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Subject: "(EXILE) Reunion part 5 of 6: Resolution"     Previous Topic | Next Topic
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"(EXILE) Reunion part 5 of 6: Resolution"
 
   July 4, 2374
Zeta Cygni Dyson Sphere
Cygnus Sector
1715 hours GST

R-plus 05:15:12.48

The general mood that afternoon was one of celebration and camaraderie at Settlement Evaluation Outpost One. The younger Sterling siblings watched with varying degrees of quiet amusement and fondness at the display of familial affection and relief, as Komilia Sterling hugged her parents and they hugged her back.

"Y'know, I think Komi, Mom, and Dad are gonna be busy for a while," Maia Sterling said without rancor.

"We'll just have to wait our turn, I suppose," Miranda Sterling replied with a smile.

Emilia Sterling nodded and chuckled. "In the interim..." She directed a speculative glance at the Meltrandi officer who had caught her attention earlier. "... I think we should go and introduce ourselves."

The woman in question was watching the interplay between Komilia, Max, and Miria Sterling with equal measures of happiness and uncertainty, keeping her distance from the little group. She was so lost in her private thoughts, watching the scene, that she didn't even notice the group of six women approaching until Maia finally grabbed her pants leg and tugged on it.

"Eh?" Blinking, the Meltrandi officer directed her blue-eyed gaze down to her feet. She blinked again at the women who waved up at her. "Ah... hello?" Her voice was deep and resonant. This was partially due to her size, but there was also a certain sultry quality that the sisters didn't think micronization would remove.

"Hey up there!" Emilia called with a grin. "That was you on the comm earlier, asking for help, right?"

The tall woman nodded and knelt down so as to be closer to them. "Yes... that was me." She smiled slightly, looking a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry if I wasn't as professional as I should have been."

"Eh, don't worry about it." Emilia waved a dismissive hand. "You'd had a busy day. Happens to the best of us. Anyway, just so you can have a face to go with the name - I'm Emilia Sterling." She offered her hand with a smile, even though she knew that due to the relative scales, the best she could accomplish was to shake the giant woman's index finger. "And you are...?"

The woman blinked her deep blue eyes and replied as she shook Emilia's hand, "I'm Miracle." She hesitated a moment, blushing slightly, and added, "Miracle Asrial Sterling."

Emilia and Xeralia grinned in unison and exchanged high-fives. Maia and Miranda blinked in synchrony, already beginning to figure out what this new development implied. Therèse Sterling just stared, dumbstruck.

Mylene Sterling, looking up at Miracle, blinked twice. "... i'm not the baby any more..." she murmured. She then slowly began to grin the widest grin any of her siblings had ever seen from her. "I'm not the baby of the family any more! YES!!! Woohoo!" she exclaimed, slapping Miracle's knee. "Thank GOD there's finally somebody in the family YOUNGER than me!"

Miracle blinked several times in succession, perplexed at the others' reactions. Seeing that her parents - and a woman who had to be her eldest sister - were still occupied, she directed a querying gaze at Breetai Kridanik. "Sir? Admiral Kridanik?" she asked the Zentraedi warlord.

Breetai quirked his eyebrow, shifting his attention from observing where von Fahrvergnügen was exchanging greetings with the former WDFers who had come along with the Sterling sisters. "Yes, Lieutenant Sterling?" he enquired with a patient, amused tone.

"Why are they reacting like that?" Miracle asked, sounding puzzled. "I don't think I said anything funny," she tried to explain in a subdued voice, though due to her size, that meant the rest of her siblings could hear her quite clearly (which only caused them to break down further).

Breetai chuckled, crouching so that he could regard the daughters and put himself more on a level with Miracle. "They're just overwhelmed by your sheer presence, Miracle Fallyna." He tried to direct a stern gaze at the daughters of Miria Sterling, though the effect was somewhat marred by the twinkle in his eye and the upward curl of his lips. "You should be ashamed of yourselves, treating your newest sister like that. Especially you, Group Cap - excuse me, Vice Admiral Fallyna Sterling. What sort of an example are you presenting for the newest member of the Zentraedi military?"

"Sorry, sorry, sir!" Xeralia exclaimed as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, gasping for air and slowly recovering. "Whooo! Man, haven't laughed that hard in a while."

R-plus 05:20:15.04

While all this was going on, Komilia was still in the arms of her parents. Part of her didn't want to let go. Despite her age and experience, her ability to stay stable in the midst of a crisis, and the past 80 years of total independence from the framework of the Wedge Defense Force, there had remained a small part of her that had longed and yearned for her mother's and father's love, support, and approval. Now that they were reunited, that part was being given free rein. She supposed she was making a spectacle of herself, but she didn't give a damn. Certainly her parents didn't seem to mind.

But, as much as she wished this moment could be extended forever, the more practical side of herself reminded Komilia that she was being selfish. Surely her sisters had equal right to welcome their parents back. Hesitantly, reluctantly, she disengaged from Max and Miria, brushing a sleeve across her cheeks to clean away the tears.

"S-sorry..." Komilia tried to apologize, a wan smile on her lips. "Got carried away, there."

"It's quite all right, Komilia," her mother murmured, wiping tears from her own cheeks.

Beside her, Max had removed his glasses to clean them in turn. "You needed it, I'm sure," he said with a faint smile.

Komilia nodded and rubbed her eyes. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she opened her eyes again. Her expression visibly brightened as a long-endured weight lifted from her heart. She reached forward to squeeze her mother's hands, then her father's.

"Mom... Dad... 85 years ago," she said in a quiet murmur, "when I heard that you and the rest were alive, but not going to be back for... however long... I almost lost heart. It hit so hard, after what had happened the weeks before..." Komilia shook her head. "But we managed to get through it. We didn't lose heart. In a large part because of the message you sent. And I want you to know, above anything else... I love you."

Max nodded and hugged his firstborn daughter once again, this time without tears. "And we love you, Komilia. Always."

"Always and forever, dearest daughter," Miria added, embracing her daughter and husband. "We're proud of you."

The three finally disengaged from the group hug and looked at each other. Max arched an eyebrow, taking in the red-and-black flightsuit Komilia was wearing, the red-and-gold eagle patch on both her shoulders. "Well, it certainly seems as if you've done well for yourself, Komilia."

"Good God, I don't even know where to begin," Komilia shook her head with a smile. "It'll probably take us days just to fill you in on everything."

Miria nodded. "We're looking forward to it, Komilia. It will be a welcome change after the long journey."

Komilia nodded. "And what about you two? There can't have been much to do between here and wherever you went..." She turned, ready to lead her parents to the rest of her siblings, and then was brought up short.

Max coughed. "Er, yes. About that..."

Komilia had seen a lot of funny things in her long life. High on the list: the times when she and her sisters got together for a family gathering or social event on the SDF-17, but due to circumstance or just laziness, Xeralia hadn't bothered to get micronized. That had led to interesting situations where one or another of them would end up climbing up Xeralia to perch on her shoulder or to relax in her jacket pockets, just to be in range to talk with her.

This scene was similar... but Xeralia had been a Micron for the past several weeks. Instead, she was perched on the shoulder of an oddly familiar Meltrandi lieutenant, currently chatting with the giant woman and Lord Breetai, who was crouched down to talk with them. In the seated woman's lap were Maia and Miranda, while nearby Mylene was grinning, fit-to-burst, and Therèse had a look of wonder while Emilia looked smug.

"You..." Komilia blinked, taking in the sight. She studied the lines of the Meltrandi's face, the color of her hair, the shade of her eyes, and it suddenly dawned on her why the woman looked familiar. "... Oh boy."

Max at least had the grace to look mildly embarrassed. "Well," he said, "Breetai did say we should get comfortable during the trip..." Miria blushed, but her eyes shone with pride and love for her husband and daughters.

"Oh, I'll say you got comfortable, all right," Komilia replied. She then started to grin. "I'll save the more off-color jokes for Maia. She delivers them better, anyway."

"Thank you ever so much, Komilia," Max dryly replied.

"No problem, Dad."

The three of them together finally joined the family gathering. Miracle's expression visibly brightened as she spotted their approach, and this reaction got the attention of her siblings as well. Max and Miria were veritably mobbed as the rest of their children came over, enfolding them with words of welcome, hugs of love, and tears of joy.

Save for Miracle, who once again hung back from the group, her expression turning more pensive as she watched her other siblings; and Xeralia, who was still perched on her shoulder. Komilia considered this situation for a moment, and then walked over and waved up at Miracle.

"Hey there."

"Eh?" Miracle blinked, and looked down at Komilia. "Oh, hello... Komilia, right?"

"That's me." She smiled up at the newest addition to the family. "The one, the only, the limited edition."

Miracle nodded. "I'm Miracle. But I suppose you already knew that..."

Komilia shrugged. "Hey, I'm not all-knowing by far. Don't believe all the rumors." She glanced up and winked. "So, what do you think of the rest of Mom and Dad's little clan so far?" Komilia finally asked, leaning against her larger sister's thigh.

"Well, you're certainly as enthusiastic as Mom and Dad described," Miracle observed, for a moment forgetting her awkwardness. "But..." she admitted with a sheepish tone and a helpless gesture, "I expected you all to be... taller."

Blinking, Xeralia mostly succeeded in avoiding another fit of laughter. Instead, she held a hand over her mouth and snickered, so as to avoid confusing the larger woman further. Finally she recovered, then directed her gaze over to Miracle's blue eyes, reading the confusion and uncertainty within them. Xeralia considered this for a moment, then slid down the sleeve of Miracle's dress uniform, stopping her descent by grabbing onto the cuff.

Miracle looked down at Xera, puzzled as the redhead pivoted around so that she was seated on her knee in front of her hand. Xeralia placed her much smaller hands atop one of Miracle's knuckles, and looked up at her face and into her eyes. "Mira, we have got a lot to talk about. And once this reunion gets taken care of, I'm good for it anytime if you are," she said with a kind smile. Down below, Komilia observed all this, nodding quietly in approval at Xeralia's actions.

Miracle blinked, and adopted a thoughtful expression. " 'Mira'..." she murmured, mostly to herself. For some reason she couldn't express, it was reassuring to be addressed like that. She smiled a little bit, and looked down at Xeralia. "I think I'd like to do that... Xera." Her smile widened with relief as she saw the redheaded Sterling smile back.

"Good. Now that that's dealt with, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go and get in on the hug action with Mom and Dad." Xeralia winked and hopped off of Miracle's leg, down to the ground. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back!" With a smile and a wave, she headed over to Max and Miria.

"All right!" Miracle replied, her smile becoming more natural and full by the second.

"Well, you two seem to have hit it off," Komilia observed.

Miracle nodded. "Yeah... I'm kinda surprised at that. But - it's like she understands me, more than I thought anybody else could... even Mom and Dad."

Komilia considered that statement, and then spoke up. "I suppose it could be that she's got the most experience out of all of us being macronized. I take it you grew up Zentraedi-scale?"

"Yes. I mean, I knew that Mom and Dad weren't originally my size - or, well, Dad wasn't, and Mom hadn't been for a long time - but hearing about it and seeing it are two different things."

"Funny how that works out." Komilia quirked a smile. She then paused, checking the skies above Settlement Evaluation Outpost One. "Huh. Air traffic's getting pretty thick around here. I wonder what's up?"

Miracle's eyebrows went up, and then she looked up. She could see other Zentraedi dropships approaching for landings around the base, as well as smaller Micron-scaled shuttles and fightercraft. She glanced around, and could see that Breetai Kridanik had moved back over to the first dropship, where he was in conversation with several of his officers and Lord Fahrvergnügen.

"Komilia? I have a suspicion Lord Fahrvergnügen is about to address us. You'd better get the others."

Komilia raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "Right. Be right back, Mira." She smiled at the sight of Miracle looking pleased with herself, then turned to gather the rest of their family.

R-plus 05:29:31.21

Lord Fahrvergnügen was at his normal height - impressive for humans, not so much for Zentraedi - but a holographic projector took care of that, superimposing a giant version so that he could easily command the attention of everyone present.

I am the Great and Powerful Oz, thought Emilia with a smile as he began to speak.

"My friends... we have done it," said the Baron, his thunderous voice full of emotion. "The reclamation and relocation of this sphere must surely stand as one of the greatest achievements ever wrought by the hands of mortal men and women. Only starfarers of consummate skill - beings absolutely without fear - could even have attempted a feat of navigation and spacemanship of this magnitude, much less succeeded! Only the Zentraedi of the Kridanik Fleet!"

"I'll give him this," Maia murmured to Komilia as the area filled with the kind of roar that only a Zentraedi crowd could make. "He knows how to work a room... so to speak," she added, looking up at the vast emptiness above them.

"But our task is far from over," von Fahrvergnügen added in a more restrained voice once the cheering had died down. "Now we face a challenge that is, in its way, far greater. Having wrested this construct from the void, we must now make it what it must truly be. This sphere," he said, making a gesture that somehow took in the entirety of their gigantic surrounding, "is more than a home, more than a fortress. It is a seed, and out of it, in the fullness of time, the rebirth of the galaxy will flower... but only if we are diligent! Only if we remain bold and unafraid!"

In a quiet but powerfully intense voice, he went on, "If you are a citizen of the galaxy today, you may say the Wedge Defense Force is dead. The dream is over. The galaxy is what it is now, and we must simply accept it."

Lord Fahrvergnügen seemed almost to expand, drawing himself not only to his full height but also his full width, and his eyes flashed as he roared, "I say thee nay! The Wedge Defense Force lives! It lives in all of us. It lives in the dreams of every child who wishes he had the strength to protect those he loves. It lives in the very spirit of freedom itself! It only waits for messengers bold enough and numerous enough to remind the rest of the galaxy of its existence - to rekindle its flame in the hearts of freedom-loving people everywhere!

"Now, here, today, you and I will begin the work of turning this sphere, this greatest of creations, into a home and a headquarters for those messengers - a brazier for that flame. And if we do our work well, then when the time is right, the warriors of Zeta Cygni will rise from the ashes - stronger than ever before - to challenge the shadows that threaten to engulf our galaxy! From the Core to the Rim, we are there! We will win!"

The response, roared out by thousands of Zentraedi and more than a few human throats, was all but deafening.

"Nothing can stop the Wedge Defense Force!"

R-plus 05:37:51.20

The speech concluded, the mixed assemblage of Zentraedi and Microns began to mix and mingle. The air became filled with the buzz of voices, discussing the past century's events and their plans for the future.

Among them, Emilia Sterling excused herself from the rest of her family, intent on seeking out one particular individual in the crowd. Given that the individual she sought was none other than Baron Wolfgang Amadeus von Fahrvergnügen, spotting him wasn't all that hard. The tricky part was making her way through the group of people who had gathered around him.

Finally, she made her way through the ring of people. At the moment, he was talking with Scott Bernard, Ariel, and Sera of the Mars Division. Emilia couldn't make out the details, but whatever the discussion was about, it was clearly important to the two Invid and their appointed guardian. Wolfgang's expression was intent, he nodded every so often during the conversation, and his replies were careful and considered.

Then, with a final nod of agreement (and a hug from Ariel, and handshakes from Scott and Sera), the founder of the WDF was able to disengage from the trio. Seeing her opportunity, Emilia made her move, and got to the front of the receiving mob before anybody else could.

"Oh, Wolfgang? If I could have a moment of your time?"

"Ah, Emilia Sterling! It has been quite a while," von Fahrvergnügen proclaimed, shifting his attentions to the blue-haired Sterling. "Why, the last time I saw you face to face was on your graduation day from Destroid school!" He took in Emilia's attire, and made a thoughtful sound. "I take it that becoming a member of the WDF Armored Corps no longer holds your interest?"

"In a manner of speaking. But, that's life for you." For a moment, Emilia looked regretful, but then her expression turned more intent. "However... even though I'm no longer directly associated with the WDF, I still have plenty of fondness for it... and I think I have a way that I can help it get back on its feet."

Lord Fahrvergnügen arched one bushy orange eyebrow. "How do you mean, Emilia?"

"Well, as it turns out... I happen to represent an organization that could help make your dreams for the sphere a reality." She idly tapped the name badge clipped to her Cianbro uniform's lapel, beneath her rank bars and opposite her WDF pin. "For that matter, if you were to give your approval, the part I directly command can start work immediately. I've got some of my guys working on repairing Battlegroup Quevillon and the Kridanik Fleet, but hell, that isn't even their prime specialty! We do space habs. Big ones. Civil construction; military fortifications... shipyards." She gestured vaguely to their surroundings. "All the things you need."

Von Fahrvergnügen frowned thoughtfully. "Hrm. An interesting proposal, Emilia. But are you sure you know what you are getting into? And for that matter, can you truly commit the company you represent? My plans for this construct will take some time to carry out, I must admit."

Grinning, Emilia pulled out her dataphone, reconfiguring it for network uplink. "If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time."

Lord Fahrvergnügen gave her an interested look. "Tell me more..."

R-plus 05:41:26.19

Mylene Sterling looked out over the crowd gathered around Settlement Evaluation Outpost One. Groups were mingling and discussing the future, still energized by Lord Fahrvergnügen's speech. There was an energy in the air that was circulating among them all. She nodded in approval. Slowly, step-by-step, these particular remnants of the Wedge Defense Force were pulling themselves back together, truly becoming the "seed" that the founder of the WDF had alluded to, the foundation upon which the rest would rally around once their presence was declared to the galaxy once more. Not today, and perhaps not for many years, but it was certain to occur, all the same.

But there was still something missing. Something that she doubted others had considered.

Well, she had a way to fix that.

Shouldering her guitar, she strode purposefully through the crowds, intent on her goal. Guvava sat on her shoulder, giving little directional squeaks.

Finally, she reached her sister Emilia, who was deep in conversation with Wolfgang and some middle-aged Cianbro guy Mylene didn't recognize. She rapped her knuckles on one of von Fahrvergnügen's pauldrons and smiled at the three of them. "Hey, Lord F, mind if I borrow my sis for a moment?"

"Eh, miss - " Von Fahrvergnügen actually did a double-take. " - Mylene Sterling?!"

"I promise, it'll only take a second!" She grinned, then took Emilia by the arm before the good Baron could regain his wits.

"Uh - Pete, how about you and Wolfgang keep at it," Emilia called to her mustachioed cohort as she was pulled away. He raised a hand in acknowledgement and turned back to the still-bemused Lord F just as Emilia lost sight of them in the crowd.

"What, Mylene?" Emilia enquired, mildly perturbed, as the two sisters emerged into another clear area. "You realize I was working? Opportunities like this don't come around every day."

"Yeah, I sorta guessed, but trust me, this'll help you as well as everybody else here." Mylene looked up at the sky, and then around the landscape and the buildings of the outpost. "If you want, you can think of it as a demonstration of what Cianbro can do for the WDF."

Emilia gave her sister a speculative look. "I'm listening... what are you thinking?"

Mylene smiled, knowing that she had managed to catch her sister's interest. "You want to know what I think?"

Emilia made a get-on-with-it gesture. "Mm-hmm, or I wouldn't have just asked. Today would be nice."

Mylene shook her head at her elder sister's pique. "Boy, hanging around with construction workers has sure made you surly."

Emilia put her hands on her hips and scowled. "MYLENE."

"Okay, okay. I think this calls for a party."

Emilia relented slightly, then listened carefully as Mylene leaned close and described her plan. Slowly, she smiled, finally nodding in agreement.

"Yeah... I think you're right. Okay, lemme go get my chief project engineer away from Wolfgang." Emilia started leading the way back through the crowd. "He'll love this. It'll be the biggest rush job we've had since the time we built a working Battledrome in a cornfield on Tomodachi for a charity publicity stunt."

"How long did that take?"

"Three hours."

Mylene looked impressed. "Damn, girl."

"Mind you," Emilia went on with a grin, "it wasn't cheap... and this ain't gonna be either."

"Don't I at least get the employee discount?"

"We'll see."

"Reunion, Part 5: Resolution" - An Exile Mini-Story by Philip Jeremy Moyer and Benjamin D. Hutchins
Reunion Mini-Serial Plotted by Philip J. Moyer
special to the Eyrie Productions Discussion Forum
(c) 2007 Eyrie Productions, Unlimited


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  Subject     Author     Message Date     ID  
(EXILE) Reunion part 5 of 6: Resolution [View All] pjmoyermoderator Apr-25-07 TOP
   Reunion Illustration 7 of 8: MYLENE Gryphonadmin Apr-25-07 1
      RE: Reunion Illustration 7 of 8: MYLENE Sofaspud Apr-26-07 7
          RE: Reunion Illustration 7 of 8: MYLENE Gryphonadmin Apr-26-07 8
              RE: Reunion Illustration 7 of 8: MYLENE Sofaspud Apr-26-07 15
          RE: Reunion Illustration 7 of 8: MYLENE Dranger Apr-26-07 9
              RE: Reunion Illustration 7 of 8: MYLENE pjmoyermoderator Apr-26-07 10
              RE: Reunion Illustration 7 of 8: MYLENE Gryphonadmin Apr-26-07 11
                  RE: Reunion Illustration 7 of 8: MYLENE BZArchermoderator Apr-26-07 12
                      RE: Reunion Illustration 7 of 8: MYLENE O_M Apr-26-07 13
                          RE: Reunion Illustration 7 of 8: MYLENE BZArchermoderator Apr-26-07 16
   RE: (EXILE) Reunion part 5 of 6: Resolution O_M Apr-25-07 2
      RE: (EXILE) Reunion part 5 of 6: Resolution pjmoyermoderator Apr-25-07 3
      RE: (EXILE) Reunion part 5 of 6: Resolution WengFook Apr-25-07 4
          RE: (EXILE) Reunion part 5 of 6: Resolution fb111a Apr-26-07 6
          RE: (EXILE) Reunion part 5 of 6: Resolution Peter Eng Apr-26-07 14
   RE: (EXILE) Reunion part 5 of 6: Resolution Matrix Dragon Apr-26-07 5
   RE: (EXILE) Reunion part 5 of 6: Resolution Gryphonadmin May-09-07 17
      RE: (EXILE) Reunion part 5 of 6: Resolution MoonEyes May-10-07 18


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