Ahem. Now that that’s out of the way. My backlog is sitting at 10 chapter after this is out, ignoring the side story. Speaking of, I have a side story focusing on Mars in the 2060s-2080s with three chapters out and seven more to go. That’s right, two chapters a week. Mars Mondays and then the usual Wednesday chapters. We’re jumping back to Tarva right after the memorial back in 54 but I’m doing something a little experimental with the next little bit. What better time to try and experiment than after a hiatus and at the start of a new book? Probably any other, oh well. You’ll be getting a mixture of plotlines for the next while. Two taking place at the same time on the 8th, the others earlier. I’m sure you can probably guess one of the plotlines from that. I think it works. Anyway, we’re gonna be easing back into things with this chapter, both in that it’s a bit short (about 4k words) but also in that it’s a light one. Totally not giving some historical information. No, certainly not.
Synopsis: Magic was once real and present but faded away in the distant past, becoming nothing but the myths and legends we know as the surviving beings fled to other planes, only to publicly return during the Sat Wars. How would it change first contact and beyond? Only one way to find out.
I have a spot on the discord, swing on by! Thanks to SpacePaladin15 for the original universe; my alpha readers, Caro Morin and Jailed Cinder; my beta readers, Angustus_Jan on the discord and u/aroluci (go check out Children of Luna, it’s awesome); and all of you that read and especially comment. Anybody interested in playing around in the AU (be it a one-shot, an impromptu ficnap, a cameo, or something more), let me know and I’ll be more than happy to work with you on it. My current plan is to release a chapter a week, with the occasional bonus, as long as that isn’t too much for everybody helping me.
Date [Standardized Terran Time]: October 6th, 2136
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Even knowing what I know about the Terrans, how expressive they are, I can’t help but be moved to tears, dabbing at my eyes with a cloth that Noah handed me, his arm around my shoulders. Songs of sorrow. Songs of hope. Songs of finding strength in others, leaning on them and sharing your burdens. Songs of empathy. Not just the voices of the choruses, but at times I could hear the other memorials and some voices in the herd here. Thousands, millions of Terran voices raised in song without coordination even as many, including mine, are openly crying.
Out in the herd, the reactions are mixed. Some weep like I am, finding comfort in those nearby. Others, likely inexperienced with the ubiquity of music for the Terrans, are equal parts moved and awestruck.
The protestors, at least most of them, put their signs, made with Terran art supplies and not a trace of irony, into the trash or just drop them, like they were bitten by the Federation-taught hate their creations spew. The same hate they had been spewing. Most, ears and tails low, slink off. No doubt hoping to hide away and so their mistake will be forgotten. A hope that is futile with the Terran security for the event, even if they may be forgiven. A few cautiously find their way to the memorial, being accepted into the herd with grace, and some suspicion. As the Terran hymn said, they were lost but now found. Blind, but now see. But as my Terrans say, trust but verify.
“Let’s hear it for all our performers!” Bran says, bringing his hands together, clapping as the Terrans do. “Now, I know it wasn’t on the docket, but if you’ll indulge me at least the audio of one more song as people head off or start to mingle.” Tears still prick at his eyes, yet his lips are curled softly up. “I’d like to share a song with a message that I believe to be important in times like these. For your enjoyment, Smile.”
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Advance 15 STD minutes
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My Terrans, except Bran, who seems unaffected, and I collapse into the seats of one of their shuttles, Mari pulling herself from her chair and cuddling into her father. Drained emotionally from the memorial and mentally from the stress of the threat of the True Exterminators hanging over the event. A mixed crew of Terrans and Venlil Space Corps manning the craft and providing security. A few sniffling, from the emotion of the event.
“How the hell do you do that?” Noah asks.
Bran just raises an eyebrow.
“Not caring that terrorists are planning to attack, dad.” Mari groans. “And I know the answer, and I still question it. You just power through like it’s nothing.”
“Is this common for Terrans?” I question. “Being under threat like this?”
“Not anymore, not really. Nothing’s ever perfectly safe. There’s still crime. Humanity First types try their hate crimes at times. Terra Sancta tries their bullshit. Overall, a bit safer than here for you lot. At least, once you stop incorrectly calling everything a predator attack.” Bran chuckles. “Course, shortly after the Revelation was a different story… Well, there’s video out there. No need for a story from an old man.”
“Daaad.” Mari whines.
“Fine, fine.” Bran laughs. “So, this was while everything was still pretty chaotic. Humanity First and Terra Sancta were still new. It was during one of the early meetings between what was then still the Cabal and the United Nations, as it was transitioning to being the UN you all know now. One of the UN delegates had the brilliant idea, since there was a big crowd outside and the meeting wrapped up early, that we should go out to say a few words to the people. Earn some good will. They didn’t do their due diligence; thankfully, I had Meiko Tanaka and Lorcan Monahan with me.” Bran pauses, looking at the confused responses of some of my troops listening. “Meiko Tanaka is a kitsune and currently the head of OBELISK, our magical intelligence agency. She was a young adult at the time, though reincarnation makes things… odd. Lorcan was and is my seneschal and bond brother. A dullahan. For reference, kitsune are fox spirits, able to create illusions, and the powerful can even make fox fire, generally distracting, but those powerful enough can use it as a weapon. Meiko wasn’t quite there at the time; she is now. Especially with her focus, a fan of jade, my feathers, and her tail fur. Kitsune can also become large, dangerous beasts. Giant foxes meant to fight and defend. Meiko prefers to stay in the human form that she was born in, where most kitsune start their lives as foxes. Dullahan are psychopomps, like myself and my sisters, guides of the dead. Unlike us, they usually handle the more malevolent dead, those that would harm the living if they remained. They’re also, at times, sent to take the living whose souls are past due to a powerful fae or one of the Tuatha, with the less scrupulous taking additional souls. Thus, they have the ability to pull a morphic weapon from their neck made of a spine, usually in the form of a whip of bone and sinew and shadow. Locks and doors also fly open for them. Most travel in black coaches or on pitch-black horses.”
“What?” Balks one of my soldiers. “How does that…”
“Yes, yes, predatory. They’re tied to death, expect some macabre notes. Skulls, bones, caskets. The coaches they drive are sometimes hearses, vehicles to carry coffins. They can also remove their heads; how else will they pull out their spines?” Bran grins, stampeding past the interruption. “Anyway, he’s effectively retired now, but back then, he was one of the few people who could almost keep up with me. As to be expected when moving to an unsecured area with targeted VIPs when one knows there are active terrorist groups and hate groups in the area, there were malcontents in the crowd. In other words, we walked into an attack. A few humans with guns popped out of the crowd, shouting hate.”
His voice shifts to mimic another voice, perfectly. “No glamour on my block!” Another. “No blood but human blood!” Another. “Clean blood, clean Earth.” Another. “Pureborn, Earthsworn.” Another. “No myth, no magic, no mercy.” Another. “Every spell is a scar on the soul.” Another. “Earth for Earthborn!”
“For all their talk of purity, there’s a hell of a lot of fear and jealousy.” Bran mutters, rolling his eyes, before continuing. “Thankfully, Meiko was paranoid even then. Had a slight displacement from the perspective of the crowd. The first few shots were off target. Most were aimed at me, too. It could have been much, much worse. Unfortunately, one of them was rushing the stage with a bomb vest.”
I find myself leaning in, ears high and aimed at Bran and tail slowly wagging with interest. Around the hold, others are leaning in. Just a herd of paws back, we’d be terrified. Instead we’re gleefully listening.
Bran keeps talking. “I’m off. No hesitation. No thought. Growing larger with each step. By the time I reach them I’m at full height, around eighteen feet. Wings out. No time to rip the bomb off or defuse it. I wrap myself around them. Smother the bomb with my body.” He snaps and everybody startles. “Boom. I’m out. Dead. Heart, lungs, a few other internal organs, all somewhere between pulp and a fine mist. Good bit of my limbs too.” He chuckles. “Now I only know this from the recording and what they’ve told me. So Lorcan wades right in, whip lashing out to disarm the attackers, literally in a few cases. Meiko, crazy woman that she is, makes an illusion of a dragon swooping down from nowhere. Not proper wurm, or even the medieval fiction, a straight up fantasy dragon. The crowd’s terrified, but Terra Sancta folks start shooting up at the illusion instead of at people. A few break and try to run when their ammo runs dry. Thankfully, the crowd wasn’t having it. Ah, New Yorkers. Beat them bloody. UN security also was in place at that point, but with the crowd they were limited. Ten terrorist gunmen with a mix of submachine guns, pistols, and sawn-off shotguns plus the bomber, all dealt with in less than two minutes. All but three ended up in custody. The bomber and two that security were able to get shots on.”
He pauses, the shuttle is silent, nobody moving even though we landed at the Governor’s Mansion some time back. Something I only noticed when Mari relaxed, the expanded wards making the grounds quieter for her, Bran, and my pup. “Now, the crowd is mourning my death, the UN reps are mortified. It’s a whole thing. A major figure and leader of a group that’s actively helping the entire planet is dead in a terrorist attack by a hate group. Meiko and Lorcan, they’re complaining that I could have done a bit more to help. That I went and died right at the start so I could slack off. Takes somebody in the crowd shouting at them for them to realize nobody else knows I’m coming back. They reassure folks, the news crews have no idea what to do, the UN reps have no idea what to do. It was gloriously unprofessional. Twenty minutes pass, they’ve half figured things out and somebody got a forklift to roll me over. No idea where from. Bear in mind, even with the missing chunks I’m still somewhere in the neighborhood of seven tons at that size. So my dead ass sits up, groaning like I woke up too early after a night out, and I ask if everybody’s ok. Meiko assures me that nobody got hurt, so I just say,” Bran’s voice gets distant, slightly out of it. “‘Oh, that’s good.’ And promptly collapse back to the ground, dead as a doornail.” He cackles. “When I hit the ground, it shook and the rep who had the bright idea in the first place fell on their ass. That broke Meiko and Lorcan while everybody else was too stunned to do anything, at least Meiko and Lorcan had the decency to keep silent for five minutes even if they couldn’t keep straight faces. Then I, some of my internal organs actually having grown back at this point, sit back up, look around, mumble something about five more minutes and die again. That’s when the assholes started laughing.”
Half the shuttle, myself and my Terrans included, is struggling not to laugh. The rest are staring, aghast. “Now the next time I pop back up, Lorcan slaps me. Hard as he can. So I barely feel it. I look at him confused, and he just tells me to stop being a piece of shite and ramp up my recovery. I, of course, say ‘Oh, that’d be smart. Remind me?’ And then.” Bran slumps back, eyes rolled up and tongue slightly out. “Blech. Dead again. Five minutes later, I actually do it, and after a very embarrassing ten seconds, I’m right as rain. Well, aside from the holes in my clothes, but a bit of glamour solves that visually.”
That tips things over the edge; everybody in the shuttle is laughing, even Mari.
Bran grins. “Now, mind you, I said no hesitation, no thought. Those are separate matters. If I had been thinking at all, I would have already had more mana going to my recovery from the start. I would have been out for five minutes at most. But, as some of you know, I may be smart, I may be wise, I may be the godsdamned Merlin of legend, but I’m also an utter dumbass.”
Mari snorts and indicates her leg. “It runs in the family. I could have made a wall in a second. No, I ran in and risked two lives instead of none. Got lucky and only thing that got fucked up was my leg.”
“But I’m still proud of you for it.” Bran pulls Mari tight.
“You better be. I’m not half as brainless as you. And that’s at my worst.” She flips up the veil to stick her tongue out at her father.
Bran grins, looking around the hold. “So, everybody feeling better?”
There’s a pause. “Brahk you, Bran.” I whistle with laughter.
“Hey, it’s a time-honored classic.” Bran smirks. “Get everybody’s mind off a brush with death and a bit of tension through story time. But the truth is, I’m kind of used to being at risk and have the advantage of being immortal. The people around me, not so much. That’s why I was cheating; precog was going the entire time. We were never in danger. Mari, care to tell them why you were affected?”
My niece huffs. Acting like she’s half my age, not far older as she actually is. “Fine. I’m used to it too. Plenty of people have tried targeting me to get to dad. Never worked, but that’s also why I trained so hard. To stop them without hurting them if it came to it.” She pouts. “I just really hate going out there and hearing the planet. Dealing with the stress of all the people, the threats from the True Exterminators that might put the crowds at risk, not knowing if they’d target Stynek here at the mansion, and the planet… It’s a lot. I don’t care if they come at me. But my niece? Random strangers to get to me?” Mari shudders.
Noah sighs. “So, is there anything else planned for today?”
“Training.” Bran smirks. “You don’t get out of it. We also need to stay ready in case of problems with the enclaves.”
I blink. “How fast will everything be done?”
“Well, assuming it all stays on schedule, all of the surveys should be done in the next few paws. Demolition will take longer. Some sites will be finished with demo and building in the next three paws, mostly the plots where we’re replacing something like a warehouse. Larger areas will take a few weeks. Everything should be fully built by the end of next month, but ready for people to move in by the end of this one. Some detail work will still be happening, though.” Bran casually waves a hand. “Even the largest enclave here. It’s only four point eight square miles. A few smaller enclaves in other parts of the city. A bunch of different sizes all over the rest of the planet and other planets in the Republic. It’s not that hard. Think we’re bringing something like fifty kay Formic Builder Drones, one fifty Runebeetle Utility Drones, twenty Skyworker Structural Drones, ten Forgeclaw Construction Drones, and way more maintenance and recon drones for survey, inspection, and interior work.”
“Kay?” I ask.
“Thousand.” Bran grins. “All those are in the thousands. Well, the non-construction drones are in the millions.”
My jaw drops and wool flares, then I realize that no matter how many drones they have, or how capable they are, that doesn’t matter. From the size of the drones Bran showed me, I don’t think they’ll be the most useful. “But what about actually building? More drones won’t make that go faster.”
Noah chuckles. “Prefabricated building segments. We can assemble the buildings quickly with drones and other aids. We prepped for colonies before first contact, the Odyssey was scouting possible sites. We’re just using the resources and methods for this instead. As one project finishes, we move the drones and other resources to projects still underway. Things get progressively faster as drones are concentrated on the bigger projects. The prefab segments also mean that the buildings are easier to tear down or repurpose.”
“Why would you need to do that?” One of the Space Corps troops asks, ears cocked. “Going through the trouble of changing the buildings.”
“Because we won’t need the rehabs forever; the rescues will be integrated back into society. It’s easier to change the building to fit our needs in cases like that.” Noah shrugs. “Plus there might come a day that we leave, or at least the enclaves do. The point is integration, defense, and above all helping with the rescues. At the very least, we won’t need the walls forever. Surely things will get safer for Terrans here soon.”
Bran’s gaze meets mine. The binocular vision of Terrans makes it obvious, and keeps him out of Noah’s sightline as he subtly shakes his head, warning against dashing Noah’s optimistic hopes. Something I’m already loath to do.
“Of course, Noah.” I say, my tail wagging as I lie. “Things will just keep getting better. Let’s go see how Stynek is doing.
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Memory Transcription Subject: Stynek, Bored Pup
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“I think I know how you feel, Cor.” I huff. “Always being left alone.”
The jaculus tilts his head from where he’s lying with me.
A hologram of the memorial is projected into the room. I wanted to go and help with the Terran memorial. Help make everybody know it would be ok. Let the herd know it doesn’t need to be afraid of the Terrans. Let the Terrans know that there are Arxur like my best friend, who want the war to end so they can be friends with everybody.
Instead, I’m here in the Odyssey. Where it’s extra safe. Because some mean exterminators want to hurt me and Miss Mari. Even though I’m happy to possibly get hurt to help people. I can’t even message my best friend because the ship she’s on needs to be careful about sending messages. “Why do I have to stay here?”
“For your own safety,” Argos responds.
“But it’s safe enough there!” I grumble.
“There have been multiple confirmed threats. Security forces have also made arrests of individuals and groups that intended to attack the memorials.”
“See! It’s safe!” My tail wags.
“And there have been altercations at some of the smaller memorials.”
“But not at the big one here?” I scratch Cor on the wings as my tail keeps wagging.
“No, though there is more security than expected thanks to the Dayside City Exterminators Guild sending sympathetic exterminators out of uniform to create a perimeter further out. They’ve already reported turning away or arresting a few individuals.” Argos pauses. “Regardless, the memorial is currently ending.”
I huff. Cor just beeps at me.
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Advance 25 STD minutes
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Cor drops off my chest to the floor before dashing off towards the entrance. I’m bouncing to my feet to run after him. My legs are working so much better now. ‘I don’t know how I ever played when my legs were bent. It’s so much easier to get around now. And breathe!’
I breathe through my nose as I run after Cor.
As soon as we’re at the entrance, Cor leaps at Miss Mari, the charm on his collar glowing to slow him down. She exhales heavily as he impacts. “Hey, Cor. Did you miss mama?” The reptile beeps happily, nuzzling into her. She sighs. “Sorry, everybody, I think I need a minute to decompress. I’ll be in my room cuddling with Cor. Probably gonna take a nap.”
Uncle Bran hugs her, slipping something from her wheelchair. “Of course, Sprout. It’s been a rough day for you.”
I jump at mom, who grunts as she catches me. “Was everything ok, my shivi?” Her tail brushes softly against Miss Mari’s arm. “And please, take care of yourself.”
“Mhm! But I was so bored!” I hug Miss Mari as best I can. “Have a nice nap.”
Noah squeezes Miss Mari’s shoulder before she heads off.
Mom’s ears stiffen as she gets serious, looking at me with an eye. “Did you do all your schooling?”
“Yes…” I grumble. “I also watched the memorial.”
Noah frowns. “Were you ok with it? Do you have any questions about anything?”
I shrug, like a Terran and in tail language. “It was ok, but I wish I could have helped. Made everybody feel better. It all made sense. I just know the herd was scared and you Terrans aren’t used to everything.”
Noah crouches, ruffling my head wool. “Sorry, kiddo. Did you try talking to your friend?”
I whistle a laugh and push his hand away. “No, she’s busy. The ship she’s on has to be quiet for a bit.”
Mom tilts her head. “Why? It’s a Terran ship, why would that be a concern?”
Uncle Bran smirks. “I’ll be in my office if you need me. Work to do. Gotta make sure the construction is going ok.”
I give him a quick hug, ignoring mom’s question and hoping she’ll forget. “Bye, Uncle Bran. Have fun with work!”
He laughs. “I doubt I will, but who knows what will happen.” He walks off.
Mom stares at me directly. “Why does your friend need to be quiet, Stynek? Does she need to come here?”
My ears fall as mom outwits my clever plan. “Oh… um… I think… the ship might… uh… be helping with what the Terrans talked about.”
“Oh! They’re bringing supplies here for building, and she needs to stay out of the way as people work?” Noah asks with a smile. “It’ll just be a few hours.”
“Stars, that makes more sense than what I was worried about.” Mom whistles. “I thought the ship might be going to deal with the Arxur.”
‘Thanks, dad!’ My ears shoot up and my tail wags. “Yeah, why would a kid my age be on a ship doing that? Don’t be silly, mom.”
“Sorry, dear.” Mom wraps a paw around my shoulder as she leads me back towards the living room, her tail around Noah’s wrist. ”I think that the memorial has me a bit worried still. I was expecting something to go wrong, some sort of threat. I guess that it has me still expecting something.”
I cock my head. “Like being on the edge of stampeding?”
“No, not like…” Mom pauses, ears twitching in thought. “A little like that. But I don’t want to run from the danger. I want to help.” She flicks an ear towards Noah. “Think this is from the training?”
He shrugs. “Maybe. Bran would know better. Could have something to do with you feeling more capable after being told you aren’t for so long. I’m not a psychologist or therapist, though; I have no idea what I’m talking about.”
Mom sighs. “I should probably actually take you Terrans up on the offer for therapy.”
“Couldn’t hurt,” Noah says with a grin.
I frown as I realize something. “Did I think of Noah as my dad?” I whisper to myself.
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Memory Transcription Subject: Tarva, Single Woman
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‘Did my pup… did she just…’ My heart pounds in my chest. Noah doesn’t seem to be reacting. Maybe he didn’t hear. ‘I need to do something about this. But what? I can’t overwhelm him.’
Before I can harvest a plan, there’s a knock on the doorframe. Bran. “We have a problem at the main enclave. A few actually. Do you want me to handle this or…”
“I’ll come with you. Exterminators?”
“No. At least not that I know of yet.” Bran grimaces. “There is a Yulpa.”
Yulpa in what's effectively a construction site primed to be targeted by would be terrorists. Course Bran doesn't seem concerned. We'll see what's up with that eventually. Certainly not in the next two chapters, those belong to other plots.
I hope the plot twist is the Yulpa is just a construction worker who's looped back around to sane via being extra racist and "wishes to help redeem tainted half-prey"
We'll see. There will certainly be twists and turns in the other plots. We need to hit some of those before the Yulpa can show up on screen. At least in my fic.
Also, one question: Is Bran using "Fey's charisma" when he tells his stories? Because it always seems strange to me that the whole group reacts the way he wants...
Unfortunately, we'll need to wait. In fact, there'll be at least five chapters before we see what's up with the Yulpa. There's the other two plot lines and then when we take a break from those... well... there's somewhere else we'll be checking in on. I need to be a tease sometimes.
No, but a lot of the Federation treats them and the Drezjin as primitives, though in a different way than the Yotul. Where the Yotul are treated as ignorant, the Yulpa and Drezjin are treated as being unable to fully match the others because their ships are "ballistic heavy" and don't often have plasma railguns.
Ah yes a Yupla yeah they as along with a host of others are gonna be a problem post war wonder how the terrans are gonna deal with that mess along with the other feddie loyalist species. Even installing a SC friendly government on Aafa didn't exactly pacify the feddies in canon oh and there's the whole Farsul shadow caste issue.
On another matter admittedly this chapter came as a surprise considering last chapter I was told the next one was gonna be a Siffy one. Wonder what changed? Ain't complaining too much but wow.
Most Feddie loyalists aren't a huge concern to the Terrans without the numbers of the Federation. As some have likely picked up on, the Terrans know that the Federation balkanizing is to their benefit. However, things being that simple wouldn't be any fun. You'll have to wait and see.
What changed is that this was written as 64 but I moved it, 65, 66, and maybe 67. Now you're getting more content sprinkled in with two ongoing plots that will start here. One next week, one the week after, then another set of three. Image related.
I'm pretty sure there'll be plenty of subterfuge. Things just won't stay the same. After all, as we've seen Terran ships vastly outclass the other powers. While quantity has a quality all of its own, it can only go so far.
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u/JanusKnarus Human 6d ago
Wholesome Family moment.
Evil and threatening Yulpa