There And Back Again. An Ark Hunter's Holiday

Volodja opened his eyes and yawned. He slept most of the time since they left Freedom. Actually he fell asleep in the chair during that pow wow earlier. His mind and emotions were cleared with single slap from Sandy, but his body was really tired. That damned vacation was really exhausting experience and made him to pass out in the first opportunity. His friends and family had to drag his sleeping body into their ship and secure him to seat, so he could continue his well earned rest.

Sophie was busy with decorating her new bottega and cursed quietly. Results were too eclectic, because she wanted everything she liked, to be there. Only problem was that her objects of desire were from different eras and were hard to mix, but actually it didn't matter. If Leonardo had same opportunities as her, he would probably do the same thing. Finally she was done and results reminded her Volodja's mind - lot of different things put together, ready to use when needed.

Volodja nudged Atticus, "You know, Giant Sr. You better start to look for cigars soon. And pick the fine ones." And he chuckled a bit.

He needed to think about few things, before taking another ride to land of dreams. Evil bitch wants the baby and she counts on Sandy to tapper with Lady's birth control. That gives them some time to stall the Mistress, because it could still take time to get Lady pregnant and she will take that into account. Sandy succeeded in a first try obviously, but Mistress doesn't have to know that. Next he must ask Sandy about her communication canals with Mistress. How they can establish contact, when needed? Base must have inner security check and very through one. Mistress might hired somebody there too, just to be secure. No need to take her allies under custody through if they are revealed - that will alert her immediately. Must feed them with disinformation. 

Now the question when she will act? Stealing a baby would be easier approach, but...but Mistress sees Lady as her heir, so she wants her too and since Mistress is a fanatic, which blurs her judgement, she probably wants to be there when Lady gives a birth, so she could say: "I was there, when new ruler was born and helped to deliver him to his empire." Seemed to be logical that she will go after pregnant Lady, but not too soon. That should give them some preparation time. 

How she will do it? Trying to get Lady separated again or breaking the base? Must be ready for both cases. They could really use constant satellite surveillance in San Francisco area, because they would know right away when new Dark Matter portals will appear or something suspicious is going on. Using portals would be most convenient way to transport kidnapped. You get out from portal, take what you are after and then disappear fast. No risks on getting caught during escapade. And if she had inside help, then she could use them to break into the base. Possible.

He shared his thoughts with Taffer and Atticus and closed his eyes again. Time to fell back into healthy sleep. And he ordered really nice dream to watch. About girls...No way, he will do that. About one special girl. The one who slapped him and must be convinced that she is not a EGO psyche, but a real girl. And a really wonderful girl indeed. The one, whom Volodja really needs.

Still no sleep. Too much thinking kept him awake. And Erika seems to be worried about her children. Volodja somehow overheard Giant's proposal (thanks to Dinara, who informed Sophie, because for a teenage EGO psyche, she was really life wise and knew that Volodja as a counsellor, should know about that) and thought about that. Seeing real Kabule might scare that wannabe off, or make Cael to push him away even stronger, but if they don't succeed that shock therapy might fly back at their faces like a carelessly thrown boomerang, so he said: "Giant. We will try that one, but I'd suggest to wait until we are back in base. Just wake me up, when you do. I am still the closest thing to counsellor, we have."

Then he thinks about Raizar and realizes, that they could really use unleashed battle force. They had Atticus as a natural, but he was usually in control of his rage and Volodja himself was way too controlled and calculative and tend to hold Atticus back too. That can be usual fro most of times, but they won't perform well if real rage was needed. He was still too calm and Atticus's anger was TOO powerful. And Raizar was not a bad fellow anyway. But he was the one, who had to decide what is best for him, but he still said: "Raizar. You should consider that proposal to join officially, at least, but if you say "No" then you can always join us in the missions if you want. The choice is yours, of course. Nobody twists your arms."


Now he was ready to try again. Not the counselling job, but sleep. His conscious was clear now, but he needed unconsciousness. Time to dream about Sandy.

"Poor fighters and sore losers. I didn't used a single EGO power on that brawl. Only my wits and every kind of breakable objects around. And they were bigger and stronger than me. And I was against them all alone, until I teamed up with Sarah. So I beat them fairly, without any advantages. And since Sarah is tough as nails, I already imagine, what their faces are used for," said Volodja peacefully.
He will hear about the fate of those losers, when he ever returns to Freedom. It might be a really nice story to listen, while he drinks brandy at "The Watering Hole."

When both her children had fallen asleep, Erika made her way to the cockpit to see Taffer, but noted as she moved through the passenger compartment that Volodja and Raizar were having a tense conversation through the plane's intercom so she purposively interjected, "Excuse me gentlemen. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. My opinion is at the end of the day of any battle, big or small, it is not the fighting style that matters, it is who is still standing at the end of it. Merely my opinion, and pardon me for interrupting your discussion."

Erika hoped that her brief interruption in their argument might cool it down, but that wasn't her main concern. She had taken Taffer's advice, and contacted some of her comrades in arms from the Pale Wars who still lived in the Collective's Capital City, and one, the commandant at the military academy there, had told her some information on a hailer call she received while waiting to arrive in San Francisco. Erika thought Taffer she should know as soon as possible.

As she moved into the cockpit, she said respectfully, "Excuse me Taffer, sir. Two items for your consideration. First, I've had quite a few years of administrative experience, and if you need someone to organize the day-to-day routines of the team's base, as Belle did, I would be glad to do it. In fact, I would relish the opportunity as it would give me something to keep me busy while the experts heal my children, since I will be of no use in that other than to get in the way. Second, one of my sources, an old soldier of the Pale Wars who I trust implicitly, has told me that the reason that the Inquisitors' headquarters is so hard to find is that it is located in a large stealth submarine which is always moving, and that the Inquisitors move around the world through a series of Dark Matter portals, the latter as we suspected. I just thought you should know."

Erika then moved back to the compartment where her children were located, sitting between them and holding each of their hands with one of her own as they slept.

As the plane slowed upon landing, taxing into the hangar of the team base in San Francisco, Lady Christianna smiled enigmatically, happy to be home but sad that a road trip that had started innocently as a vacation had ended with one team mate presumed dead and another leaving the team for who knows how long. She knew she would personally miss them both, for despite Belle's inner monster, she and Vo were the steadying force in the team's often turbulent dynamics. Taffer was always the leader, but he had to stay aloof from the team in order to make the hard strategic decisions that made them an effective team, or so she supposed. Belle and Vo were the calming influence that made the team feel more like a family, and that would be missed immensely by her. She would especially miss Belle's warm smiles and Vo's lopsided grins that greeted her each new day.

Still, it was good to be home, and Lady knew the team would be ready for whatever awaited them in this new day.