There's Life Underground

[Pepper Krasniqi]

Pepper’s eyes screwed shut quickly at the reminder of what had been done to her as a child. A dull twinge emanated from her hip. It had been more than a decade since it had happened, but she still sometimes had nightmares about it. Even though Kallie had recently performed one on her– less than a week ago– and it had gone completely fine and she hadn’t woken up, it had still messed her up. She sighed softly and opened her eyes, taking in a deep breath before replying.

“Yes, that was. Unfortunate. I was awake for a bone marrow draw. It’s one of the reasons I believe so hard in the recent ethics code update. I don’t want that kind of thing to happen to any of the children we have now. I don’t want that kind of thing to happen to anyone. It's more painful than words can express. No one deserves that. But, it’s behind me, and I clearly still believe in the ACF, or I wouldn’t be here, would I?”[/font color]

She said that last bit almost like it was a joke, a smile slowly returning to her face. She wasn’t trying to convince of anything, just then, not that she had been before either. But now she was starting to unwind, easily giving her thoughts on the fairly traumatic thing that had happened to her. Her posture was relaxing too, her shoulders unwinding and her face softening. A strange reaction to talking about trauma, but Pepper didn’t really consider it trauma.

She stopped outside the armory door, in case Jupiter chose to enter first.

 

[SV-3: Jupiter]

She did address it, and Jupiter winced in sympathy with her. Or at least tensed, with a sympathetic look. She addressed the ethics code, as well as her own experience, and wrapped the statement up with a laugh and smile. She’d never undergone amnestics for it – too young, and by the time she was old enough it had been too long. Jupiter was of the opinion it was better that she hadn’t. Not every traumatic incident needed to be erased, and most were best kept, nightmares and all. Fear and trauma were how people learned. And it seemed Pepper had learned the right lessons from the incident, which was better than could be said about some of the anomalies.

He likely would have had an approving answer, if they hadn’t reached the armory door yet. He nodded, and stepped through the large space into the room beyond. So he just gave her a small, encouraging nod as he accepted her invitation to go before her.

Inside, Helena Smith was waiting. Her hair was dyed light green, probably over a respectable silver. She glanced up from her computer monitor to see who was stopping in, then did an exaggerated double take as Jupiter offered her a warm smile, which she returned with an appraising look.

"Well, well. The Raven returns to roost."

Jupiter waited for Pepper, then gestured to her. “Dr. Krasniqi and I are taking a field trip. I hope you’ve maintained my old armor.”

"Oh, I have. If you still fit in it." Smith reached over as though to nudge Jupiter’s side with two fingers. In response, he took her wrist, and in a blur moved to turn her around, pinning the arm.

In a movement that in turn would be barely perceptible to Pepper, who wasn’t combat trained, Helena had the Councilman on the floor, and was stepping back. "The good news is, you don’t seem to have put on any more weight."
He let her help him up off the floor, his reply a little breathless. “The bad news is, you’ve taken up judo since the last time I saw you.”

"What can I say? I needed another hobby. You’ve apparently let Council life make you so—ooft."

While she’d been talking, Jupiter had counterbalanced the grip she’d had on his hand and flipped her over on her back like she weighed nothing. There was a dull thud of armor against the floor as Jupiter left her there and stepped back, hands in his pockets and a new kind of smile on his face altogether. It’d been a while since he’d gotten someone else to roughhouse with him. As if when he became Councilman, he’d suddenly become either too fragile or too important. Even Helena tended to keep at least a respectable distance, but they’d caught each other in a good mood for once. The situation that brought him back to L-14 was professional without being world- or even location-ending, so neither of them had their usual stressors.

It was also important for the younger Class-D personnel to see that there wasn’t any harm in a little fun, no matter what SV-4 implied.

[olor="#ff4500"]“And you spend too much time in the armory.”[/color] He offered his hand with a grin, and she swatted it away playfully. She was laughing, though, making it clear that she didn’t spar much these days, either, and that this was all in good humor.

"Well, at least one of us can get out for the day." She looked at Pepper without the slightest hint of embarrassment. "Two of us. Pepper, you know where Gilroy keeps your armor. Go ahead and suit up while I see if I can’t dig up the Councilman’s. Be right back," she added, with another nod to Jupiter, and she disappeared into one of the side bays.

 

[Pepper Krasniqi]

Pepper stayed quiet for most of Jupiter and Agent Smith’s interaction, but she had a wide grin on her face as she watched them. She gave a small nod as Jupiter indicated they were leaving the site, and then one more as Agent Smith instructed her to go and get suited up. It wasn’t out of some misplaced fear or concern, but for once, Pepper didn’t feel she needed to say anything. It was a rare feeling that carried through as she went in and ducked around a corner to find her gear exactly where it always was.

She took the gear and scurried off to her assigned locker. There was no visibility between there and the front of the armory, so Pepper was quick to strip off her outer clothing and donned the suit. She left on her blouse and her leggings remembering how the first time she had ever worn it had been in just her underthings, and that had been a very poor choice. She was more experienced with the suit now, And so it took her less than a minute to fully change. She left the soft face mask and hood down, leaving just her face and hair exposed. She hung her skirt and sweater inside one of the lockers, placing her shoes underneath them.

She rushed back out to the front, doing final checks that every piece of the suit was properly attached and connected where it should be. Pepper’s suit was designed to be lightweight as well as strong and had swirls of blue on blue on it that were far more friendly to human eyes than they were to Denizen eyes. It had segmented armor pieces, some of which detached for ease of putting on. It was those pieces she was checking. When they had designed the suit, it had been with the idea of nothing getting close enough to actually harm her, giving her time to run without being pursued, but still allowing for enough protection that if she did take a hit, it wouldn’t immediately kill her. So far, she hadn’t really had a chance to use it.

She turned back into the main room of the armory and called out, her head still down to check pieces, “I’m all set, sir. When you’re ready, we can leave.”

 

[SV-3: Jupiter]

When Pepper returned, Jupiter was securing the straps that connected the black ceramic to the kevlar underneath. Without the coat, his figure was striking, even before the light caught on the faint pattern of feathers etched directly into the armor. Helena was an artist, on top of being the finest armorer Jupiter had ever had the pleasure to work with.

“– steal you, one of these days,” he was telling her, as Pepper came around the corner.

Smith actually snorted as she checked the Sig’s magazine. "And I told you I’m not outfitting an army. I’d have to lose my personal touch.”

“You know I wouldn’t ask you to outfit any of the big surface teams. But for the smaller ones–”

"Then you bring them here, or order me to transfer." She handed him his gun. They both knew he wouldn’t go to that extreme. "You can imply as much as you like, but unless it’s an order, this is where I stay."

He held his hands up in mock surrender as he shrugged back into the overcoat, and then returned his weapon to the correct pocket. Then he turned to Pepper, who indicated she was ready. “Then I think we’re both ready. Thank you, Helena. A pleasure as always.”

She nodded, and the two agents exchanged a firm handshake. "Take care of yourself."

“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her when his hand was free, and they both laughed freely. It was refreshing. Then he turned to Pepper. “I’ll follow your lead, Dr. Krasniqi. You’re the expert. Would you rather start here, or find a place more private for the initial portal?”

 

[Pepper Krasniqi]

Pepper finished checking her straps and then nodded to both Jupiter, gave Agent Smith a small smile, and said, “We can start from here, sir. The returning portal will lead us back here, for convenience. I’ll just open them back to back. They shouldn’t be accessible once we enter to anyone but us, since I learned how to collapse them.”

The young woman walked a few steps away, choosing the biggest empty space in the armory, and waved her hand dramatically through the air. It was obvious to everyone else in the room that it was for flavor, as the portal had already started to open by the time she began to wave her hand. While Pepper wasn’t one for dramatics she sure as hell was one for theatrics. Per usual, the portal was just the right height for Pepper in her boots to fit through. She looked up with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I can’t make it any bigger than this. I know it’s a bit of a duck. You got your night goggles?”

She waited a second for his reply before nodding, hopping through the portal and into the familiar world beyond. The planet was lit up, which was a rare sight, And she looked around at the empty landscape. The “mountains” in the distance were illuminated with a backdrop of red in the waning light. It was already being sucked back into the planet, leaving inky blackness all around. As it disappeared, the Path began to glow, lighting up the immediate area for Pepper’s eyes. The golden light lifted from the ground in much the same way the red gas did, in shimmering rivers that rose high into the air before disappearing into the sky.

She turned around and looked back through the portal, calling out to Jupiter with a humorous tone, “Come on in, the water’s fine.”

 

[SV-3: Jupiter]

Pepper explained the location of the portals, and Jupiter noted it was a smart development for purely exploratory missions. There also wasn’t a safer place to set up the exit area than the armory, as, in the case of pursuit – unlikely though it was – there would be a fortifiable position for defense and recontainment. He did raise an eyebrow at the showmanship, but didn’t object to it. He had an appreciation for theatrics.

As Pepper stepped through, Jupiter reached into another pocket and withdrew two items – a pair of sunglasses, and a pair of night vision binoculars. He notably was not wearing a visor attached to his helmet, or anything to disguise his face. Not until the sunglasses went on, and his features became… fuzzy. From a distance, or in someone’s periphery, he might look normal, but focusing on his face caused the features to blend together and blur. Being aware of the phenomenon just made the effect more prominent. Given how dark the aptly titled Dark Dimension already was, the glasses would do little to obstruct his vision further, and the handheld binoculars could be set to a higher brightness to accommodate for the tinted lenses.

Still, he saw the red glow die through the portal, and waited for invitation before stepping through. He lifted the goggles just enough to pick out the deep blue of Pepper’s armor, and lowered them again, able to pick out her shape as his eyes adjusted.

“Right behind you.” He smiled, amicably and invisibly, and stepped up to keep pace with Pepper instead of following her. “Before he greets us, tell me a bit about Mikulass. I’ve read the reports, but I’d like your perspective as we go.”

 

[Pepper Krasniqi]

“Mikulass is a good, uh, being. He has a family, and I’ve seen firsthand how doting he is as a father. I’ve attended their ‘mass’ before, and he’s very clearly considered intelligent by his people as well as by me. They listened to him with a kind of rapture that made me a little uncomfortable, to be honest. Not because there was anything wrong with it, but because it was just so intense.”

She paused there as she stepped around the rock that sat at the edge of the Path, then over the small creak. She pointed down to it and added, “Be careful of this, it will stain even black clothes with red. Anyway, I find his self-control to be incredible. No matter what happens, he’s always calm and collected. That’s not to say he doesn’t display emotions- he’s very emotive. He’s just also the one who clearly sets the example for how to behave for others. I’ve also witnessed a kindness in him I’ve rarely ever seen. And I’m sure I don’t have to say how devoted he is.”

There was a moment of silence, full of hesitation as Pepper considered whether to say the next bit. But Jupiter was asking for her opinion, and since it was just an opinion, it couldn’t really be wrong. So in a soft voice, she finished with, “He’s better than some humans I’ve met, that’s for sure.”

She kept walking, allowing space for Jupiter to speak if he chose to. In the distance, the beginning sounds of flapping wings began to spread through the air.

 

[SV-3: Jupiter]

She had a high opinion of her priest.

That was good. There would have been issues if, after so long, the Heraldess held him in ill regard. He did smile at the suggestion Mikulass was better than some humans. He hadn’t believed that impossible, the way some might. As a field agent, Jupiter’s job was to interact with other humans, and the vast majority of the kind he had to interact with were bastards through and through. His bar for a good person was not high, and certainly didn’t include the requirement of humanity for personhood.

Still. This was a different world, in a literal sense. He trusted Pepper’s judgment on the moral aspect of things only because he’d established she was human enough to be trusted to match closely with his own. The rest, however, was alien, and his mind followed that path as he followed Pepper deeper into the Waking World. The moment he had stepped through the door, his perspective of the situation needed to change. This was strange territory to him. There were facts he knew, and he had to remember them.

First, ACF-1003 was the Goddess here. Second, she would not take kindly to Pepper’s entrances and exits. The details of her relationship with the Dead God were something Jupiter would address – later. Not in the realm where she was believed to be omnipotent.

Back to the list. Third, Pepper was the Dead God. Here, she had an infinity of potential, untapped unknowns. That made the field agent in Jupiter nervous. The field agent in Jupiter also did not let the nerves show, his face all the same as he stepped over the creek.

Fourth, Mikulass and his people were devoted to the Dead God, and by extension to Dr. Krasniqi. A degree of respect was therefore to be expected, both of the cult and of the Councilman.

He could hear the wings coming. Pepper might be able to sense the shift in his mind from how he had been in the security of the location: still cool and collected, but just a little more noticeably aware. His eyes turned skyward, and he raised the binoculars to watch the approaching entities.

“What do they consider the appropriate respect to you?” His voice was much softer, a gentle rumble under his breath. Just loud enough to be heard by Pepper, and little else. Fitting in was very important, and he would share his perspectives on Mikulass once he had formed his own opinions.

 

[Pepper Krasniqi]

Pepper looked up at Jupiter, only to look away almost immediately. She had seen him put on a pair of sunglasses but in the golden glow of the Path it was particularly clear that his face was fuzzy to look at. She blinked her eyes back into focus as she said, equally soft, “They see whatever I tolerate to be respectful. You have nothing to worry about in that regard. Just continue as you have been.”

Though she spoke softly, there was a tremor in the words, a warble that sounded almost like an echo. A few more steps and the flock descended around them, landing gracefully in lines alongside the Path, but never on it. There were some screeches, some hums, as they spoke to one another, clearly intrigued by the new being that their Heraldess had brought before them. Then, on a large “rock” that protruded right into the Path, Mikulass landed, his sons flanking him as they had been for the last few years. As one, the flock extended their wings and raised their beaks to the sky, their eyes all closing.

Pepper took a few steps ahead of Jupiter and threw her arms wide. Over the last few days, she had started to greet them in a new way, one she was sure was heavily influenced by the breakdown of the wall in her head. She didn’t mind, because the cultists seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. This was the first time she had brought someone along with her, however. She didn’t feel nervous about doing it in front of Jupiter, but she knew how it would look. She clapped her hands twice in the air, sharply, the sound echoing out across the barren landscape.

And then she spoke.

“My friends! It is good to see all of you, healthy and alive! I thank you for following your commandments and keeping yourselves from danger. I have returned to you this day, and I have brought with me someone new! I beg of you to treat him as you would myself, in all manners. He is to be respected, for I respect him. I trust you to behave.”

She clapped her hands twice again, and all of the cultists relaxed, their wings tucking back in as they stood, speaking in hushed tones to one another. While Pepper had been speaking, the light surrounding them shot high into the sky and burned twice as bright. Although it wasn’t apparent to her own eyes, the light had become visible to the cultists and any others around, including Jupiter. Additionally, the light that the cultists saw from Pepper’s exposed skin began to radiate in a spectrum visible to the human eye, making her face and bare neck glow bright white-yellow. The entire area lit up with the color of the Dead God.

Then Pepper clapped her hands, this time softer. The chatter died down. It was only then that Mikulass called out to them in English, “A thousand greetings Heraldess of the Dead God, we are blessed by the presence of your steps. Tell us the shape of your walk.”

The dazzling light from Pepper was beginning to die down, and when she spoke, it wasn’t with the thunderous and echoing voice of a greater being, but with the soft and sweet tones of her natural voice. “Mikulass! I have brought a friend! He wishes to speak with you and I would ask that you answer him as honestly as possible.”

The bird nodded his head and replied, “As my Heraldess requests.”

 

[SV-3: Jupiter]

This was outside the known parameters.

He had slipped into a military rest as they landed, the great dark shapes that worshiped the Dead God. His full height was about equal to the elders among them, even with their necessarily greater wingspan. He recognized that in a clinical, strategical way even as he bowed his head slightly, recognizing a religious ceremony as it unfolded around him. An entirely new ceremony. One that included a change in Dr. Elizabeth Pepper Krasniqi, both personal and physical, as the light poured from her and made him glad that he had chosen sunglasses and a handheld night vision device, and not night vision goggles as a disguise.

He’d skimmed the basic reports of such a change, but no one seemed to have really witnessed it, not yet. It was an honor and a duty to be one of the first in the Foundation to see it. Were he not a Councilman, maybe there’d be a little less weight to it for him. Were he just an agent, there’d be a degree of detached patience. But she decreed that She – he determined that without dwelling on it – respected him, when She was much more powerful. She didn’t seem invested in potential dominance games, as many entities of Her class usually would, but he understood them and through long-drilled instincts chose to abide by them.

“A thousand greetings Mikulass, High Priest of the Dead God and His Heraldess. And to his sons, and to his people.” His voice was now loud enough to hear, but remained half an octave deeper than most at 14 were accustomed to hearing it. He now wore Councilman like a visible badge in his posture and speech, without stating it out loud. “I am called Jupiter, and am a lord among my people.”

The formality might come as a surprise, to most. Jupiter was not the member of the Council who dealt with gods and infinities, and even the Councilman who did wouldn’t have made this kind of statement. But he was the Council in its wholeness, here, like representing a surface team, or the whole Foundation. If Leviathan had been here, this wouldn’t have been necessary. But they weren’t, and so he took up the burden in their absence.

“I know the Goddess.” That was a bold statement, and he gave it time to settle in, but spoke before anyone could interject. “I bring my steps to you seeking guidance and instruction with regards to Her whom you fear and hate. Should you have objection to this, then I will shape my path home again, and leave you in peace.”

He took just enough steps forward to stand again at Pepper’s side.

“Know that these questions are not of vital importance, but are for study and containment of The Goddess among my people. She is not there as She is here, but to understand Her here would help my people better understand Her there. I place no force or pressure upon you to teach me, and will not take advantage of the force and pressure of which your Heraldess is capable. The choice is yours, freely made.”

 

[Pepper Krasniqi]

]
Pepper listened to Jupiter’s request with a kind of awe. When she had brought people through in the past, they had sometimes attempted to communicate with the cultists. A notable one in her mind was Cody’s demonstration last Friday. This, this was more than just an attempt to communicate with her cult– she didn’t think she could process calling them her cult right then. This was a speech, one made in their special way of communicating. Even Mikulass seemed impressed with the effort.

The light around Pepper finally died down as she stepped up to Mikulass and held a hand up for Sofwyn to jump onto her arm. The boy did so and got very close to Pepper, nuzzling into her hair with a soft singing chirp that conveyed the warm fuzziness of love. His brother Tarwyn chirped sharply, hopping closer and stomping one of his feet. He was exuding jealousy, and it made Pepper laugh and hold out an arm for him to hop onto as well.

As his sons climbed onto Pepper and began to cuddle into her hair, Mikulass turned his thoughtful eyes on Jupiter. They seemed to squint a little as he looked at the man before he allowed them to unfocus from him. With a soft and distant stare, Mikulass extended his wings outward again, in a much softer bow. “We would be honored to assist. You may ask of us what you have come to ask. We hope that we can provide you with the answers you seek, Lord-of-your-people.”

The rest of the flock began to chatter again. Several words of broken English made their way to the forefront of the noise, while the rest of the noise consisted of humming, singing, and shrieks. "Stranger", "unlike the others", "Trusted of the Heraldess". A dozen or so of the cultists flew into the sky and left, as though they had duties to attend to. Many of the others gathered in a tight formation behind or around Mikulass, as if to listen to him speak, or maybe to be closer to Pepper, who stood alongside him. For whatever reason, this left Jupiter with a much wider open space.

 

[SV-3: Jupiter]

The Cult moved away from him, but not in fear, despite all the screaming. Maybe Pepper would notice that Jupiter was oddly unaffected by the shrieks and cries that had been known to bother Foundation personnel. Part of that was the experience, but part was the focus on the few English words that came through and caught his ear.

Stranger. Not in the sense of an outsider or foreigner, but in the sense that he was different, bore himself differently, as Councilman and lord and not agent or researcher. They left the space around him, left him apart. He had no poetic notions on that matter, only noted in passing that this was a strategically better position to be in, even if he could no longer see in Pepper’s golden light.

Jupiter bowed head and shoulders to Mikulass, whose shape was dark against even the darkness, his left hand placed firmly but with fingers somewhat splayed on his chest. An exchange of the respect he had been given so far. He then stood up again, tall and alone, and his hands once more folded behind his back, and he lifted his head to take in the denizen.

It was always best to begin at the beginning.

“This world, this place, was crafted by the hands of the Goddess at the beginning of life here. Yet it feels much older than anything made by Her hands.” That was based on the reports of Nova Neves, but she was a member of one of his surface teams. Her reports were his knowledge. “How did this world come to be, as it was before or as it is now?”

 

[Pepper Krasniqi]

The bird tilted his head to the side, tittered, and then sighed deeply. He took in the man’s appearance for a moment, imposing and strong, sturdy and large, and then he nodded. It was more than enough that the Heraldess trusted him, but Mikulass liked to come to his own conclusion of beings he met. This particular one seemed to be sincere and used to being listened to. A Lord, indeed.

Off to the side, Pepper was watching. She didn’t want to step in– she wanted Mikulass to demonstrate his willingness to cooperate. The more free reign she gave Mikulass in this situation, the more she proved how much she trusted him. This wasn’t a test, as far as she was aware, but demonstrating now both his usefulness and his intelligence would be vital for future interactions.

Instead of standing by, she played with the boys. She mingled with the rest of the flock, allowing them to bow to her while she reached a hand out for them to gather around. Many of them reached out and gently put their wings over her hand for brief moments, and she graciously allowed it, all while keeping an ear out for anything in the interaction behind that might signify something going wrong.

Mikulass spoke then, after his moment of silence. “This answer, not complete. I apologize. This planet, yes, it predates us, though by how long I cannot say. The Goddess, terrible and true, created it as she created all else. We not why or how.”

 

[SV-3: Jupiter]

The answer was shorter than Jupiter normally would have liked. That wasn’t to say it was a bad answer. It was a good answer in that it told him more about the answerer than the answer itself. Mikulass wanted to answer, and even apologized for apparent inadequacy. That would surprise some people, but Jupiter understood the sentiment.

The simplicity of the answer told him that Mikulass was a straightforward creature, and Jupiter understood that, too. Pepper was watching them, but not intervening. Mikulass’s children were still young enough to play and bicker, which, if Jupiter had to put his finger on it, put the high priest at the younger end of middle age for his species. At least, it would in humans; weird extradimensional birds might have a very different reproductive cycle, but the files he’d read didn’t seem to indicate that too strongly.

So Mikulass was acting of his own accord, as a mature adult. Those could both be useful, moving forward. However, Jupiter didn’t mention what he had noticed, only nodded as the creature concluded.

“I understand.” Beginnings were hard, but he’d gotten what he needed from it. “The Goddess here is powerful – terrible and true, as you say. Forgive me, for this may be strange to ask concerning the Goddess who created you against your will, but what sort of a person is she? I know how she is among my people, but I do not mistake her as she there to Her as She is here.”

 

[Pepper Krasniqi]

Pepper gave a small smile before giving her full attention to the crowd around her. Mikulass could handle this. She would simply listen for her name in case they needed her. She threw Tarwyn into the air and watched him flap, floating back down to her with a grace she wished she had.

Meanwhile, Mikulass sighed and nodded his eyeless head, chittering a bit in song before replying to Jupiter’s question. “The Goddess, she has two faces. One, caring and compassionate, one who loves and cherishes. This one joins us in song as we sing to the Sphere That Hates Us. The other, hunts all. Monsterous, by your language. Cannot be spoken to, cannot be reasoned with.”

Mikulass spoke with the cadence and demeanor of one who had experienced this firsthand, He tucked his wings in close before continuing. “Have seen both. Wasn’t always here. Used to be, one of the cities. Have experienced both faces of hers, have run from her before. Allowed me to escape. I… I was never meant to be there. Was, for short time… Annihilation. Then, found them. Taught them. But you ask after HER. Yes, two faces. The one who hunts and the one who loves.”

He ruffled his feathers and ducked his beak into them, as though embarrassed he had gone so off track. Pepper had tuned in when he said Annihilation and had paid just enough attention to understand he talking about himself. Pepper had never asked what he did before the cult. She had no idea that he had been one of the Annihilations. She would have to ask him about that later. She had always assumed that the flock was where he had always been.

 

[SV-3: Jupiter]

Jupiter frowned, although it wouldn’t be a clear communication through the illusion that disguised his face through the sunglasses. If it was true that they could feel and hear emotions without such communication, then Jupiter knew that they would sense him pondering. The sunglasses were not meant to hide his intentions, however, and while he could lie like the Devil, he had not come here to do so.

In fact, the more truth he could safely manage, the better. His air shifted to consideration, then decision.

He turned his face away from Mikulass, and raised one hand to shield most of his features from view as he moved the sunglasses just a little away from his face. It was a dangerous move, but it was one that, for a moment, would let the creature see thestraight, thin scar that defined itself against dark skin from his left ear to the side of his nose. He waited a moment, then let the sunglasses and shifted features re-settle into a fuzzy blur that hid the scar again.

The movement was a risk, but it was also a communication. He could not present commonalities the way he could with another human, even another creature of his dimension. But the scar, the momentary weakness, the I, too, have been hunted, were what he had to work with. And he could use delicate tools, even when others would consider them too unsafe.

“Truth for truth, friend,” he said with a repetition of his earlier bow. “Among my people, she has never been the one who hunts. She is not quite the one who loves, either. We call her Sleeper. She is quiet and restless as a child. When she has loved, she has loved dearly. When she has hated, it has been silent and bitter.”


He knew of Annihilation, from the Foundation’s brief experience and Ira’s explanations to Cody. He also knew of the kind of anger that made a man suicidal, the kind of anger that made a man destructive. He may have experienced it, or simply observed. That was not the place of Mikulass to know, or, more importantly, Pepper.

So instead, he focused elsewhere.

“What sort of life is it, in her cities? And why were you not meant to be part of it?”

 

[Pepper Krasniqi]

Mikulass observed Jupiter as he removed the sunglasses, which took Pepper off guard. He looked and saw the scar as the man’s face cleared– and even though he could not see his face, he knew once the edge of his features were revealed that he was like Pepper. Mikulass was not stupid. The Heraldess, the Goddess, thought that all of their trickery worked on all of them. It worked on the majority, but Mikulass and the other priests, they could see past it. They simply had chosen to believe in their Heraldess’s judgment. If she did not want them to hunt the ones she brought through, they wouldn’t. And over time, they had begun to realize that everyone from her dimension, as she definitely came from another dimension, just looked like that. It had become glaringly obvious when she had brought through her consort. She would only pick someone like that if they were all like that, they had decided.

So Mikulass did not react to anything but the scar, a soft tittering of understanding, so as not to alarm either Pepper or Jupiter. He tilted his head slightly as he listened, a soft understanding floating out from him. “The cities. They are… communal. Peaceful. But they are built on lies. Lies of a peaceful Goddess, lies of serenity. She is anything but.”

Then it was Mikulass’s turn to exude consideration, and then decision. His voice changed, then, becoming softer and more intent. “Lived in the city when I was young. Very young. Cycles innumerable ago. Found something I shouldn’t have. A sanctum, one I trespassed on. What I learned, could not contain the rage at being lied to. Being deceived. Became Annihilation. Encounter with the Goddess, then chose not to fight. Instead, to teach others of the lies. Took the flock and left. We have grown since, as more come to us.”

Pepper stepped back out from the crowd then, his sons still resting on her shoulders. She looked concerned, maybe. Confused, definitely. “Mikulass, you’ve never spoken of this before. How long ago is cycles innumerable? How old are you?”

There was a pause, before he answered, his voice clear and honest. “Many lives have I lived. Each time, die, then come back. Only me, not others. Am cursed to always remember. Maybe… thirty lives? Maybe more.”

 

[SV-3: Jupiter]

Mikulass’s English deteriorated as he spoke of his anger, although it only showed in his last statement, where he lost articles and personal pronouns. It was a significant sentence, from what he said, and perhaps he was more considering what he said than the words. It was hard to read him, as someone trained to read the human face and body, so to address it directly could be a strong misinterpretation.

So he went back to the current subject.

“Reincarnation would be a fitting punishment for one who worships death and seeks Annihilation,” Jupiter said, dryly, not with a note of approval but one of understanding. There were plenty of human myths that fit that same description. Gods punishing people in ironic ways was nothing unique to Ira. Death was usually the least of any evil, when it came to Deity-class entities. There were a lot of questions that could be gleaned from the statement. He chose the one that seemed the most relevant.

“What was in the Sanctum that changed your mind?”

 

[Pepper Krasniqi]

Pepper was paying attention now. Mikulass was talking about things he had never once told her. Maybe that was her own fault, for not asking him more questions. He had been her friend for almost twenty years, and she had never once asked how he had come to be part of the cult. She felt incredibly guilty. He had asked after every aspect of her life, had been there for so much, and she had never asked such a basic question. She hadn’t even known how old he was.

Mikulass sighed, humming a low resonating sound that was echoed by those around him. Even Pepper closed her eyes and did so. She knew what this was, and she would explain it to Jupiter later if he asked. For then, she allowed the request for emotional strength to wash through her and radiate back in the form of support. Mikulass lifted his head and focused his eyes somewhere beyond Jupiter.

“Found in the sanctum, murals. Murals and murals and a shrine. Found there, the Goddess herself and her head priest. He asked of her, why do you keep these things, these memories of the one you killed? She replied, ‘I do not know that he is dead. I think he still lives.’” Mikulass gestured to the sky. “Murals of Him. Murals of the Dead One.”

 

[SV-3: Jupiter]

Shrine. There was something relevant, which he would not have noticed if he had not reviewed all of the collected information about ACF-1003. The idea she had a high priest was new, though, and somewhat disturbing. Her GOI showed no real sign of that kind of hierarchical organization, but then again, they may not have been looking for it. He’d have to get word out to his people.

He considered asking Mikulass. Perhaps if this conversation carried longer, he would. For now, the Shrine took precedence, because of the recent incident with STL/RH-IX-S.

“A Shrine – the kind that is a pillar and twisting limbs, crafted from living bodies?” He had good reason to believe that Mikulass would not have a concept of trees, so he’d had to find a substitute. There was growing suspicion around the shrines, and next time one turned up that was alive, one of Butterfly’s ontophysicists would be sent with the nearest surface team to test some theories.

That was not Mikulass’s business, however. While Jupiter was curious about the nature of the murals, he had no doubt that Pepper could ask about those – later. Now he had to focus on business. “These shrines and sanctums – is their sole purpose worship? Or are they places of power for the Goddess?”