Unipsi, lovely entity

chapter 18: birthday

Back at Scilla’s place, Idra carried all her items into Natrix, while Scilla packed the gifts for Wiola. Wiola was still working so there was no urgency. Then they met back in the house.

“so when will your sister be back?”

“don’t know. Usually around 19, so in about 30 minutes.”

“cool, and… well when will we give her the gifts?”

“first we let her relax. Then we eat and then it will be time for the gifts”

“got that. So will you call me when it’s time for the gifts?”

“why should I? You are eating with us”

Idra tilted her head slightly.

“ wait… what?”

“you eat with us. Why should you not?”

“well your parents shit themselves if they get to close. Never meet your mother but…”

“not mother, nor mum. Call her Kalina or with an insult”

“I don’t think it would be appropriate she still gave…”

“she did nothing for me. So don’t make me angry in such…”

“It was not my intention. I didn’t fully understood how broken your bond is. I will not interfere now that I know”

“thanks”

“back on track I was saying that I never met Kalina but your pama Liwa just run even if she sees just a piece of my insignias. I don’t think they would appreciate my presence”

“who cares, Wiola will love to have you at the table so you will be there.”

“well if you insist so much I guess I could do you the favour to show up”

“shut up, you were definitely happy when I told you to be there. Your suit won’t block your emotions”

“I have no fucking clue on how you can read me so well.”

“I can do it because it’s you”

“sure as if I would believe so”

“one day you will. We eat at 20:30 so be ready for that time”

“hay hay commander”

“get moving miss fear”

a shared laugh echoed through the nearby rooms. A clear sign of connection deepening through events and a sign of happiness. A happiness with no intentions, with no controls nor alterations.

Idra disappear somewhere while waiting for dinner, she wanted to be part of the surprise. Scilla did almost all the work to set up the “party” and then Wiola finally came home, a bit later than usual. Scilla was waiting for her at the door.

“I’m Hom….(home)”

As soon as she set foot inside Scilla grabbed her and pulled her closer. The she hugged her tightly and lifted her up in the air.

“happy birthday sis!”

Wiola screamed for a second to then immediately reply in a happy tone.

“fucking hell you are gonna make me die younger”

“shut up, you are 31, there are tens of years of jump scares ahead for you”

a long stare and massive smiles where interrupted by Wiola’s grumbling belly.

“guess you are hungry. How was your day?”

“same shit. Just more traffic to come home. I don’t mind being carried but a big solider like you should at least princess carry me around”

“you are not a kid any more. Well change and get relaxed. I bought a bit of food for the occasion”

then she let go of her sister.

“really? From which restaurant?”

“Morashvara’s horde cuisine”

“LET’S FUCKING GOO!!”

then she ran off toward her room. Morashvara’s horde cuisine was both Scilla’s and Wiola’s favourite restaurant. It was not really pricey but it basically had a waiting list for some delicacies. Morashavara where originally one of the families that had enough of the Droxi idiocies and decided to look for a new home among the stars. They become specialised in combat and defence of the colonists. Their way of eating become famous overtime and it’s now well known among leans for being extremely creative and base around really strong flavours. The particular restaurant that they like was directly operated by descendants of said clan. A meal worthy of such name require a long preparation or a lot of money.

Around 30 minutes later all the ordered food arrived and the entirety of the Lis family met up at the biggest table in the house. A wasteful long table for 18 people made out of hardened glass with coloured quartz crystals inside composing a forest.

10 kg of foods where disposed on one side while the other was left empty.

“Woah! Fucking hell sis you must bought the entire restaurant stock of food”

“what’s the point of money if I don’t spend it on you”

“well you could buy… well it’s not like you need anything. So you are right but why did you place 5 plates of the table?”

“can’t you guess?”

Wiola’s face filled with joy while Liwa and Kalina started to shake a bit. They where about to complain when out of one of the many hallways Idra appeared.

“20:30 as you said Scilla. Happy birthday Wiola. I hope you don’t mind…”

“of course I don’t! I have a lot of questions… you see I started looking for an implementation of your solution with our genetic…”

“slow down birthday girl. Lets sit and you can ask all the question you want.”

Scilla’s place was obviously at the head of the table. Wiola was on her right followed by Liwa and Kalina. Idra was the only one on the left side, right beside Scilla. In most societies your place at the table is an expression of power and lean’s tables where no exceptions. The closer you are to the head the more important you are. Scilla’s parent were definitely intimidated by Idra but at the same time they couldn't miss their child birthday.

The table was full of massive plates filled with meat to the brim. Some side dished made with vegetables and massive jugs instead of glasses.

“Idra would you like some cefalas juice?”

“I saw a liquid that looked like tea, can I have that?”

“sure, lastfa tea is a bit on the bitter and acid side. Are you..”

“that will be perfect!”

Scilla served Idra to then move to Wiola and so on. She was obviously going in order of importance following lean’s traditions.

Then after all was ready to be eaten it was time the celebration initial toast. They lift their jugs, put them close together and

“cheers!”

“salute!”

And finally it was time to eat. Idra had finally understood that she doesn’t need to pre-cut all her food so she started eating with them. She probed every single thing in her plate before eating and she did the same with the lastfa tea.

“you where saying that you may have new ideas for your research” said Scilla

“oh, yeah I was forgetting. The food is just so good. So Idra hear me out a bit. I was thinking that there may be a way to improve our fertility and male situations. Maybe if we extract and purify the F3S virus we could try to re-apply it on ourself. Maybe this time and with your help we...”

“the F3S won’t do any good, just fuck you up even more”

“why?”

“because it’s an evolution acceleration virus not a miracle walking around. Without males your species is still working. It’s highly improbable that it will increase the male rate. Quite the opposite.”

“well there goes one of my ideas down the drain”

“biology is not easy but I suppose I can help you a bit”

then from the integrated backpack Idra pulled out a rolled printed piece of paper.

“here, I did this for you. I can’t reveal you much but this should increase your male population to 1:9950. Better than nothing”

Wiola was drooling, shaking and happily crying. In her hands a small piece of paper containing esterian’s medical knowledge and also a possibility to improve males population. It was probably one of the best gift she could ever receive and so she immediately rushed toward Idra. She hugged her. Idra’s suit didn’t really liked it and the black goo formed some spike to prevent further movements.

“this is the best gift I could have received today! Thank! Thanks! I...”

“I… I… that is not the gift I planned for you. It was for the hospitality that I received from you. It’s not that important”

“ARE YOU FUCKING JOKING!?!?. it’s not important! This thing could make me an Ittira if it works and could help me out with making even more progresses… I don’t have words for how...i…”

“then just stop hugging me. It’s making me nervous”

Wiola immediately released Idra from her tight grab

“oh, sorry it was… sorry…”

then she looked and Scilla. She was totally surprise by the even but didn’t really show it

“you knew it didn’t you?”

“not really… I just knew she was working on something. that’s it”

please don’t say anything. Just let her believe

Idra stared at Scilla and made a small evil and happy smile.

Lie. She lied to her to keep her happy. How she owns me a favour and also a grudge but that will come really soon.

Wiola had gone back to her spot speaking with Scilla, so it was time for the next move.

“Liwa right? How is it being a bartender?”

the femari was surprise and intimidated, she wanted to reply but words where not coming out.

“w...we...well….it….”

“chill I won’t eat you. You probably don’t even taste good. I just wanted to know. You must have some stories. Some totally psycho coming in the store and so on. I want to hear them”

Idra was not changing the air composition so the only fear left was mainly psychological.

“oh… well I have a few... stories that I can tell. Are…. Are you sure you want… to hear me?”

“yeah, I’m the one that asked. So what funny stories do you have?”

fear doesn’t disappear in seconds but their guess was insisting. She was being friendly and it was a special occasion. She is the one that asked so after some thoughts Liwa stated narrating the last story that happen at the bar.

Scilla was not convinced by such odd behaviour and indeed she was right to be concerned. Looking over she could definitely understand what was happening. Pama Liwa was absorbed in her story telling. Kalina probably doesn’t ask much about her job. It is too boring for Wiola who doesn’t care. Idra “just happen” to be interested in, and now Kalina is isolated at the table.

Smart girl. If Liwa is busy talking to her, Kalina can’t speak with anybody. Liwa is in between her and Wiola. She is too scare and obtuse to speak with Idra and she won’t even dare to attract my attention. I guess she is supporting me and probably gaining information on how we behave. Still I wonder how she learned to be so deductive and manipulative.

Time passed and it was now the moment for the dessert and the gifts. Wiola loves cefalas fruits which, to human reference, are a blue fruit with a green porous inside. Taste like orange mixed with a watermelon. Taking in consideration her love for said fruit, Scilla bought a cake based around it with some big pieces on top like they where strawberries on a fruit cake. Scilla, as before, divided the cake and as soon as they were about to eat, a black flash flowed in front of her eyes. The cefalas piece disappeared from her slice and reappeared into Idra’s mouth that was now chewing like a fat happy raccoon.

Revenge!

“you did not”

“oh yes I did. Disappointed right”

“why? It was an innocent slice, it did nothing to you”

“revenge. Usually I pay back with interest but we are friend so.”

“I guess you hold grudges?”

“yep, I never forget, I never forgive. The longest toke me 640 days to be repaid”

“well it’s about 2 years I thought it was going to be worst”

“it was worst for her. I impaled that idiot and made a tree out of her bones”

as aspected Liwa was shocked, Wiola was a bit confused, Scilla was totally fine but Kalina was furious. She had been mistreated from the moment that Idra appeared and now she admitted to have done such atrocities.

“how could you do that?! Don’t you feel anything!?”

“KALINA! Shut the fuck up”

However Idra reply hit different. It was calm as if she knew. She knew way to well

“wait Scilla. This is such a joyful occasion. We can’t let such questions damper our party. So no. I feel nothing for those who oppose me. They all die eventually. We live only because nothing killed us up until now. Your daughter knew it way too well so they try to make the difference while alive. What difference are you making? You can’t even say that they are your daughters because non recognise you as their mother”

A death silence freeze the room. It was an overwhelming victory but Kalina had to reply to get defeated again.

“I’m not scared of you. You are a monster and I would prefer to be forgotten than remembered as such”

“I may be a monster yet my people come begging me for help. They know that I will help them and that I’m there for them. Nobody will ever look for you, not even your wife. I never heard your name if not followed by insults. If they want someone they speak together but never involve you. A mother that can’t even hear out her own child is no mother. Only a failure. The only good thing you could ever achieve is indeed fading from all memories.”

On surface those words were not so dreadful but for leans that define memory and parenthood as sacred and as a reason to live, such words were devastating. As aspected Kalina started crying to be interrupted by Scilla’s deafening laugh.

“oh man that was amazing. Cheer up kalina, you always says that words can hurt so better not be hurt. Well I suppose we can move on to the gifts, even if I would consider this event the best one. Idra would you mind going to take ours? They are in my room”

Not long after she was back with all their gifts. Now even the dump Kalina could understand that Idra was trying to remove her even more from Wiola’s life. Like divorced parents on bad terms, the richest try to win over the kid with money. Gift so big that an almost unemployed girl could only dream of. She not only knew Wiola’s tastes better but she could provide knowledge beyond all frontiers. There was no room for victory if not their blood link, and so she tried.

“Wiola, my kid. You don’t prefer this faceless creature company over mine right?”

“I don’t resent you as much as big Sis does but I don’t see why I should love you unconditionally. Idra is right, have you ever done anything for me other than stealing the money Sis worked for?”

“I used that money for giving you a better school I did…”

“shut you sewer! And indoctrination bullshit school for brain dead people is no school. You failed us, you failed me and I’m sure that at this point even pama is fed up with your bullshit. Our federation is not perfect but it’s far beyond the capabilities that dickheads like you could ever achieve even if combined. Oh and don’t call yourself my mother cause you have never been one.”

“you have known her for less than a week how could you prefer her?”

“because she appreciate who I am and what I am working for. I would rather have her as my mother than you”

It’s not that I didn’t predict this. Every year their fights get worse and worse, but I still hoped they could contain themselves in front of a guest. Well it’s her special day and Idra doesn’t seems to mind so I will let them fight to their heart content.

Being nominated Idra decided to join the confrontation. However she had other plans in mind.

“I appreciate that you think so high of me Wiola, but I can’t be your mother nor a substitutive for one.”

“why not?”

“well I could start by saying that I’m younger than you.”

“really? How much younger?”

“like 5 years younger. At best I could be your adoptive little sister. BUT! Don’t interrupt me when I’m speaking. All I can do is help you out while I’m here, but that’s it. I will be flying in deep space in probably 6 days or less. How could I even hope to have a place in your heart?”

“than what should I do? Live on as if nothing ever happened?”

“I have no idea of what happened but for starts you could try playing with your pama, she would love to spend time with you”

“what? No she doesn’t right pama?”

she turned away looking at Liwa death in the eyes, waiting for a reply that took time to be expressed.

“I don’t know much kiddo but… well if games make you happy we can play together.”

“you are missing a part Liwa” said Idra.

“oh… how do you know? Doesn’t matter…. Well I used to tell your stories when you were little. I did the same with Scilla. But well you know. It’s not like we where rich so… I invented them, well most of them.”

“so that’s why your stories had like 40 chapters”

“yeah. I just invented them for you and each time added more, following your questions and desires. When Scilla started liking rpg stuff I hoped that one day we could do something together. But then she grew up, the war broke out and all became too difficult. I took all the jobs I could and lost sight of what was important. Can you give me a second chance?”

What the fuck. How did she knew? Was she planning all this from the beginning?

Wiola hugged Liwa that in the meanwhile dropped on her knees. She believed to be a failure as wellas Kalina, she was not there when she was need. She didn’t notice her wife trying to ruin her kid.

“I never hated you pama. I...[…]”

Scilla took Idra aside. She wanted to know and wanted to thanks her. If Wiola and Liwa could get closer her sister would not suffer too much from being apart for long period of time.

“how did you know? Was this your plan all along?”

“I just analysed Liwa’s behaviour. She is scared of me but she still tried to stop me believing that you where in danger. She can win her fears for her kids and doesn’t interrupt Wiola when she is having fun. As fas as I can tell she believe that she failed you as well and probably thinks that you joined the army because she couldn't bring in enough money. She thinks that there is no way you could ever see her as your pama I suppose. But she will always try to protect you.”

“don’t tell me this bullshit from a shitty movie, I want to know how you did it”

“I just demonstrated you how. Intuition and analysis. But no it was never my plan, neither is getting closer to Wiola. Initially it was just a by-product of needed actions then I decided to use it to improve our bond. Also you like nerdy stuff too and Kalina is an idiot. So I just thought that it must have come from someone. You hardly have any friend and so does your sister, so I must have come from your pama.”

“haa… I suppose you have my gratitude even if you had a second objective”

“no problem, we are friend after all.”

That rounded up their evening of fight and reconciliation. It was now time to go to bed and unfortunately Scilla’s plan to take Idra with her failed. Wiola wanted to sleep with Big sis and so she did. Idra retired in her ship. She walked into the closed door that she didn’t show to Scilla. There a new corridor, on one side the medical bay. On the other the control stations for guns, scanners and so on. Then at the end a black door. Beyond that the real cockpit. A two pilot configuration with extremely tight seats and way too much bottoms. A small walking passage on both sides and a small indentation with a removable see trough panel for personal belongings. There she grabbed the only thing in it. A 3D printed 4 legs walker of esterian origin. It only had 3 legs, the other was broken and placed beside. She petted it gently to then put it back in. She smiled and than walked away.

Scilla was having yet another nightmare. Similar to the previous one that happened inside Natrix. It was so vivid that she couldn’t tell if it was real. Logic says that it must have been fake but her brain didn’t. She was walking on a path of fresh green moss. Around her 10 cm of water flowing everywhere as if she was walking inside a wide creek. Trees and moss popped out of the ice cold water that was totally clean. Then a small island of moss with some bushes and tees. A small figure, a child in a black suit enclosing all her body. On the face a gas mask lager than the kid skull. A dark grey mist was coming out of the filters ascending toward the sky. The kid was facing backward looking down and the base of a tree busy doing something unknown.

Scilla moved forward to then ask the kid.

“hey kid? What are you doing?”

But that scared the kid that tossed in the air whatever she was playing with, to then run as fast as she could. A creature that looked like an oversize rat had been skinned. Now it had cables and explosive sewed onto it. No time to run that the explosion hit her. She woke up still in the dream. Now confined to a hospital bed. 2 creature in front of her. They where Idras. One with 478 the other with 484 written on the suit. They where massive compared to Idra. Taller and more robust but the suit was similar.

478 took the lead. She moved to the bed.

“486 take it easy. The suit protected you. Do you get it now?”

“what am I getting?”

484 intrude in the conversation

“she must be disoriented, I suppose we can take some more time”

“time my ass. 511 is the one that cause the explosion. Now you see why we should imprison her right 486?”

“she is just a kid. How we imprison her. We should take care of her not isolate her away”

“484! THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?!? she almost killed one of us. She is not suitable to live outside nor in our community. What 8 years old skins animal alive to transform them in bomb? What fucking kid in the Founder name use a mass fabricator to build a flamethrower?”

“she is a genius and we can make her work. With time she will lean how to speak, how to feel empathy and will understand the animals around her. She just think different if…”

“THERE IS NO FUCKING IF!!. she is an aberration that should never see the sunlight again. What will she do if she find out how to build a spaceship? How many people will she kill if she lands on a different planet?”

Then while the two are arguing Scilla’s gaze is attached to a corner. The Idra that she saw before with the helmet open, yellow eyes but not face. The eyes were growing more and more suching her in. She was lost in them and come back to reality. She was back in her room but immediately something was wrong. Idra was in there illuminated by the moons’ light. She was about to scream but Idra move faster and closed her mouth.

“what the fuck Scilla? Your sister is sleeping beside you” she whispered then she hinted with her head at the sleeping creature.

“the fuck are you doing in my room in the middle of the night you pervert creep”

“creep? Me? I was just looking at you sleeping while I waited”

“yeah, that’s exactly what a fucking creep does. What…”

“did you had a nightmare?”

“is it obvious?”

“yeah. At first it was going fine but then you started moving around sweating”

“how long have you been there?”

“about 1 hour”

“why?”

“well I wanted to tell you something, but you were sleeping so I waited. Didn’t thought that it was creepy. I use to stare at my sisters too”

“well it’s creepy as fuck. So what do you want to tell me?”

Only now, in the dim night light, Scilla notice an object in Idra’s hands. It was a cheap toy replica of a heavy walkers in the Sheridan, one that she saw during their first contact.

“I wanted to say thanks you. Today it was fun. I had a lot of fun especially during the date. A learn a lot and I can see why people like to go to dates. So… well just that… o and I was almost forgot. This is for you”

then Idra offered the plastic toy.

“I had a lot of fun too. But what is this? When did you buy it?”

“when you were peeing”

“I can’t pee, I have no bladder”

“then when I was peeing”

“you didn’t pee, I doubt you would do it in a public restroom anyway and also if you were peeing how could you buy it?”

“just shut up and take it”

“sure, do I have to treasure it? Or I can bring it around with me?”

“well… emh.. do as you please…”

why is she playing with her hands? She usually doesn’t do that. Should I ask? Maybe there is something that she wants to tell me but she is unsure

“you know you can tell me everything right?”

“yeah...i know… … it’s just hard to say”

“take your time”

Then Idra moved closer to the door. It was as if she was ready to run away, but she stopped.

“tomorrow… you will see a lot of thing. You will find out a bit more about… well about me. Just don’t jump to conclusions… can you do that for me?”

“you don’t have to ask for something that easy. Have faith it me”

“I have a lot, I just don’t know it that will ever be enough… good night Scilla”

Then she left immediately. Without hearing the reply.

“good night Idra”.