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Post by Evangeline on Jan 4, 2009 19:16:00 GMT -5
"Probably later this afternoon, once Delfina and the others are feeling up to travel again." Shale answered. Tara and Shayla came up at this point, to pay their respects. "Definitely let us know how the dog is doing as well." Shale rather liked animals, and hated to see them suffer. In his line of work, he'd had to deal with any number of bad things that were the consequences of someone's malice, stupidity or bad choices. It was especially bad, though, when children and animals, which were defenseless, came to harm. They were owed a higher responsibility.
Haruna came out to join the rest of her family. "You'll all be in our prayers forever. I hope we can meet again in better times."
"So do we." Taranee said.
"It'll probably be a while before it shows up in the civilian market here, but it's only a matter of time." Ah Kuoi stood up again and started to gather the rest of his gear. "But the added security measures would definitely be a selling point for people concerned about their own weapons being used against them. And I'd guess there'd be no two "puzzles" completely alike."
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Post by elizar on Jan 4, 2009 19:35:48 GMT -5
"Most likely." Aron said. "But guns are quite simple, so it is hard to compare them to snowflakes. Keep it safe."
Ragnheiður simply nodded. As strange as it seemed, she was glad that it didn't appear that Bree wanted to take her back with her. It had been her initial impression as she discovered who she was. Ragnheiður was simply accustomed by being subservient, and the idea of freedom didn't tickle her fancy.
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Post by Evangeline on Jan 4, 2009 19:49:24 GMT -5
"We will." Ah Kuoi looked out the window. "Those kids are floating on air right now." He observed them talking to Shayla while Micheal and Haruna were saying goodbyes to Bree and Shale. "How many more are there besides the ones we saw?"
Delfina had fallen into a light doze on the couch, but opened her eyes again.
Bree was not the sort, after all, who interfered with other people's choices. Even as a slave, she'd had them. <"May you always stay safe and well."> she said to Ragnheiður, in Icelandic. She still retained that. Shale raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.
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Post by elizar on Jan 4, 2009 19:55:28 GMT -5
<"Thank you."> Ragnheiður said smiling. She saw Shale being slightly amazed. <"You are going to tell him what you learned, right?"> She asked Bree, her smile now a slight smirk.
"There were defendants, staff and slaves' families, and those from the town that managed to get up here in time." Aron said. "No one got injured, just shook up."
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Post by Evangeline on Jan 4, 2009 20:19:29 GMT -5
"I'm surprised that the defenders' casualties were as light as they were." Ah Kuoi scratched his head. "I've heard of these earth-cult guys, they were radical deep-ecologists who really drank the Kool-Aid and became full-out terrorists, and they actually control some parts of Northern Europe. We get all that from the intel reports, and that's just the part we can disclose to the public. This is as far south as I've heard of them attacking."
<"Yes, but I can see the wheels turning in his head already."> Bree looked over to her husband.
"Is that..." Shale began to ask.
"Yeah, it's Icelandic." Bree confirmed. "It was 'dumped' into my head."
"Sounded something like Danish, but not the same at all." Shale had little other for reference. "And we don't have an "Iceland" in our world. There's a mass of land there, where ships stop over and there's a NATO base, but no permanent population that's been there very long. You realize that you're probably the only one of us who's fluent in this language?"
"The linguists back home are gonna have a field day with you." Taranee added. "A whole new language for them to play with."
"To add to the fun of the debriefing I'm going to get." Bree rolled her eyes. The stress she gave that word suggested that an anal probe by aliens would be about as enjoyable.
"I'll send them some documents about what happened." Haruna said. "It might take some of the pressure off."
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Post by elizar on Jan 4, 2009 20:28:01 GMT -5
"I dealt with the initial wave of the rabid beasts." Tyler said, having overheard the conversation. "Figured that digging a ditch and putting the 180° F water in it. Scalded quite a few."
"Get the professors to the non-icers or via versa." Ragnheiður said. "That should relieve some pressure off you. And there are probably some more languages that are unique here than in your world."
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Post by Evangeline on Jan 4, 2009 20:55:36 GMT -5
"We noticed that." Simmons re-entered after packing his own gear. "Nasty, but effective if you don't have any other options."
"That would be agony." Delfina stretched in a feline fashion as she arose from the couch. "But when it comes to terrorists, my give-a-damn is well and truly busted. They made their choice, they can face the consequences."
"A lot of the Polynesian and Micronesian languages." Bree recalled. "Nothing like them in where we come from, but this world's New Zealand is right next door to them."
Shale was still nuzzling Bree, but paused. "Hon, you know that scar you always had, from the bad landing in Oregon that you told me about? I don't see it now."
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Post by elizar on Jan 4, 2009 21:03:18 GMT -5
"Everyone were also awing about her color, how they hadn't seen it before." Ragnheiður said. "Your body may have been born anew, with nothing you've gained that can be seen."
"Took an aweful big chance, but it worked." Tyler said, not mentioning he practically drove them in the ditch.
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Post by Evangeline on Jan 4, 2009 21:21:28 GMT -5
Taranee, Shale and Shayla blinked as it dawned on them. "Maybe that was the "gift" that he mentioned." Shayla said. "Let me do a scrying on you."
"All right." Bree said, wondering.
"Maybe this applied on the inside as well." Haruna pointed out. "You'll want to get a full exam and work-up when you get back."
"Greg is going to have conniptions." Bree sighed. "Not to mention my regular doctor."
"No issue with that." Delfina concurred. She went to the window, reading a bit of emotional excitement from Bree's direction. "I'm starting to think that Shiro left her with more than just some info-dumps and a "cultural experience."
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Post by elizar on Jan 4, 2009 21:29:15 GMT -5
"What is it?" Ragnheiður asked, not knowing about Bree's condition.
"What is it?" Aron asked.
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Post by Evangeline on Jan 4, 2009 21:55:09 GMT -5
Delfina concentrated for a beat or two, then turned back slowly. "Her biochemistry. It's changed."
"What do you mean?" Simmons raised his eyebrows.
Shayla was coming to similar conclusions. "Bree, your body chemistry - the hormones, that is - aren't what they were before. You read like a fully functional female now."
"What do you mean?" Haruna looked to Shayla, and then to Bree again.
Shayla took a deep breath as she faced the humans, and parsed it as delicately as she could. "Have any of you ever heard the term "freemartin?"
"A cow that was born with a male twin, and is sterile." Micheal asked. "I grew up on a dairy farm, and we'd get those from time to time." He carefully avoided mentioning the inevitable fate of such creatures.
"Same thing comes up in helos." Shayla shifted her eyes to all the humans in turn. "And this was Bree's situation, up 'till now."
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Post by elizar on Jan 4, 2009 22:01:54 GMT -5
"I don't read them like you do." Tyler said. "And I'm too tired to eavesdrop on them. So you're going to have to explain this to us."
"You were barren?" Ragnheiður asked. She herself had twice conceived but never given birth.
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Post by Evangeline on Jan 4, 2009 22:23:31 GMT -5
"OK..." Delfina turned, "Bree was born with a male twin. Freemartinism exists in carsverse helicopters as it does in cattle over here. So she's barren... or was."
Bree nodded slowly. "Yes." She turned to Shale. "You know what this could mean?"
"I do." Shale nuzzled her, "But don't forget, you're almost forty. A first pregnancy at this age might be risky. You'd better take Haruna's advice and get looked at before we make any decisions about that." For now, the prospects of presenting Joel and Daisy with a baby brother or sister were still up in the air. He turned to Ragna and the Oberlins. "We already have two children, that we adopted. Just a sec." He ejected another device, that looked to be a PDA screen, and cycled through the images until those of two helo children came up. "The boy on the right is Joel, and the little girl is Aspasia - Daisy to her family and friends."
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Post by elizar on Jan 4, 2009 22:40:21 GMT -5
"I've heard about that in cattle." Tyler said. "But because of your reaction, I doubt the same happens with you."
"That's a frightening prospect." Aron said, but decided not to mention he had never had to break her hymen again if she had been shapeshifting before.
Ragna looked at the picture. "They look lovely." She said.
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Post by Evangeline on Jan 4, 2009 22:57:55 GMT -5
Simmons and Ah Kuoi winced as if they had an idea of exactly what Aron meant, and left it at that.
"It seems to be a whole different sort of process from what I go through, though." Delfina said. "Different approach and process, somewhat different results. I've never seen any two users who are exactly alike in the scope and usage of their power. Similar, and subject to certain inexorable ground rules, but not identical."
"However they came to us, they're still our children." Bree choked back a tear at the picture. "Our flesh and blood, like they say here."
"They're sweet kids." Taranee agreed. "So, have you two thought about bringing them over yet?"
"Maybe for a while, once things are a bit more settled." Bree answered.
The children jostled to get a look. "They're so cute!" Shiori gasped.
"Joel is about your boy's age." Shale explained. "He came to us when he was four. Daisy was almost a year old when we got her, and she's almost five now."
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