Chelen City: Chapter Twenty-Two, Part One

 Notes: Time for a meeting with Restaria! What will Elanus even say to xir? What can xe possible say back? We'll find out ;)

Title: Chelen City: Chapter Twenty-Two, Part One

***

Chapter Twenty-Two, Part One

 

Only Restaria Sanclare could make sitting in a broken EV suit in the darkness of a storage compartment look dignified. Even xir hair had retained enough coils and ringlets to give it some of that famous body xe was known for. Xe was looking up expectantly as Elanus had Lizzie open the compartment, but tellingly, Restaria didn’t try to stand.

Good. Xe hadn’t gotten ahead of xirself after all.

Elanus stared at xir in silence for a long while, just taking xir existence in. Restaria didn’t blink, staring back with those dark, uncanny eyes—eyes that saw everything. Eyes that always knew which way to look next in order to gain the most control over a situation. Eyes that were, for the first time Elanus could remember, wary. Uncertain.

Finally Restaria said, “He’s alive, then.”

“What makes you so sure?” Elanus asked.

“I’m quite sure I’d be dead if Kieron Carr was. You would never have gone to the trouble to rescue me otherwise.”

“An interesting statement from you.” Elanus tilted his head. “You clearly knew you were throwing him into a dangerous situation.”

“I didn’t throw him into anything,” Restaria replied. “I offered information and he came to me to get it.”

“You knew he was walking into an assassination attempt.”

Restaria, to xir credit, nodded. “Yes. I also knew he was well-equipped to survive it.”

“And yet he almost died, and would have if his well-being had been left in your hands.”

“I knew you would come for him,” Restaria said. “And you did. He knew it as well. He was annoyed with me, but he was never afraid.”

Elanus scoffed. “How would you know what fear looks like in another person? It’s not even something that you feel yourself, do you?”

Restaria frowned. “Of course I feel fear.”

“No, you don’t. You’re something closely akin to a psychopath, to use the ancient term. I’ve known that about you for years now.”

Xe shook xir head. “Why, because I didn’t fall down on my knees before you in awe when we were at university?”

You went to your knees willingly enough for other reasons, didn’t you? But Elanus wasn’t here to rehash the past. He was here to talk about the present, and the very unstable future. “I never wanted your adulation. I wanted your love, which you never managed to give me. You were always, always looking to the future, and you decided early on that I was a poor mix with the political scene. That’s why it never went farther between us, and in the end I’m grateful for that.”

“Why?”

“Because whatever happens to you next is going to hurt less than it might have,” he said. “It won’t be completely painless, I know that much. I always appreciated you and your brilliance, even when I knew we couldn’t be together. Even after what you did to Kieron, I didn’t really want to let you die. But I wouldn’t have cried if you had, and neither would almost anyone else who knows you, it seems.”

Restaria sighed. “Surely you can appreciate that I did what I did for the greater good. The damage being done to our people with the continuation of [name], it’s unconscionable. I needed to draw you into dealing with it somehow—no one else on Gania has the power or the technology necessary to make a real difference there.”

“Not even the president.”

“Of course not.” Xe shared the bare bones of the deals that had been made with the ruling Central Planets, and how Moreno and so many more in their ruling cabinet were beholden to them.

“You all do realize that the [name] is still in shambles after what happened to President [name],” Elanus pointed out. “Admiral Liang is an interim solution; if there was ever a time to renegotiate our terms, it’s now.”

“Moreno doesn’t want to renegotiate terms. He likes things just as they are—with him on top and everyone else a rung below, especially those who might some day become a threat to him.” Restaria gestured to Elanus. “You’re also on his hit list, you know. The virus that attempted to take down your home system, the efforts made to subdue your people, those weren’t from me. Those were volleys from Moreno’s people, waiting to see just how hard a target you were going to present as now that you’re back here.”

“Sure they were.”

“I have no reason to want to hurt you like that.”

“But you did hurt me,” Elanus said. “You lured my fiancé in-between you and a messy fate. I don’t blame you for wanting to survive, but I sure as hell do blame you for using him to do it. You knew this attack was coming—you didn’t have to involve him, and yet you did. Just to get at me.”

“To get your attention,” Restaria insisted. “Everything Moreno tried just made you harder to reach. I needed to be cleverer than him.”

“You could have asked!” he exploded. “You think I wouldn’t have listened to you? How long have we known each other? How long have you known the sort of person I am? Have I ever abandoned my responsibilities or feelings in a way that made you think I wasn’t going to give you a chance to explain yourself?”

“I needed more than a chance,” Restaria said. “I needed surety that you would take action. I wish I could have gained it another way, I truly do, but believe it or not I was surprised by the timing of Moreno’s attack on me. I didn’t want to bring Mr. Carr into things, but I saw the opportunity to save myself and I took it. I’m sorry he was hurt, but he saved my life and I’m grateful for it.”

Xe leaned forward, intent. “And together we can make sure that things change. Together we can make real change for our people, from turning off the [name] to ensuring that Moreno and his ilk can’t run from justice. We can make a real difference in the lives of everyone on Gania, and in Chelen City, for the better. You know I’m right.”

“There are going to be major changes on Gania,” Elanus assured Restaria, crossing his arms. “But you’re not going to be a part of any of them.”

For the first time, xe looked truly discomfited. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that if you think I’m just going to forgive and forget when it comes to what you did today, you’re a fool.” It was Elanus’s turn to lean in. “Someone as clever as you, so political, so astute, and yet not even you were able to understand what’s at the heart of me. You don’t prioritize your own heart, so why should you consider mine, other than as a means to an end?

“But you almost ruined my life. You, Restaria. Moreno too, and I won’t forget it, but if you think I can just move on from what happened to Kieron like you yourself could, you’ve vastly underestimated the depths of my emotion. Call it love, call it pettiness, call it whatever you want, but know this: your time here on Gania is as over as Moreno’s.

“I guarantee that with my life.”

 

Chelen City: Chapter Twenty-One, Part Two

 Notes: Pulling it all together now! Never fear, soon everything will be...well, not wrapped up in a bow or anything because this is an eternally expanding universe, but ready for new adventures at least!

Title: Chelen City: Chapter Twenty-One, Part Two

***

Chapter Twenty-One, Part Two

 

Catie, for once, didn’t ask a heap of questions when they got back. She simply confirmed that Kieron was going to be okay, then got to work handling the absolute fucking mess that was ensuring their tracks were covered—destroying satellite footage, rerouting frantic requests for information, and stopping less impressive AIs in their tracks.

“I’ve goooot it, Daddeeeee,” she said when Elanus asked whether or not she needed help. “Lizziiiiiie needs to rest and you need to take care of Kieroooooon.”

Rest? Lizzie needed rest? In what sense? Elanus wanted to ask, but the hatch was already opening and Lizzie had activated the floaters on Kieron’s stretcher so that Elanus could get him down to the infirmary quick.

He’d follow up later. He took hold of the stretcher’s handle and began to push it out into the bay.

“Elanus?” Lizzie asked quietly as he exited. “What would you like me to do with Restaria?”

“Is xe awake?” he asked, not stopping to look back at the hold where he knew his ex was being held.

“Yes. Xe’s been awake for nineteen minutes now.”

“Good. I’ll come back for xir after I make sure Kieron’s all right. For now, tell Restaria to sit tight, and if xe gives you any trouble? Throw some knockout gas down into the hold and put xir back to sleep.”

“Yes, Elanus.”

The trip to the infirmary was uninterrupted, which was nice. Elanus could feel his implant pulsing with the onslaught of information he was holding back. A quick glanced showed a huge amount of speculation in the news about the explosion on the Stellar Cabinet, messages from Caria Jayde and Fritz and a slew of other somewhat important people demanding to know whether or not he had anything to do with it, and finally a message from President Moreno himself.

Hmm. Something connected to Elanus must have slipped through the net somehow. He pushed it to the back of his mind as he got to the infirmary, where he was more grateful than ever that he’d installed an extra Regen tank after Kieron came to live with him. Not that he wouldn’t have kicked Ryu out of his if he’d needed to, but he’d have felt bad about it. A little bit. Eventually.

Elanus set the tank to fill, then opened the lid and picked Kieron up in his arms. He was a reassuringly solid weight, even as short as he was, and Elanus took a moment to press a kiss to his battered forehead. He was covered in blood and lymph and free-flowing Regen, but he didn’t stir, and his heartbeat sounded in a reassuringly steady rhythm through the autodoc.

“You knew I’d come for you,” he said as he laid Kieron down. “And I did. Now you have to do your part, baby. Get better. Come back.” His throat was uncomfortably tight, but he forced himself to speak. “I need you back. We all do.” He closed the lid and watched the Regan flow over Kieron’s precious body, and then…

He just sat there. He couldn’t bring himself to move. He ought to, he knew that. He had so many things to do. He had Restaria to deal with, he had Lizzie to reassure, he had a million messages to deal with and false trails to check on and a future to decide and, just, so much that needed to happen, so much, and yet the thought of taking his eyes off Kieron now that he had him in front of him seemed impossible. Just impossible.

You’ve ruined me. Kieron had absolutely ruined Elanus for the life he used to live. Or maybe that had been Catie, the first lifeform he’d truly fallen in love with, enough to wedge a crack into his heart and leave room for Kieron to crawl inside with her. Stars, what a ridiculous pair they were. They had next to nothing in common, different upbringings, different priorities in life…except where they were exactly the same. They loved the girls, they loved their independence, but they also loved being dependent on each other.

Kieron didn’t need Elanus for anything, not really. Even when Elanus had held complete professional power over him, Kieron had never bowed or scraped. He hadn’t been intimidated, and he’d made his case to get both their goals taken care of.

Elanus didn’t need Kieron once he’d gotten Catie back, either, but that was part of the allure. Kieron didn’t care how wealthy he was, how brilliant, how in demand. All he cared about was Elanus, in all his snarky, occasionally stupid glory, and their little family.

Ruined me for solitude. I need you so much now. It wasn’t the first time he’d had this thought recently, but the last time his conclusion had been that they needed to get married. Now it was that Kieron needed to recover, wake up, and hopefully remember who he even was. Regen was so good but his poor head, his beautiful, precious mind had been damaged. He ought to heal fine, but what if he didn’t? What if something went wrong?

A warm hand touched his shoulder, and Elanus didn’t even realize his eyes were blurry with tears until he spun around on the chair he was sitting in, pressed his face to Xilinn’s shoulder, and felt it get wet beneath him.

She didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to—if anyone in this house understood what Elanus was feeling right now, it was the woman who had lose her beloved husband to space. She wrapped her arms around him and let him cry and didn’t speak at all until he was empty of tears and, happily, empty of some of the sense of vicious hopelessness he’d been stricken with as well.

“Do you want some water?” she asked once Elanus finally lifted his head up again.

“I can get it,” he croaked, but she shook her head and got some for him instead. It was cool and refreshing, just what he needed to feel human again. “Thank you,” he said after he downed the cupful.

“Of course.” She looked down at Kieron and touched the surface of the tank. “Is he going to be all right?”

“I think so.”

“Good.” She took a deep breath, then nodded. “I’ll keep Pol out of here until Kieron’s recovered. I don’t want him to see him like this.”

Elanus nodded. That was a good idea, and Kieron wouldn’t be here long. He wouldn’t. Maybe a day, maybe less than a full day.

“What happened to him?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Elanus said, getting to his feet. Upright, he towered over Xilinn, who was a petite five-foot-two to his seven-foot-six-inch height, but she never seemed put off by it, just looked up at him calmly.

“But I’m going to find out right now.”

It was time to get some answers out of Restaria.

Chelen City: Chapter Twenty-One, Part One

 Notes: Sweet resolution...kind of. The start of it. Breathe, my darlins, it's all right.

Title: Chelen City: Chapter Twenty-One, Part One

***

Chapter Twenty-One, Part One

 

It could be worse. That was what Elanus kept telling himself as he laid Kieron down on the floor and immediately hooked him up to Lizzie’s autodoc. It started flashing all sorts of warning lights and spouting prescriptions and actions, all of which Elanus immediately approved.

It could be worse, he thought as he watched Regen flow down tubes into Kieron’s body, where the doc had quickly placed needles to ready him for emergency treatment. It could be worse, he thought as pure oxygen laced with a sedative to keep him asleep began pumping through the mask over Kieron’s face. Intubation would be even better, but the doc wasn’t advanced enough for that and Elanus didn’t want to try it when the risk of hurting Kieron was so high. They were close to real medical facilities—as long as Kieron could still breathe, he’d be all right for now.

It could be worse. Elanus knew that because he’d seen Kieron worse, seen him after radiation had all but liquified him, seen him with sloughing skin and a swollen brain and with massive organ failure that could barely be counteracted in time. This? By comparison, this was imminently survivable. Already some of his vitals were stabilizing, although the autodoc was still giving dire warnings. “Immediate advanced treatment required. Do not delay. Immediate advanced treatment required. Do not delay. Immediate—”

“Shut that off, Lizzie,” Elanus snapped, and she did so.

“Is Kee going to be okay?” she asked quietly into the ringing silence, only broken by the sound of Kieron’s lungs slowly sucking in the relentless oxygen.

“Yeah, honey, but we have to get back to Chelen City right now. You can fly us there, right?” Because Elanus wasn’t going to leave Kieron’s side. He might be unconscious now, but who knew what this idiot might get up to if Elanus wasn’t here to stop him? Blowing up the side of the Stellar Cabinet and hurtling himself into space, what the hell was he thinking?

He wasn’t thinking!

“What about the other person, Elanus?”

“What other person?” he asked distractedly as he adjusted the Regen lines so that they didn’t pull so much at Kieron’s limbs. A little red-tinged pool of the stuff was already gathering on the floor, but Elanus didn’t care about that. There was no such thing as waste when it came to keeping Kieron alive. Stars, his poor face…

“The one in the EV suit.”

Elanus’s head whipped around so hard his neck hurt. “What?”

“Numerous people were ejected into space during the implosion, but the only other one who survived is wearing an EV suit. They’re currently moving away from the station at a speed of two hundred and twenty-six kilometers per—”

“I get it, I get it.” Shit. If this was one of the assassins, they could keep sailing into nowhere as far as Elanus was concerned, but if it was Restaria… “Do you have a visual?”

“Yes, Elanus.” Lizzie projected an image of the person on her front screen. They were hurtling end over end, their EV suit trailing a thin line of gas—they wouldn’t be alive for long. “Zoom in.” Lizzie did so. “Focus and find a still of their face.” She complied once more, and—

Yep, that was Restaria. Xe appeared to be unconscious, which was probably a blessing for xir. It made Elanus want to grab xir and shake xir until xe woke up and told him exactly why the fuck this had happened, and what xe wanted him to do about it, because that much was clear. Kieron was nothing but a lure to xir, a magnificent lure with just the right skillset to buy xir some time.

Never mind. Let xir rot in space.

“Kieron?” Lizzie sounded tentative. “Should I go and get them? Only, their life signs are starting to decrease…”

Damn it to the stars and back. “Fine,” Elanus gritted out after a second. “Use the hook to reel xir in and pull xir into the cargo bay. Pressurize it so that xe can breathe and keep monitoring xir life signs, but unless Restaria is on the brink of death, I don’t want to so much as look at xir until Kieron is taken care of.”

Lizzie didn’t say anything else, just gave a satisfied hum and started away from the Stellar Cabinet. Elanus stared at the ruin in the side of Restaria’s quarters as they began to turn, shards and debris flickering past them, and contemplated how it would feel to get rid of the entire damn thing.

Wow. Contemplating an act that would undoubtedly lead to civil war wasn’t exactly what he thought he’d find himself doing today, but some days were like that. Elanus turned away from those thoughts; that was for later. For now, all he wanted to do was take care of Kieron.

“You’re terrible,” he whispered, holding onto Kieron’s one relatively-good hand with both of his. “The worst fiancé ever, I can’t believe I want to marry you so bad. Are you going to do this every year? Find some new way to vaporize yourself? Because I have to tell you, babe, I don’t know if my heart is going to be able to take that. Let’s make this the last time, okay?” He heard Lizzie’s hook deploy, was vaguely aware of the process of bringing Restaria into the ship, and nodded to acknowledge Lizzie’s confirmation that xir life signs were stabilizing.

Good. Good for xir. Restaria was going to need to be stable in order to withstand the firestorm that Elanus was about to rain down on xir.

“We’ll be home soon, Kee,” Lizzie said, her voice a croon. It made the floor rumble comfortingly, a gentle vibration to let her really feel her father’s weight. “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of you.”

“Are you okay, Lizzie?” Elanus asked, still not looking away from Kieron.

“I am now.”

Yeah. Me too.