Private Family Bonding: Thel/Nathan

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

Fondor:

"Are you sure about this, Alice?" Nathan asked Alice, a primary sub-persona of his wife, the cyberized Force Spawn Vera Mina . It was in Alice's form he had been wed to her. Since turning into a Spawn, Alice had become her own truly distinct personality separate from Vera herself, yet retained the most similarities to Vera. There were subtle differences between how she acted and how Vera acted. Alice was the form and mind used when directly commanding House Bloodscrawl Forces in the field, and was more openly aggressive and warlike, and had slightly less of a grasp on morality (Though Alice did make certain not to go too far of her own volition) so she was 'second in command' in Vera's hive-mind.

"I'm certain, Husband..." Alice replied as she drafted Vera's retirement letter to her firm in Vera's handwriting. "Thel needs stability. He needs a Mother that is able to be there. We can't do that with this artifact of a job. We made so much money in that business we don't need to. You need someone ready and able to command our military when you are not present. It's been long enough. And we enjoy being a mother far more than we ever did being a lawyer."

They were inside the Atrisian Pathfinder , the mobile Head Quarters of The House and their personal home. They were discussing all of this in their private suite.

In any form, Vera's belly was swollen with Nathan's son, and she was feeding off fusion generators, Nathan's blood, human food, Biot Nutrients, to keep up with the unique requirements for a Force Spawn giving birth. Neither was exactly sure what would be given birth to. The doctors estimated three more days at least before her water broke, and this was the first time in two weeks that Nathan would be able to spend time with his adopted son, Thel Bloodscrawl .

Nathan had taken Thel's adoption completely seriously. He would take specific time out of his schedule between assignments to spend more and more time with Thel. His position and situation required him to stay mobile but he always made sure to track down Thel to spend time with him, or to arrange places for them to meet up.

But today was special. Today, they would be building a Starfighter together.

This was something Nathan had often helped his own father with growing up on Ession, and Nathan had wanted to pass that tradition on. Thel had so far proven industrious, decisive and all around a good person. All of these were qualities his adoptive father wanted to continue cultivating.

Nathan still felt some conflict about it though. When he had taken Thel in, he wanted to give him as a normal a life as a PTSD-Ridden Trillionaire Teleporting Death Mage could possibly provide to a child soldier who had grown up in a society run by psychopathic Witches in skintight catsuits. They had tried to keep Thel away from violence as much as possible. Even the weapons he was provided were mostly non-lethal barring one or two exceptions. Thel had needed to know he had not traded one nest of vipers for another. He didn't even know Vera was also Vivian, his math tutor, or even that she was a Force Spawn (Who even contained a reprogrammed version of the persona that had recently murdered and replaced Moya Virtu !). He didn't know Nathan's sisters were also reprogrammed House Io Androids. He didn't know his adoptive Sister, Sera Mina , was also an android. As far as he could tell, he didn't know Nathan was Laertia's father.

A lot of stuff was being kept from him for the sake of Thel's mental well being. There would come a time and a place, but providing Thel stability, confidence, and love came first.

"There is one other issue..." Alice said as she finished writing the letter. "The issue of Moya. We sense Thel doesn't trust her."

Nathan folded his arms. "Really?"

"He has good instincts. Therefore, neither do we..." Alice trailed, form bubbling and warping disgustingly into the reprogrammed version of The Collage.

"And therefore, neither should you..." The reprogrammed Cultist persona warned. "She's a prime candidate for targeted absorption. I myself would have targeted her, had I wanted to infiltrate this House. You should place a spy detail on her at all times."

Nathan folded his arms but he took his wife seriously no matter the face.

"If you're wrong?" He asked.

The Collage shrugged.

"If I'm wrong. Then I'm wrong. And we'll apologize personally to her. But boys like Thel sometimes spot things even something like me would miss. If he voices any misgivings about Moya, I strongly urge you to take him seriously." The Collage warned. "If Thel's suspicion proves valid, listening to it could save our lives from an incredibly nasty surprise."

"Moya's been with me from the start." Nathan replied.

"That's why she's the perfect one to kill." The Reprogrammed Collage replied, now unknowingly in a duel of wits with her still-evil counterpart. "Remember: It is exactly what I myself would do..."

Nathan sighed.

"You're right. No taking risks. Not at this junction. We cannot afford to be blindsided. I'll place a detail to watch her. Discreetly, of course."

The Collage nodded, warped back into Vera herself, who perked up.

"It's Thel. He's arrived..." Vera said.

"You wanna watch us during construction?" Nathan asked.

Vera smiled.

"We would love to..." she replied with the voice of every witch within her in unison, The Collage's included.

...

Five minutes later...

Nathan showed up in crimson mechanic overalls to greet Thel in the cleared out hangar, the large crate of parts to a TIE/BA nearby. Vera trailed behind him in a long gray gown and took a lounging position on a specially prepared sofa to watch them both. She wiggled her fingers at Thel in greeting.

"Hey, Son. Thought we'd do something special today..." Nathan said, with a level of warmth that was rare for him to display outside close family, still deeply troubled about his wife's advice regarding Moya but hiding it.

"I wanted to pass on a tradition to you. One my father gave to me. I wanted to construct a Starfighter together."

 

[Thel Bloodscrawl]

Thel was no longer surprised by Nathan's attempts at bonding. The old man may have been a loner, even leaning towards being antisocial, but he clearly longed for a family and a sense of belonging.

Since Nathan's wife was going to have a baby, the Bloodscrawl household had been busy preparing for the new arrival. Thel focused on his studies and hobbies and tried to stay out of everybody's way. He was always available, but didn't go out of his way to socialize. This time Nathan had asked for his company.

The boy arrived at the hangar dressed in casual clothes: black shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Vera was there, impeccably dressed even with her baby bump. She was never far from Nathan these days. He didn't seem to want to let his now heavily pregnant wife out of his sight, which was perhaps understandable. Nathan always seemed like a guy who had been through some serious shit.

Thel responded to her wave with a smile and a nod of his head, before his gaze flicked toward Nathan. Wearing crimson overalls. "You look like a farmer," Thel joked. "What's up?"

"I wanted to pass on a tradition to you. One my father gave to me. I wanted to construct a Starfighter together."

Thel's eyebrows rose. "That sounds..." Difficult. Time-consuming. But all of those words carried a negative connotation, making it sound as if he were annoyed. Thel was slightly overwhelmed at the prospect of constructing an entire starfighter from scratch, but he wasn't upset. If anything, he was intrigued. And besides, he had all the time in the universe. "... Fun," he finished. "Where do we start?"

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

Nathan gave a very rare actual smile to Thel Bloodscrawl . Vera noticed this. Nathan had actually been practicing, with Melinda's help.

"Good. Great, even...today, we're going to construct a TIE Baron. Insanely maneuverable. A lot more stream lined and efficient in construction processes than the RZ-1 A-Wing. I know from experience. The RZ-1 is not a fun time when it comes to making it. OR maintaining it."

Nathan waved his hand and teleported the packaged parts out of the crate, from the solar panels, to the individual space frame and electronic systems, along with fuel lines and other essentials, especially the engines and cockpit parts. He telekinetically summoned a number of maintenance cranes and repulsor lift pads from the sides of the Hangar.

"Here, your welding mask and safety gloves..." Nathan said, handing them to Thel while putting his own on, getting out a number of scanners and testing devices from a nearby tool bag.

"Now, the way my father did it, and his father before him, is to start with the engine, and build everything around it. I don't expect us to finish today, but this engine and the cockpit controls should at least be ready to test by the end of the day while restrained..."

Nathan began to cut open the packaging around the twin Ion Engine, both he and his wife, him due to not being as familiar with House Io internal politics despite trying to understand and study what he could from interviewing The Defectors, and Vera, having missed it due to temporarily being distracted by the pleasantness of watching her son and husband construct a fighter momentarily forgetting that it was extremely well known that Laertia Io could teleport...

 

[Thel Bloodscrawl]

Thel focused on Nathan as the latter began issuing instructions. The boy wasn't particularly knowledgeable of starfighters, but he liked the name of this one: TIE Baron. It sounded classy.

Thel took the mask and gloves he handed him and put them on, ready to go.

"Now, the way my father did it, and his father before him, is to start with the engine, and build everything around it. I don't expect us to finish today, but this engine and the cockpit controls should at least be ready to test by the end of the day while restrained..."

"Was your grandfather a shipwright? Or an engineer?" Thel asked. Considering Nathan had already mentioned that building a ship was a family tradition, he assumed it had to have come from a more practical place. An ancestor whose job it was to construct starfighters would be a decent guess.

With a wave of his hand, Nathan began the process of unpacking the parts. Except he didn't just use telekinesis or something similar. As Thel watched in stunned surprise, the old man teleported the items out of the box.

Thel was no expert on the Force, but he did know that there were only a handful of people in the galaxy capable of such a feat. Laertia Io was one of them, and perhaps the most prolific user in the modern era. That fact had been drilled into him from a young age, as part of House Io's propaganda. But if Nathan could do it too, then... What did that mean?

"I didn't know you could teleport," was all that Thel dared to say, swallowing his shock as best he could. He didn't understand what he had just witnessed, but he wasn't sure it was a good idea to draw attention to his noticing Nathan's rare power.

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

Nathan immediately knew he had made an error when he saw the reaction Thel Bloodscrawl tried to hide at his displaying teleportation...

Even his wife realized the error immediately.

SMoOtH, nAThaN... The Hive Mind in his wife said in unison.

Yeaaaaahh, my fault... he replied telepathically.

"It's..." Nathan hesitated, wondering how much Thel should be told. He decided to be as honest as possible.

"It's a hereditary ability..." Nathan answered back very quietly, cutting open one of the bags to start accessing the parts inside. "All males and females directly descended from Antony Bloodscrawl bear the gift, to greater or lesser degree..."

He began moving out the essential parts to connect to the engine first.

"And in answer to your other question...yes...my family were shipwrights. Damned good ones. We built Star Destroyers, battle cruisers...the works he said. "We started to learn Starfighters very early in youth...most of us preferred Interceptors..." he added taking out more parts.

"My own family specialized more in exotic technology..." Vera added, resting lazily on the couch.

 

[Thel Bloodscrawl]

Despite his efforts at keeping his expression neutral, Thel's surprise did not go unnoticed. Both Nathan and Vera reacted, with the former hesitating and the latter observing the situation with intense scrutiny.

"It's... It's a hereditary ability..." Nathan answered back very quietly, cutting open one of the bags to start accessing the parts inside. "All males and females directly descended from Antony Bloodscrawl bear the gift, to greater or lesser degree..."

“Laertia Io also has the gift,” Thel remarked. For a moment after he spoke, he began to regret what he had said. But the feeling was fleeting. He raised his chin and looked his adoptive father in the eye, letting his statement linger for full effect.

He already had his suspicions. There was a clear and obvious connection between the Bloodscrawls and House Io. He just wasn’t sure what the exact nature of it was.

The boy watched as the parts were unboxed, but kept an eye on Nathan’s face as he answered his earlier question. “Why would you prefer interceptors?”

"My own family specialized more in exotic technology..." Vera added, resting lazily on the couch.

Thel’s gaze darted toward Vera. “What kind of ‘exotics’?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

"Laertia Io also has the gift..." Thel Bloodscrawl said...

There was a pause in the air.

"Yes..." Nathan said quietly, soberly. He clearly WASN'T angry at Thel for bringing it up though...

"Yes, she does..." he acknowledged, without going into it further as he continued to remove parts.

"As for why we prefer Interceptors... because we have a preference for engaging other fighter pilots..." Nathan answered.

Meanwhile, Vera answered Thel's question.

"Cyber implants, Weapons, and Artificial Intelligence..." Vera answered. "My Mother, None Lives, pioneered heavily in all three..."

 

[Thel Bloodscrawl]

Nathan's response was sober, but not angry. It also didn't really answer Thel's underlying question. The boy pursed his lips, unsatisfied.

"Is she related to you?" he asked, direct and to the point this time. He wanted an explanation. He deserved a real answer, didn't he?

Vera expounded on her "exotic technology", naming cyber implants, weapons, and artificial intelligence among her family's expertise. "That's funny. I haven't noticed a lot of AI being used around here," Thel remarked, approaching the unboxed parts. He didn't know where to start, and so awaited instruction from Nathan.

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

(Max from Mission Impossible One: Annnnnnnd the penny drops)

Nathan sighed, unpacking the parts. He still wasn't angry. He seemed... hesitant though. Uncertain in a way he normally wasn't.

But Thel did deserve an answer. He deserved honesty. Families have to be built on honesty.

"She is, yes..." Nathan replied soberly.

"I'm her father..."

(Cutaway of Luke losing his hand)

"In another life, I was known as Morris Crownwraithe...Laertia's birth name was Julia Crownwraithe." he explained, well aware that House Io history classes had definitely covered that section of their founder's history.

"We were being hunted during the tail end of The Gulag Era. In desperation, I came up with an idea to send her into the future by using my master's magic to affect the hyperdrive of my starship, to artificially create a 'slow'. Hyperspace Jump..."

The Deluge herself, it should be noted, had sometimes commented on this part of Laertia's history to Thel growing up, about how even a very VERY good plan simply hadn't been able to account for the type of character Laertia would eventually develop. How even the best intentions could be (and had been) utterly dashed from within by Julia herself.

Vera decided to drop her own bomb out of a desire to be honest with her son. As much as possible, currently.

"Oh, you haven't noticed it around here, certainly...but you noticed it more in House Io..." Vera explained softly. "Laertia learned a lot from my Mother. It was her research that allowed Laertia to create The Nuetralizers..."

Vera's head drooped a little bit.

"It was from a time before Laertia went insane. When she was still genuinely seeking to save the Galaxy from The Bryn'adul." Vera went on.

"Or perhaps it was from a time before Laertia's true character fully revealed itself... neither I nor my Mother are certain anymore...but my Mother was an Obsidian Knight of The CIS terrified of those monsters reaching her factions border, seeing what they had done elsewhere...and at the time, she was deeply nervous about how aggressive the NJO was acting towards any faction with Sith Leadership...and like Laertia, she was absolutely disgusted by the Alliance's refusal to even temporarily set aside their differences with the Sith for the sake of combatting a greater threat...so she taught Laertia all she knew of Artificial Intelligence, and laid the foundation for Laertia to create her army."

"When I was...revived...in this era, I eventually learned what became of my daughter..." Nathan added, unpacking more parts, laying out the cockpit seat and control panels, the various nuts and bolts and fastenings for the fighter.

"We formed an alliance to try and put an end to her rampages after her war was over. One thing led to another...and we got married in the process..." Vera explained, doing her best to go slow, so it would all filter in for Thel Bloodscrawl

 

[Thel Bloodscrawl]

"She is, yes..."

"I'm her father..."

"I thought she was an orphan," Thel interjected, the protest reflexive. He didn't want it to be true.

But of course Nathan was her father. Somehow, the revelation was both shocking and obvious. It all made sense to Thel now. But that didn't make it any easier to accept.

The boy eyed his adoptive father. What other dark secrets was Nathan hiding?

"Does this make Laertia... my stepsister?" he asked quietly. It was a strange thought, for sure.

Vera added her side of the story. How her mother had helped Laertia create the Neutralizers, unknowingly setting things in motion beyond their original intent. That was how she and Nathan had met each other? Thel stared at her, brow furrowed, his old scowl coming back. "When were you guys planning on telling me about all this?" he asked, his tone sharp. Angry, even. If I hadn't asked, would you have just let me be in the dark forever?

There was something else, a nagging thought surfacing in his troubled mind: "Why did my mother pick you, of all people, to be my guardian?"

Percival hadn't been involved in the decision, and Mom was... well, a Cult Witch. Her motives weren't exactly beyond reproach.

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

"When you were older. We wanted to give you as much distance from your old life as possible. To get to know us as... people..." Nathan answered, understanding his confusion and anger. "We wanted you to heal. To understand what life outside Laertia's sphere of influence, her insanity was. We never intended to keep the secret from you forever. But I won't lie: We never intended to tell you all that this early either. It's just...well, I was stupid and used the teleport ability without thinking..." Nathan answered, putting the tools down.

"And Laertia is not your stepsister. She is no one's family in this house, no matter her blood connection to me." Nathan added somewhat firmly. "Don't ever think of her as being related to you. She's...a beast...a beast that helps murder younglings..."

"Your Mother let Nathan take you because she knew he was everything Laertia wasn't." Vera said. "She knew Nathan is dedicated to destroying the Cult at all costs, because Darth Phyre murdered his first wife in front of him, and her cult later totally corrupted his daughter when he sent her into the future with a slow hyperspace jump in a desperate attempt to protect her which failed. She knew he would stop at nothing to protect his family. Knew he would kill even her to protect you if that's what it took to keep you safe. She knew that Nathan actually tries to make the Galaxy a better place...more or less...and she gave you to us because Percival wanted to ensure your survival, and to give you the life he and your mother couldn't. She gave you to us for many reasons. But the chief reason was because the part of her that was still Rebecca loved you.

"The Deluge is an extremely unusual Anomaly in terms of Cultists. Rebecca has an extremely powerful sense of self that I'm still trying to figure out. She violated her 'programming' on a fundamental level by giving you to us." Nathan started again. "From what the Defectors reported to me, she rebelled against the Cult and openly fought them in the streets. That...has never happened before, to my knowledge."


"Other Cultists have momentarily broken with their programming...from what The Deluge told us, The Amalgam and The Battalion violated their programming in small ways over the years. In The Amalgam's case, it was just by leaving Percival and who he cared about alone. In The Battalion's case, she gave Percival some sort of Chalice that allowed Rebecca to emerge more frequently. But neither of them ever did what Rebecca did." Vera stated firmly. "Rebecca is...extraordinary..."

"Percival was my grandson, Thel. I...when he died...it was one more member of my family murdered by the Cult. I wanted to protect who he cherished. I...wanted to be for you what fate prevented me from being for Percival. For...Julia..."

it was well known in House Io that Laertia's birth name was Julia Crownwraithe.

"I genuinely want you in the family. I wanted a Son. Wanted to know what it was like to be a father again. I wanted to...stop failing at protecting who was important to me." Nathan explained.

"We're both trying to atone for our failures, Thel. I wanted a Son just as much as Nathan..." Vera said sincerely. "And from what I have seen...if anything of House Io could be considered genuinely good and honorable...it is embodied by you..."


Thel Bloodscrawl

 

[Thel Bloodscrawl]

Thel crossed his arms over his chest, turning his face away from Nathan and Vera. Still, he listened. His scowling expression, visible to them in profile, gradually began to soften.

He understood their reasoning, even if he didn't like it. The civil war in House Io had been a messy affair. Still, he flinched at Nathan's words about his mother. The subject of Mom was touchy at best; this conversation felt like ripping opening a wound that had yet to heal, raw and stinging. "She's still one of them," he insisted. "Your daughter was stolen away from you and turned into a Cultist, but I had to grow up with a Cultist for a mom. I know what they're really like. That 'sense of self' you think you saw was probably just a trick to gain your trust."

Thel's brow furrowed at the mention of the Chalice. He vaguely recalled seeing such an object among Percival's things, though the Chaplain had never used it in Thel's presence. Assuming the effect wasn't passive, anyway. No wonder Mom always seemed so much more alive when Uncle Percival was around...

But he still didn't believe there was anything truly "extraordinary" about her. He had seen far too much horror to put his faith in such a notion. No, no. There could be no redemption for a Cult Witch.

"Do you know where my mother is?" Thel asked, meeting Nathan's gaze. There was an accusatory note in his voice, his intense stare sharply seeking answers in his adoptive father's eyes. Was he hiding her, protecting her? It would be insane to trust a Cultist, even one who seemed different from the rest. Surely Nathan of all people would realize that.

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

"It's tempting to believe that..." Nathan said in response to what Thel Bloodscrawl said about his mother faking it.

"But I have been around a long time. Not to detract from your own experience but you have lived with one, while I have actively fought them since I was a teenager. Enough to know when they are faking something. Rebecca wasn't faking anything when she gave you to us. And there was no purpose to her giving you up...she gained nothing out of it beyond getting you out of House Io's clutches. And if I knew where she was...I would tell you. But I'd be extremely hesitant to do so. Letting her stay amongst us was potentially suicidal...but giving you to us was enough to make me stay my hand...and that is something I have never ever done for any Cultist."

Nathan began assembling certain components.

"But I don't know where she is...but she...is a very unique case. One...too unique to kill on sight. Something is giving Rebecca the power to resist her programming in a way I have never witnessed happening before. I'm trying to figure out what that is... maybe there really is no saving her, and I may well have to strike her down in the future..."

He started fixing up the controls, wiring the correct interfaces.

"Your mother was a victim of the Cult. Maybe more so than Laertia." Nathan explained as he worked. "I'm hoping there might be a way to save the woman inside of the Cultist. The woman inside the Cultist that gave you up. But I must know how she got strong enough to break that programming first...if I can free her...there might be a chance of freeing a scant few others..."

 

[Thel Bloodscrawl]

Thel listened to what Nathan had to say. It still seemed too good to be true, that of all the people who had ever been converted to the Cult, his mother was the only one who had managed to resist being fully absorbed. He was more inclined to believe it was another trick of the Demon, meant to torment them and lower their defenses.

"I'm not fully convinced," he said. "I remember there being a Chalice, now that you mention it. And she did act... different whenever Uncle Percival was around. But he's gone, so what happened to the Chalice? Does my mother have it?" He could at least believe that the artifact was somehow influencing her, rather than her resisting assimilation by sheer force of will.

Nathan mentioned that there might be no saving her. Thel had always known that deep down, but it was a difficult thing to confront. Maybe too difficult. He said nothing, nodding once in acknowledgment but offering no further comment.

"I'm hoping there might be a way to save the woman inside of the Cultist. The woman inside the Cultist that gave you up. But I must know how she got strong enough to break that programming first... if I can free her... there might be a chance of freeing a scant few others..."

"Let me help," Thel said suddenly, his tone urgent. "I want to know what's happening to Mom too."

Nathan might not let him get involved. He wasn't a Force User, after all, and the Cult was incredibly dangerous even for a seasoned veteran, let alone a teenager. But the look in Thel's eyes was unparalleled in its intensity, the ferocious need to save his mother - whether by curing her of her corruption or putting an end to her miserable existence - burning hot in his gaze.

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

Nathan looked up at him as he worked.

"Alright. I'll let you help..." Nathan said as he worked. "But you must follow my lead exactly. It will be an extremely dangerous situation. If I tell you to stay back at certain moments, then you must stay back. Its for your own safety as much as mine. There can be very little room for error in such situations. As for a chalice..."

"Arianna Belasko did mention such a thing when she opened negotiations with us. Said it's creation was an act of high treason on The Battalion's part..." Vera spoke up. "But even she didn't know the full details. All that we know is that The Battalion risked execution creating such a thing for your mother."

It was a curious detail of The Battalion's actions. And while Nathan had never intended to spare her because of it, it had made him raise an eyebrow, which was hard to do.

"But now Thel...you are among us...under our protection. And we want to take care of you. To help you in all the ways Percival and Rebecca were not able to. I know we have kept secrets. There are plenty more we are keeping. But it's not out of malice. We have to play certain things close to our chest. For our own protection and the protection of our assets as much as it is for yours." Vera continued.

"Arianna is alive, by the way..." Nathan mentioned. "She's about eighty percent of the reason our strike at Khemost was successful. She's been in hiding, but her work in integrating the Defectors into our House has been essential. She was asking about you. And considering you're half the reason she decided to defect...we were wondering if you wanted to speak to her."

Vera struggled to maintain her passive expression, while the part of her that was Arianna was practically in shock at what Nathan was trying to do for her.

"You don't have to if you're not ready..." Nathan said. He himself wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but he knew Arianna needed something concrete. Some tangible thing for what she had done to make House Bloodscrawl so powerful.

"That being said. Percival, for all intents and purposes was her grandson. And...she was devastated when she learned he had been killed...he was also part of the reason she defected." Nathan continued. "She's been asking about you, so I decided to see if you would be willing to meet with her..."


Thel Bloodscrawl

 

[Thel Bloodscrawl]

Nathan relented, permitting him to join the search for Thel's mother, though not without certain conditions. "Aye, sir," the boy replied with a nod, agreeing to the terms.

"The Battalion?" Thel echoed, stunned by the revelation of who had created the Chalice. "The Matriarch's consort? What did she stand to gain from helping my mother?"

"But now Thel... you are among us... under our protection. And we want to take care of you. To help you in all the ways Percival and Rebecca were not able to. I know we have kept secrets. There are plenty more we are keeping. But it's not out of malice. We have to play certain things close to our chest. For our own protection and the protection of our assets as much as it is for yours."

"I understand," Thel muttered. "But you must also realize that all this secrecy, no matter how well-intentioned, is going to make me trust you less, not more." And if trust was the foundation of a relationship, the lack thereof would prevent him from growing truly close to either of his adoptive parents. He would always hold them at arms' length, unsure if he was being lied to.

"Arianna is alive, by the way..." Nathan mentioned. "She's about eighty percent of the reason our strike at Khemost was successful. She's been in hiding, but her work in integrating the Defectors into our House has been essential. She was asking about you. And considering you're half the reason she decided to defect... we were wondering if you wanted to speak to her."

Thel frowned. He was... aware of Arianna's two-faced nature, in the sense that he suspected she was playing both sides. She had been a public member of the Cult and a major supporter of Laertia's reign of terror for far longer than most rational, compassionate people could stand. Only after the Matriarch's brutality began to negatively affect the people she loved did she decide to betray her and defect to House Bloodscrawl. She was playing a dangerous game. If she was truly good, she was doomed to get burned by all the double-crossing. And if she wasn't, well...

Nathan quickly added that he didn't have to meet with Arianna. "I don't know if I'll ever be ready," Thel replied, setting his jaw. "Arianna Belasko is a good ally with much to offer. But as a person... She stayed loyal to Laertia for years, because the people the Matriarch was torturing and slaughtering weren't people Arianna cared about. Only when she saw what the Cult had done to Percival did she decide to betray House Io. She didn't have a change of heart. She defected because she stood to gain from it. It was a selfish act, not a noble one."

At least, that was how Thel saw it. He had no way of knowing that Arianna had joined with Vera, and was in that very room with them already, able to hear every word.

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

"The Battalion was an... interesting case, from what I've come to discover..." Nathan admitted.

"Creating The Chalice was a massive violation of Cultist law. It was the equivalent of a Cultist committing High Treason against their order. From her perspective, Percival was the closest thing she had ever had to a son as his stepmother..." Vera explained. "It wasn't really her that the Battalion was helping so much as it was Percival.

"We suspect that The Battalion's strong sense of self was such that she was able to momentarily break her programming to try and ease the suffering Percival was undergoing at what had happened to Rebecca. It wasn't strong enough for her to truly rebel, like Rebecca did. But what was left of Elaine Tear apparently did love Percival enough to try and help him in some small way..." Nathan added as he put together more systems on his end, subtly demonstrating to Thel where each piece went and why in the fighter.

The idea disturbed him, though he didn't show it. The idea that there was still something human in The Battalion.

But she had been simply too dangerous to leave alive. Too dangerous to even risk a fair fight with.

Too dangerous, and with too much personal history, to even bother to try redeeming.

"Eventually, we will tell you everything..." he promised as the subject of secrets came up. "But we're still working through some of it. Some of the secrets are Grade A fethed. Trash fires that will do more harm than good to bring out into the light right now. Time is needed to make sense of it all. And distance...but you will learn all of it eventually...just don't say I didn't warn you beforehand..."

Then the subject of Arianna came up.

"That is a somewhat valid viewpoint to take on the subject of the Countess..." Vera said with Arianna's full if reluctant approval. "Arianna did indeed stay a supporter far longer than was wise. And her motives were somewhat self centered."

"True. All true..." Nathan added as he put together more of the cockpit systems. "Arianna had personal motivation. But it was also her magic that prevented the Cult from discovering a lot of the Doves hide outs. There was also immense danger in open rebellion. Without a fallback plan, without anywhere to truly run, the House Io civil war would have likely been even more destructive. The defectors might have been utterly obliterated along with the loyalists. It was only because Belasko hid the Doves and dissenters way before I was a real factor that the Defection movement got strong enough to start with. Arianna was selfish, yes, but...it was a very...complex selfishness..."

"But yes... Arianna should have rebelled far sooner than she actually did..." Vera admitted. "Before it got to the point where she had to play cat and mouse, weighing her options. My husband really was the only good option in a sea of very bad ones. And much of the reason she finally rebelled openly had to do with securing a future for Percival. With giving him a real family that wasn't out slaughtering the innocent for kicks. She was absolutely devastated when she died. Don't think she left that conflict getting everything she wanted." Vera said to Thel Bloodscrawl .

"Me and Arianna both wanted Percival to live..." Nathan said. "Neither of us fully got what we wanted...

 

[Thel Bloodscrawl]

"Why Percival?" Thel's pointed question was accompanied by him facing Vera dead-on. His expression was suddenly filled with a deep sadness, the pain visible in his dark eyes. "They had thousands of Neutralizer sons and daughters. What was so special about him?"

He wasn't completely sure why he was upset. Was it the notion of the Battalion or Laertia or any of the women in House Io's leadership having a favorite? Or the fact that it was Uncle Percival whom they loved above the rest? His Percival. The Neutralizer who had loved him like a son, and whose love was the only thing that felt real in a childhood full of darkness and deceit.

"Securing a future for him?" he echoed. The words cut him to the quick, ripping open the half-healed wound of his grief. He looked to be on the verge of crying, his voice almost a sob, but he had no tears left to shed for Percival. "All that work, all that waiting, and he still ended up dead. I guess it's fitting. The price of her selfishness was that she lost the one thing she wanted."

His wounded gaze searched Vera's face before flicking toward Nathan. Both of them were talking, saying more or less the same things. It felt less like a discussion and more like a coordinated effort to try and persuade him to talk to Arianna in spite of... everything. Thel rubbed a hand over his face and breathed an exasperated sigh, turning his body away from them. He shut out the sound of their voices, closing himself off from the conversation.

Thel held hatred in his heart for Arianna and all of those who had pulled the strings of House Io and the Cult. Nathan, and perhaps Vera now that she had absorbed Arianna, would be able to sense it in the Force. While they seemed able and willing to forgive her, Thel would not. He could never forgive her.

"I don't want to meet with Arianna," he said, tone flat and final. "I don't want to talk to her. I don't want anything more to do with her. You can do your business with the Countess, but keep me out of it."

Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

"Percival just had that effect on them. There's unfortunately no way of predicting how a Force Spawn will react to who they latch onto emotionally..." Vera explained, feeling his hatred for Arianna deepining to her distress, the grief spilling out and cementing that hatred.

Thel Bloodscrawl wanted nothing to do with the Countess. The decision was final. It would have to be accepted,not matter how much it broke a part of Vera in the inside.

"Fair enough..." Vera replied to Thel, even as she felt how crestfallen the part of her that was Arianna was.

Nathan didn't challenge it either. It had been a long shot to begin with, but he had tried for Arianna's sake.

"Gotcha." he said to Thel, still working. The hornet's nest had been disturbed all the same.

"Hey, Thel...if you want to quit working for today...we can. I know a lot of this wasn't easy to hear..." Nathan said to the boy. "I honestly hadn't wanted to bring a lot of it up but...some of it just became unavoidable once the ball got rolling..."