The Galactic War: Rogue Element ~The Beginning

[Terenia]

Efaen does not take his hand, though she does consider his question. "I have been in morph for one and a half standard hours," she says. "I would prefer to remain in this form for as long as possible. Terenia's threats don't bother me."

She pulls herself to her feet on her own, glancing down at Illim and giving a little, apologetic shrug. "You can come with us, if you'd like. Perhaps you have a brilliant idea to keep the medics here from stopping my hearts?"

[Chad32]

"You're not going to get used to your natural form if you hardly use it. Is there anything about it that you have trouble with, aside from just not liking the species?"

Varekil was the closest thing they had to what they needed, and Claxter called him up. <Warrior Varekil, I need to talk to you concerning a delicate surgical procedure. Efaen has a tracking chip implant that's designed to be all but impossible to remove. We need to talk it over to see if there's any way to make this go as well as possible.>

[Terenia]

"I have no need to become accustomed to my Andalite form," Efaen responds, a little stiffly. "I prefer this one."

She watches Claxter, frowning slightly. As he places the call to the ship's head medic, she sends a private, message to Illim, her thought-speech dry. <<I certainly hope he involves himself this deeply in everyone's affairs and not just my own.>>

[Chad32]

"Fine. I won't argue with you. Though I assume you sleep in Andalite form, and morphing Human isn't going to help much if you get attacked at night."

[Terenia]

Efaen's dark eyebrows raise. "Am I at risk of a nocturnal attack here?" she asks, looking around the Dome for an unseen attacker. "The rebels may not like me, but they are my allies. I do not believe they will attempt to harm me. Do you mean to imply I may be victim of an Andalite attack? That would not surprise me, I suppose, but it is hardly a matter worth arguing over. I will not need to fear any attacks for much longer. Whether I die in my quarters asleep or in the med bay, it makes no difference. The end result is the same."

[Chad32]

"The rebel's loyalty to you is questionable, with possible exceptions." Claxter said, glancing at Illim when mentioning exceptions. "Sector Seven will find us eventually, which will become a problem for you if the surgery goes well. The Andalites on this ship won't attack you, as they have no particular reason to. Terenia has already threatened to kill you, and I assume the rebels like her more than you."

"You really shouldn't brush your future off as a certainty. You don't seem suicidal, so I take it you must have some hope of a better future."

[KitsuneMarie]

"Wait, you're doing this... procedure today?" Illim asks, standing beside Efaen and scowling. His stomach abruptly makes a loud growling sound, and he claps a hand over it in irritation. "Have you given your consent?" he looks to Efaen. "And you're sure thiscould even work? It sounds like a cheat that surely the makers of this tracker would've considered."


Tess sniffs and nods. "I understand," she murmurs as she looks up to Keslin. "Life goes on, right?" She gives a bitter smile, then leans over to kiss his cheek, James still in her arms, staying relatively still except for the occasional flailing limb. "I'm glad you were here for it all. Everything's been more bearable for that."

[Terenia]

"Ossanlin says there is no other way," Efaen says with a small snort of disaproval. "And no, I have not given my consent, and nor was I asked for it. I do not think it much matters. If they want me dead, it is an all-too-convenient way for them to bring that about while continuing to do what appears ethical." She glances at Claxter.

"No, I am not suicidal," she says flatly. "I simply do not believe this procedure will work. I do not believe Ossanlin or any other Andalite here has any reason to want it to work. Thus far I have only been seen as a liability."


Terenia watches Myitt go of in search of food, but she doesn't follow, staying at the entrance to the Dome. For a long time she stands there, staring at no one and nothing. Eventually she does move, but it is just to the edge of the Dome, to slide down the invisible glass and sit on the ground, her knees against her chest. Her thoughts are slow and incoherent, and she is having difficulty moving beyond the glaring fact that Corliss is not with her. Instead of trying to clear her mind, though, she just hugs her legs and trembles.


Keslin nods, leaning over to kiss Tess'forehead. He hesitates, then reaches a shaking hand to touch James' cheek and kisses the child's forehead as well. "I will be back as soon as I can," he murmurs as he stands.

He makes his way out of the room and into the hallway, looking both ways for any sign of the Captain. He isn't sure where Ossanlin might have gone, or the quickest way to get ahold of him, so he turns towards the bridge and begins walking.

[Chad32]

"I guess all I can really say is that Prince Ossanlin and I saved you from enslavement from Terenia. You worked for him, did something wrong, was punished by people that had no authority to do so, and we're still trying to help you. I know you don't consider us your kind, but we still consider you one of us. I don't mean to upset you, but this is the reason we are helping. I know we haven't really asked you for permission, but it's not as if you can leave. You'd just be tracked down, interrogated, and killed by Sector Seven if you left."

"We're not just trying to orchestrate a fake accident. I'm not sure how to prove that without me doing a memory dump, but if that's what it takes..."

[Terenia]

"Why can't I leave?" Efaen asks bluntly. "If I left, I would draw Sector Seven away from you. I could lead them off of your trail and buy you time. If I am going to die, I may as well do it helping you dapsens," she says, the Yeerkish swear slipping off her tongue easily. "There are people I care about on this ship, even if they do not care about me."

She scowls, looking away. Her gaze lands on Terenia, sitting near the edge of the Dome, looking completely miserable. Sighing, she turns her attention back to Claxter. "I have an apology to make," she says in a quieter tone, nodding towards Terenia. "Speaking with the medic can wait."

[Chad32]

Claxter flinched when Efaen called him and the others dapsens, visibly hurt. "How would that help us? Once they have you, they'd know we weren't dead. Plus I care about you. I came out here to help you. Whatever small diversion your leaving gives isn't worth what is lost." He said when he recovered.

He followed her gaze to Terenia. He said nothing regarding his feelings that there was nothing Efaen should apologize to Terenia for. If anything, Claxter should be apologizing to Efaen for not just killing Terenia at the bar when he had the chance. Killing a helpless individual in cold blood wasn't like him, though. He wasn't like Terenia.

"Fine. He's not answering right now anyway." He said, ready to walk with her to Terenia.

[Terenia]

"It would help you if I died before Sector Seven caught me," Efaen says with a shrug. She reaches a hand up through her short, frizzy dark hair as she approaches the grieving woman.

"Terenia?" she asks tentatively, stopping a few feet away from her. Terenia blinks slowly, then focuses on Efaen. The corners of her eyes narrow ever so slightly.

"What?" she asks. Her voice is flat and hollow, not angry so much as defeated.

Again, Efaen hesitates, but she takes another step forward, then lowers herself into a squatting position beside Terenia. She spares Claxter only a quick glance before turning her attention back to Terenia. "I wanted to apologize," she says quietly. "For using the morph of Mike during the escape."

Terenia's shoulders stiffen at this, and she blinks rapidly, her narrowed eyes filling with tears, but she says nothing, only hugging her knees more tightly.

"I wouldn't have," Efaen continues, quickly, "but I had to morph someone that wasn't already there, and all the morphs I have...Mike was the only one that wasn't on Corvus." Licking her lips, she continues, speaking quietly, but rapidly. "That doesn't mean that he's dead, though. Corliss is smart, and there are rendezvous points."

Swallowing back a lump in her throat, Terenia doesn't respond immediately. She glances suspiciously up at Claxter, not recognizing him, then looks back to Efaen. "I don't know that he's there," she finally says in a whisper.

"So you're giving up before you can find out?" Efaen asks incredulously. Frustrated, she switches to thought-speech. <I may not know you very well, Terenia, but I know your story --our story -- and I saw you around base enough to know that you are not the sort of person who admits defeat easily. If Corliss and Mike are not at the rendezvous points, perhaps this sort of behavior would be merited, but at this particular juncture it is not. It is cowardly.>

Terenia stares at Efaen during her speech, her fingers curling tightly around her legs, until her fingernails are digging into the fabric of her dirty jeans. A scowl twists her features and when she responds there is a spark of anger in her tone. "I am not a coward."

[Chad32]

"It would help us if we removed the chip, and you lived to aide us. Us including the rebels on this ship as well, since you insist on your loyalties with them. We need all the help we can get."

Claxter let his hand rest on the shredder as he watched the conversation between Efaen and Terenia. She doesn't seem to recognize him, which doesn't surprise him. Days at the bar was a year for them, so her memories of him wouldn't be as fresh as her memories of her. He looked at Terenia with mild contempt, but said nothing. On second thought, he remembered he was in morph. Of course she wouldn't remember his morph.

[Terenia]

<No?> Efaen asks, feigning surprise. <Every time I have seen you since we arrived yesterday you have been practically comatose. I saw you on Corvus, and you had more life to you then. Why could you hold out hope for Corliss' survival there but not here?>

She sighs then, letting her thoughts soften. <I came to apologize, and I am sorry. I did not mean to make your pain worse by morphing Mike. I assure you it will not happen again.>

Terenia's lips press together into a thin line, and she seems torn between anger and grief. After a moment she swallows and nods, forcing her fingers to unclench. "I should eat something," she says, only just becoming aware of how ravenous she is.

<You should go with Illim. He will find you food,> Efaen says, pushing herself back to her feet. A little reluctantly, she offers Terenia her hand.

Terenia stares at the offered hand for a moment, then takes it, letting Efaen help her to her feet. "Thanks," she mutters, dropping her gaze to the ground. Her gaze flickers to Claxter once again. "You're not one of the rebels," she says cautiously. "Who are you?"

[Chad32]

<I am Claxter, in morph to help ease Efaen's comfort while spending time with her. Perhaps you recognize me from the bar? I'll give you a warning right now. If I catch you making the slightest move to act on your recent threats, you'll find yourself back in a holding cell.>