Galaxy's Edge Space Bar (archive)

[Myitt]

Corliss nods again, out of habit.  He realizes he's gripping the metal lip of the pool so tightly Mike's fingers are hurting. 

He sucks in a breath and tries to relax.  "All right.  I'm leaving now, Mike will um...he'll be available shortly," he says, his shoulders sinking. 

<Yeah, open vacancy,> Mike drolls as Corliss leans his body over the pool, tilting his head to the side in the familiar yet still always uncomfortable position. 

<You're the expert on human relationships,> Corliss sighs as he starts to detach himself from Mike's mind.  <I hope we're doing the right thing.>

<Does it feel like the right thing?> Mike asks, but there is no reply. 

The Yeerk slithers and writhes its way out of his head.  Mike blinks his own eyes, staring at the dull gray metal wall facing him.  The uncomfortable, numb, runny egg feeling on and in and through his ear finally stops as Corliss' compressed and flattened tail end slithers under the warm pool surface. 

Mike pulls his hand into his sleeve to wipe his ear, then thinks better of it.

"Oh, hell," he exhales, and he leans a bit further over the edge, submerging his ear into the murky water.

[Cobra (Gymn)]

Kevlin stepped out behind Temrash. "So did you solve that problem? Dara and I dozed off."

Bear stood and trotted briskly after the two Hork-Bajir controllers. He was unsure if he wanted to reveal himself or not.

[Terenia]

Terenia senses the disturbance in the water, and soon picks up on Corliss' form.

<<Thank you,>> she says to him before making her way over to what can only be Mike's ear. She pushes herself in, taking liberties with releasing the numbing secretion. She doesn't want this to be any more uncomfortable than it already is.

It does not take her long to seize control over Mike, wrapping herself delicately around his brain. She blinks his eyes and, using the edge of the pool to brace herself, straightens his body. Glancing down she finds herself staring at Corliss, small and helpless in the pool.

<<Hey Mike,>> Terenia says, trying to sound casual.

[Chad32]

"Yes. The Yeerk Tayliss doesn't want to be in the war anymore, so I'm sending her to a place of as little conflict as possible, while still having a supply of Kandrona and possibly a Gedd host. The Human Amy will be under my protection, though we're unsure what she wants yet. I'll help her once she makes a decision." Temrash said as he walked to the bar. He ordered another drink and sat two stools down from Amy.

"Tayliss said she wanted me to take care of you. She'll be sent somewhere safe. For now just take your time making a decision. The bar is a good place to relax, though sometimes excitement does break out."


Derrel's eyes widen as Temrash comes through the door. Forget the Andalites making him nervous with those tail blades. This guy could rip him apart with every part of his body. He took a big gulp of his drink to try to keep his cool. "What is that thing?" He asked Illim quietly.

[KitsuneMarie]

Illim glances at Temrash then back to Derrell. "A Hork-Bajir," he says dismissively. "Well, most likely a Hork-Bajir who's a host to a Yeerk. There are no unhosted Hork-Bajir that I know of. They're peaceful creatures, although their bodies are coveted by my species because... well..." he shrugs, feeling like it doesn't need much explanation. "Still, I'd rather a, um, a human any day. More intelligent. Better conversations."

Serid harrumphs.

[Myitt]

<<You're welcome,>> Corliss sighs, but he isn't quite sure if the sonar clicks were audible as Terenia rushes towards Mike's ear. 

Mike waits awkwardly while Terenia takes control of his body.

<<'ello!>> Mike says chirpily, nervously, trying to lighten the situation.  <<You do know this is probably the strangest date I've ever been on?>>

Instantly images flicker through Terenia's mind, haphazard.  Opening crackers at Christmas.  New Years in Concert Square with school mates, drunk even though they were still underage.  Skinning his knee when he was 5, in the gravel yard in front of the tiny flat where he and his older brother Joshua grew up.  His mother's disapproving look--no, it was a sad look--when she lectured him about not attending university straightaway.  Disappointment.  Meeting Corliss, which is nothing but pain and fear and betrayal at first--he'd only wanted the advertising job to support his mum.  Then more pain, more death, the secrecy of living a lie.  His mother thought he was in the army...infested, all of them, even his old mates...

[radgeek]

Amy began to wonder how dead the host would have to be when Temrash spoke.  She was sorry that Taylis had chosen to leave the war.  She didn't what to have another Yeerk invade her mind.  Taylis had seen her secrets and most privet memories.  She didn't want to share them again.  "Pardon me Fiona," she said remaining polite before turning to Temrash.  "I know the Imperial Yeerks are looking for me and I should keep a low profile.  But my wishes is to take them down not stay safe but kick some Yeerk rear end.  Can I do that while being taking care of by you?"

[Terenia]

Terenia winces away from the memories, trying to avoid her immediate instinct to pour over every detail of Mike's past.

<<Sorry,>> she murmurs, not really knowing what else to say. Despite having infested more individuals than most Yeerks ever do she is still uncomfortable with the flood of memories. It reminds her of the days in which she was forced to extract painful events from unwilling hosts, under the order of the Andalite government. Besides, she doesn't want to extract answers from Mike like some science experiment. She needs to talk to him, not control him.

<<Listen, Mike,>> she begins, and in her haste to block out his memories some of her emotions seep through unguarded.Fear, frustration. Even a little bit of hope. <<What Corliss said...it's kind of a big deal. People who li->> she hesitates, swallowing her fear and spitting out the word, <<who love me tend to get hurt. A lot. I'm not just being melodramatic either. I'm usually the one who ends up hurting them. And you...you're caught in the middle. I mean, I like Corliss, truly I do. But I'm attracted to...well...>> She glances at Corliss' body in the pool and cannot help a slight shiver of disgust. <<Humans are not built to think that slugs are sexy,>> she says in a meek attempt at a joke.

[Myitt]

Mike laughs.  <<Trust me, love, I know how you feel.  But I'm ...we're attracted to you, I reckon, in both your forms.  Excepting Efaen, sorry, she's a bit of a turn off, yeah?>>  He sighs mentally.  <<He cares for you, and well, you can see that...that so do I.  I don't reckon you can hurt us the way you reckon you can, and even if you do...isn't that part of the risk of a relationship?>>  His tone is hesitant, still anxious.

[Terenia]

<<I don't know,>> Terenia admits. <<With my family, I had to love them. I mean, they're family, you know? I was tied to them whether I wanted to be or not. This...I've never done this before. It's completely different. I have no ties to you, or Corliss. If I left today and never looked back no one would think any less of me. I don't owe you anything. But if I...if this goes on, then I'm committing.>>

Terenia takes a deep breath, stretching Mike's arms as she exhales. <<You saw what happened to Tamora,>> she goes on. Just in case he had forgotten, she sends him a rather vivid image of the event, trying to ignore the gaping hole that fills her when she thinks about her sister. <<She died because I cared about her. My brother, my parents, they all died because of me. Because I loved them and I couldn't protect them. Corliss cares about me, and I guess you do too, but I think you...you're more neutral than he is. He's confused. I don't want him making a mistake, because if I commit to someone then I will do anything to protect them.>>

She exhales again, slower this time, her eyes never leaving the small form of Corliss as she speaks. Despite his repugnant form she has to admit that she does see something in him. Something that might even be beautiful.

<<I'm asking you because I trust you to look out for Corliss' best interest, as he does yours. Is this what's best for him? Or is he going to snap out of this sudden interest in human emotions and realize, too late, that he's in over his head?>>

[Myitt]

Mike watches the vivid replay of Tamora's death, more calm than he had thought he'd be.

<<Search my mind, Terenia,>> he says plainly.  <<You know how we both feel.  I just want to make sure that you know what you'd be getting yourself into, if you intend to do absolutely anything for us.>>

Flooding Terenia's mind are fragmented glimpses at the pain, the fear and the hopelessness of the last ten years.  The constant uphill battle against the Empire, against hunger. 

The things he and Corliss had done to Corliss' brother Raiker, and to countless others for the good of their cause.  And the risks they had taken to save the lives of the ones they truly cared for. 

<<I reckon Corliss knew he was in over his 'ead from the moment he left our old life behind,>> Mike says quietly.  <<At this point, having a relationship with a girl, even a self-proclaimed dangerous one, is the least of our problems.>>  He tries to radiate humor, but it comes off a bit flat...too many distant, painful memories.

[Terenia]

Terenia nods, a useless gesture. To her surprise she is crying, something that feels incredibly foreign in the body of Mike.

"Sorry," she whispers out loud, rubbing at his eyes. "I'm losing you some man points, I think."

<<I appreciate the honesty,>> she says, switching back to thought speak. <<I trust you, but it's easy to trust someone when you can see their every thought. I don't have that opportunity with Corliss. I have to hope that...that things don't take a turn for the worse.>> She doesn't say what she is thinking, but the sense of loneliness should be easy enough for Mike to read. She is afraid that he will leave her behind.

<<Thank you,>> she says again, hastily leaning over the pool. She begins to push her way out of his ear as quickly as she can, wanting to get out of that foreign yet familiar body.

[Midnight_Huntress]

Silver took another drink as she tried to think where her powers might be headed and what else would await her on the future.

[Chad32]

"I can put you in a position of actively opposing the Empire. You could work within the empire by being assigned a trusted Yeerk, and working with each other. If you'd rather not do that, then You could work independently on Earth with a supply of resources I can give you." Temrash said..

[Myitt]

<<It's okay,>> Mike whispers lamely, but what he thinks is much more powerful.  He waits as Terenia quickly starts slithering out of his head, his body a roil of emotions--Terenia's lingering sadness, his own hesitance that this is the right decision, and somewhere, the elation that she feels the same way about him.  About both of them.

Christ, if this isn't the universe's most complicated ménage à trois, he thinks to himself, finding himself more confused than anything.

As soon as Terenia has returned to the pool, Mike steadies his dizziness and readies himself for a third invasion of his cranial space in no less than half an hour.  It was exhausting, even though he was used to the whole process in general. 

He sighs, wiping Terenia's tears from his face, and dunks his ear under the surface again.  Corliss makes his way back into his head, tingling through the Novocaine numbness. 

Before he is even fully reattached, Corliss eagerly flips through Mike's memories of the last few minutes. 

<<I'd say that went rather well,>> Mike hazards.  <<Although...she did cry.  When girls cry I'm not sure it's a good thing.>>

Corliss is silent for a few seconds, and then he addresses Terenia.

"So," he says with a wry smile.  "I guess that means you won't mind coming with us, after all."