light slowly faded out as the entire population held their breath, while watching this event through the broadcasts that were spread through their satellites and broadcasting towers, now even to the Ferhi. And all was aware that this would be more than a victory for science and knowledge if it worked. It would be an as good guarantee of peace they had ever had. Both races were needed for this technology to be constructable. The Ferhis teleportation magic was limited to as far as they could see but the Ferhrans had built targeting systems and energy condensers that might allow them to send themselves infinitely large distances… And this would be the first time it was tried. The light faded out and in the receiver room Theol stood, blinking as his reformed eyes once more got used to the light, beads of sweat rolling of his muscular body, but unhurt and with a smile on his face. He raised his arms and let out a nearly primal roar of victory. The Ferhran men and women in the room with him were at first scared before they too joined in on his celebratory outcry. The people in the sending room also started jumping and shouting and it was almost as if Yoniel could hear the entire planet echo out into the cosmos as the two races screamed out their joy over this victory in tandem. She couldn’t help but letting a smile and a low “Who-hoo” escape her lips before she checked the sound proofing shields on the children’s transports.
A few hours later Theol was standing in his bedroom. He looked at the odd garment laid out in front of him… It was a long robe, pale white with an odd metallic feel. It was very cold to the touch. It most certainly did not seem comfortable.
“YONIEL!” he called. His liaison entered the room wearing her normal combat wear. “What is this garment?”
Yoniel cursed under her breath. She had known he would make a fuss about this.
“It’s a gift from the governess. She hopes you would wear it to tonight’s dinner.” She said and put on her this-is-our-customs-and-you-must-respect-them face. He looked back at her.
“… How offended would she be if I don’t?”
“Quite so.”
“… Is there a chance of me not having received it before leaving…?”
“Not unless you are willing to sell me out as a terrible guard.” She said.
“… And how angry would that make you?”
“No more babysitting angry.” She said calmly. “Look, it’s not all bad. That robe is immune to most physical attacks and it’s even bulletproof.” She prayed the fancy add-ons would satisfy him.
“… Am I likely to end up under weapons fire during the evening?” He asked his face covered with a puzzled look.
“Well, no but the possibility is there….” She heard herself how thin it sounded. “Look just do this for me. The governess will be overjoyed if you wear it and it could be a great boost for my career.” That wasn’t strictly true… She would advance when someone above her passed away or was retired to a more relaxed line of work… She would not be allowed to skip in line just because she could convince a political force to wear some fancy clothes that the governess had given… But maybe the newer political domains that could spring up in the wake of the twin races new peace would allow for newer positions that could make use of her abilities.
“Fine… I will wear it…” Theol muttered and shrugged off his own robe and started dressing. Yoniel turned and left the room and into her own room. The two baskets hovered next to her bed. She looked at kids and noticed Noel was awake. She reached in and picked him up before heading into the kitchen to feed him… The baskets had a life support system that contained systems that could take care of all the needs of the children but Theol had been iron on that his children was going to be fed real food so Yoniel had gotten very good at cooking during this time… For her people anyways… Theol still had an advantage that only time and practice could bring.
She grabbed one of the metal pots and one of the pale white fruits that Theol had had sent for from the Ferhi lands. She held it over the pot and crushed it within her hand and watched the thick green liquid drip into the vessel. She turned on the stove and put the pot on it. She then sat and cuddled with Noel until the liquid started giving off odd, sweet smelling fumes. She then grabbed one of Theols wooden bowls and poured it in. She then sat down with a spoon and started feeding the young boy. It was relaxing… Later tonight she would be following Theol and watch intently for any signs of troublemakers at the governess party to celebrate their scientific-victory and then, the next morning, three more Ferhi were flying in… She almost thought this was why the governess had given Theol the robe… To show the other Ferhi that the two cultures could mix without hostility… She dearly hoped it would work… She hadn’t been present when Theol and the governess had dinner the night before but she knew her ward well and that the crafty woman had most certainly tried to convince him to start living with them for real… He was very prominent among the Ferhi and having such a man leading the way for their alliance seemed right. They had selected a couple of possible ambassadors to send to Ferhi before the project began and the Governess would most certainly make her wish known soon enough. She gave Noel the last of the food and wiped his mouth with a napkin. She stood up and turned and almost dropped the child out of shock. Theol was standing in the door with a smile on his face. She hated when he sneaked up on her.
“… I was feeding Noel.” She said.
“Thank you Yoniel.” he said.
She noticed he was wearing the metal robe that flowed like liquid around him, along with a pair of soft pants of Ferhran cut. She had bought those for him three months ago, when their friendship was growing. She had never worn them before to her knowledge. She had been hurt for a while but it had passed.
“I told you it would look good on you.”
He lifted the robe and looked on it.
“… I disagree with your sentiment and you did not say that.” He muttered.
“I meant the pants. When I gave them to you I said you would look good in them.”
He looked into the roof with a ponderous look.
“I remember… It was raining and we had just started the main buildings construction so I couldn’t work. I wanted to stay in the park but you dragged me into town and showed me around the shops and explained those… disc thingies…”
“A credits disc. And I had to. You robbed a man!”
“No. I was hungry so I took a piece of fruit. I was planning on coming back and see if he needed anything later.”
She shook her head slowly. That the Ferhi simply didn't have an economy baffled her. They just grew whatever they needed for food and everyone simply made what was needed that they could manufacture… Having heard Theol explaining it for 6 months had confused her even more… She always presumed they were just being barbaric savages but Theol was so… Smart.
“We will have to leave soon… You should get ready.” Theol said and took Noel from her before pressing a button on the wall. The baskets came hovering over soundlessly. He raised his hand and another one of the white fruit flew over to the pot as he put Noel into the basket before he turned to the stove and started making more of the juice sauce thing he fed them… She kind of wanted to stay and watch him for more practice but knew he was right.
She walked over to her bedroom and looked at the outfit she had laid out for the dinner… It was a twin button lined tunic and a pair of military style pants. It wasn’t nearly as fancy as Theols new robe and the rest of the governess guests would most certainly be at least as well dressed as him… But she was used to it and being one of the Governess’ personal guards made her a person not to be trifled with. She pressed the button on the inside of her wristband and she felt her skintight combat suit slacken. She then pulled it off through opening the up until recently magnetically sealed opening at the front and folded it neatly on the bed. She studied the two outfits laid out before her. The one she had just worn was designed for combat and that alone... Simplistic but practical. The governess guards wore them when they were preforming secondary duties. The other carried the same feel of a warriors clothes put these were more uniform. More of a soldiers wear... She owned several sets of each outfit. They were the only clothes she wore... Where was she going with this? She shook her head and started to put on her outfit, but before long her thoughts wandered back to the subject. She was more than a guard. The entire group of soldiery guarding the Ferhrans leaders were more than what met the eye. Her secondary assignments all seemed to revolve around... War and death.. She strapped on the dark leather belt that went with the evening wear before she grabbed the tunic and put it on. She finished dressing by nailing her badge on her chest. The silvery piece of metal in the form of two birds whose wings connected at the feather tips was the Governess guards’ official sign of office.
When she returned to the kitchen Theol had finished feeding Lien and had put them back in their baskets where they now appeared to be sleeping softly.
“We should go now if we want to be on time.” She said.
Theol turned to her with a brief smile.
“I actually had an idea…”
Gloriel looked around the garden area of the governess residence. He had been among the first to arrive to the party and felt unbelievably uncomfortable. He was a distinct middle-management kind of guy… He wasn’t even sure what “level” of management the other guests where but he knew in his heart that they were the kind of people whose friends got the top-management jobs and those they disliked got every phone mast repair job… He didn’t want either of those things to come to pass. He had a handful of people working beneath him and got assigned to fun and interesting jobs where he was suitably challenged and paid just about what he was willing to charge for his services. As he finished surveying the large lawn where the other guests were mingling about in some odd upper class dance that he had no clue of how to preform, he calculated the risk of someone talking to him was lower if he made a dash for the buffet table than if he stayed in his hiding spot and passed out from hunger… He took a deep breath and started moving through the small crowd, carefully avoiding the gaze of anyone he passed and using the servants walking around with trays of drinks as cover as often as he could. And it was working. He quickly closed in on the long table and could actually smell the food. He actually raised his hand to grab a sandwich of a plate… And then there was a flash of light to his left and he stumbled to the side in shock as a light push of air hit him.
Yoniel looked around the astonished party guests. Theol had flown them to a nearby building before teleporting both of them down into the yard… When he had suggested it in the apartment it had sounded like a brilliant idea… When they had been on the roof and been trying to find a good place to appear it still had seemed like something the governess had approved of... As she stood in the yard looking around at the guests she felt less then certain. The majority of the guests expressions seemed to be lined towards eitherfight or flight… And quite a few of them had weapons… Mostly the fancy kind of weapons that belonged to dress uniforms and were only used for parades but weapons none the less. She tensed as she saw a man wearing a generals dress-uniform slowly moved his hand down to the ornamental pistol at his hip. She was seconds away from pouncing on the man when crystalline laughter echoed around the silent garden. More and more of the guests started laughing as the crowd parted to reveal the governess. The elderly woman was wearing a dress of blue silk that flowed around her, as if moved by a gentle breeze in the otherwise completely still air. On each side of her there was a guard wearing the same outfit as Yoniel herself.
“Oh, Theol, you rascal.” The governess said as she approached them. “Always joking
around.” By now everyone in the entire garden was laughing and even Theol joined in with a
chuckle. The governess came up to Yoniel and gave her a heartfelt hug. Or so it would seem
to but the most observant watcher. The governess actually put her arms around her and
whispered in her ear.
“Have you gone daft? People are spooked enough that there is a Ferhi Arch-Druid living in the city!”
“Sorry, ma’am. It was his idea and I choose to indulge him.” She whispered back as she let her go, in a tone so low she doubted even Theol heard it. The governess now turned to the Ferhi. She looked so small next to him… Theol was a good 2 meters tall while the governess was 1,60 on the best of days and even then there was the matter of… Bulk. The governess waist was about the width of Theols calf.
“Good evening, Theol. How are you feeling?” The governess asked and put her hand on his left. He smiled and covered her hand completely with his right.
“I am feeling very good on this fair evening.”
“Wonderful. The robe suits you.” She said with a effeminate giggle.
“I shall trust in your eye for fashion then.”
“Marvelous. I need to catch up with another guest but I will see you later tonight. Make sure to enjoy yourself... Have some food, talk with the others.” The Governess removed her hand from his. “It is always a pleasure to see you... Archdruid.” The womans tone was as if she was leaving a very dear friend behind. She and her bodyguards started walking away through the crowd. Yoniel was about to follow her when she recalled her current mission and looked over the crowd. No hands were reaching for weapons anymore and most had gone back to their calm and collected conversations. The tense mood from seconds ago was completely dispelled.
“... Can I get up or...” She heard a voice to her side. A man with a dark brown shirt and similarly colored pants. She recognized him from the construction...
“How long have you been there, Lead Energist Gloriel?”
“Your friends flashy teleportation spell... Spooked me... I... I tripped.” The mans cheeks were glowing in a bright red tone. Yoniel had to stifle a laugh as she reached down and helped the man to his feet.
“I apologize. We didn’t see you when viewing the area from above.”
“... I was hiding behind a waiter.” His face was still shining red.
“How come?”
“... I wanted food and... I really don’t want to talk to anyone here... They could all either get me fired or... Promoted...” He nearly spat the last word as if it was drenched in toxins. She pondered offering him a farewell and go join the party with Theol... But for some reason she.. Pitied him. He was just so... Hilariously awkward.
“Come with me... I would be surprised if anyone acknowledges you if you are close to Theol and if they do you can just talk to me.”
“.. Eh... Sounds... Good.”
He followed her over to Theol who had moved a few feet down the table where he was now talking to a younger man.
The governess made her way into the residency before turning to her bodyguards and asking the vital question.
“Is she still active?” She turned to face her two bodyguards. They were more or less identical, and not only in clothing. They had the same mid-length hair, were roughly the same height, had almost perfectly matching poses.
“No. Yoniel did not react to any of the signs... I don’t even think she spotted any of them. Her subconscious programming is all but gone.” the one on the left said, her face an emotionless mask.
“Should I have her removed from her current guard duty?” the other one asked. “We could have a replacement arranged before they return to their apartment.”
“... No. Yoniel never learned any state secrets nor does she pose enough of a threat in fighting skills. And I think I got to Theol about staying in the city last night...” She turned to study a painting on the wall of her residence. It was of a previous mistress of the city... She didn’t know the name. ”Replacing his best friend at this time would spoil all that work... No, I think it is time for me to release her from her service.”
The guards exchanged a worried glance before their normal, expressionless faces returned.
“Would that truly be wise, mistress? The population would probably still fear her and even then they won’t feel comfortable with a Ferhi roaming the streets without an official guard...” The one on the right said.
“I see no need to inform the public of her slipping out of rotation... And if I decide to, it will be because of the fact that I hardly think the Ferhi needs to be watched constantly. We are expecting two hundred more to move in within the next six months. If all of them are to have a watcher of Yoniels caliber I would have to multiply your recruitment several times over.” She once more started down the hallway. “Lets go. We can not let the general wait.”
< Message edited by The Odor -- 5/1/2013 14:32:05 >
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