2014-12-21 01:29![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lux_mariko
lux_marikoStory: Making Contact
Year: 2989
Word Count: 1039
Rating: R
Characters: Gabriel, Mariko
Warnings: References to war, civil war, and the fire
"Who's there?"
Gabriel took a deep breath--this would be hard, harder than most of the assignments he got. Not because of what he had to tell her, but because of what he had to leave out.
"We haven't met, Dr. Anders," he said, "and I'm terribly sorry to impose, but I need to talk to you about my sibling."
Which was a lie, or at least a part of a lie. He did need to--needed to ten years ago, or more, as soon as they'd realized the part she had to play in the whole mess--but he was only here to tell her what she needed to hear, as had been determined by his siblings.
"Your sibling?"
Not the one he was here to talk to her about. Oh, no. But Michaela and the others had made it quite clear that he wasn't supposed to mention any of the rest of them, if at all possible.
"Yes. May I come in?"
There was a brief pause, and then the door slid open.
As soon as he saw her, all thoughts of telling her the whole truth flew out of Gabriel's mind. She was still so...so wounded, by what his sister had done, and to hear all the rest...
Gabriel understood humans--understood most other species--far better than his siblings did. He understood enough to know that he would break her if he told her more than Michaela had authorized.
"Oh, God..." she whispered, and Gabriel was jerked back to the task at hand.
No time to worry about what he should or shouldn't tell her, about what her kind called the end of the world.
It wasn't, really, or at least not totally--it was the reopening of a bloody civil war that had only reached an uneasy peace when his sister was imprisoned. It was just that for beings as powerful as his kind, a civil war had the unfortunate side-effect of spilling over onto every other sentient species in range. Particularly humans, since their origins were so firmly intertwined.
Even Gabriel's people, though, couldn't do something as huge as ending the entire universe, no matter how the Holy One had blessed them.
Or cursed them. Seeing the damage they'd caused since the dawn of time, Gabriel was fairly sure that was a better word.
"Do not be afraid," he said, hopefully sounding less mechanical than he felt. "I know you weren't expecting to see any of us again." I was almost hoping that our next move would outlast your lifetime myself. "And after what my sibling did, I can hardly blame you." Though I still don't understand why Lux destroyed the beings who freed her. "But...well, it's important that I speak with you."
She fell back, and Gabriel flinched internally.
"Do not be afraid," he tried again, "I'm...terribly sorry, I should have done this more gradually." Or sooner, when it was still fresh and she could process it all at once. I should have told her everything then, whatever Michaela and the others said. I should have told her what Lux was, what we all were, the role she was supposed to play...I should have told her then.
"Wh-what..." she whispered, "wh-what do you want from me?"
We want you to play bait. Not that he could tell her that. "We haven't heard from my sibling who you met, not since...well, I'm sure you remember." Which was a terrible way to put it. It had been so long since Gabriel had been given a message for a human, he was botching this whole thing. "For which we apologize, on our sibling's behalf." Or at least he did. It would never occur to Michaela to apologize, and the others...only the Holy One could know what went on in their heads. "But...well, we have reason to believe that this sibling will make contact with you again."
"Oh, God."
"Not to harm you!" he hastily assured her, and he believed it. If Lux had wanted to seriously harm this girl, she would never have survived the fire. "At least, we don't think so." Because he could be wrong--only the Holy One could say how her time in prison had changed the way his sister thought. "There is, however..." He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair--a quaint human gesture he'd picked up at some point over his centuries of contact with the other species.
"What?"
"We believe that this sibling is drawn to you, for good or ill. For now," he said, "all we want you to do is contact us."
"How do I know I can trust you?" You don't. You shouldn't. I am too far removed from anything you can understand, let alone trust. We all are. "I don't even now who you are."
"As I told you," he said. "I am sibling to the one you know as Lux, among others. I would like to leave you a number, and if Lux should reach out to you...all we want is for you to let us know, please? Lux is...Lux has done terrible things, and not just to you." So many had died during that first wave of their civil war, and even if she had been slow to start the second... "We don't know what Lux is planning, and you're our only hope of containing something much worse than a half-dozen dead and a terrible fire."
Dr. Anders was silent for a moment, then finally agreed. "You can leave your number."
He smiled. "Thank you," he said, handing her a card from his sleeve. "Do not be afraid," he tried to assure her, then threw caution to the wind with a half-truth. "We're all behind you." Or, at least, I am.
Before she could question that, he slipped out the door, then went to meet Michaela. Hopefully he hadn't botched it too badly. Hopefully, Michaela wouldn't take other steps to contain the situation.
With any luck, Dr. Anders would lead them straight to Lux, and they could safely contain her before any more of them died.
Not that Gabriel thought there was much chance of that. They were too far down the road.
Still, it was nice to hope.
Year: 2989
Word Count: 1039
Rating: R
Characters: Gabriel, Mariko
Warnings: References to war, civil war, and the fire
"Who's there?"
Gabriel took a deep breath--this would be hard, harder than most of the assignments he got. Not because of what he had to tell her, but because of what he had to leave out.
"We haven't met, Dr. Anders," he said, "and I'm terribly sorry to impose, but I need to talk to you about my sibling."
Which was a lie, or at least a part of a lie. He did need to--needed to ten years ago, or more, as soon as they'd realized the part she had to play in the whole mess--but he was only here to tell her what she needed to hear, as had been determined by his siblings.
"Your sibling?"
Not the one he was here to talk to her about. Oh, no. But Michaela and the others had made it quite clear that he wasn't supposed to mention any of the rest of them, if at all possible.
"Yes. May I come in?"
There was a brief pause, and then the door slid open.
As soon as he saw her, all thoughts of telling her the whole truth flew out of Gabriel's mind. She was still so...so wounded, by what his sister had done, and to hear all the rest...
Gabriel understood humans--understood most other species--far better than his siblings did. He understood enough to know that he would break her if he told her more than Michaela had authorized.
"Oh, God..." she whispered, and Gabriel was jerked back to the task at hand.
No time to worry about what he should or shouldn't tell her, about what her kind called the end of the world.
It wasn't, really, or at least not totally--it was the reopening of a bloody civil war that had only reached an uneasy peace when his sister was imprisoned. It was just that for beings as powerful as his kind, a civil war had the unfortunate side-effect of spilling over onto every other sentient species in range. Particularly humans, since their origins were so firmly intertwined.
Even Gabriel's people, though, couldn't do something as huge as ending the entire universe, no matter how the Holy One had blessed them.
Or cursed them. Seeing the damage they'd caused since the dawn of time, Gabriel was fairly sure that was a better word.
"Do not be afraid," he said, hopefully sounding less mechanical than he felt. "I know you weren't expecting to see any of us again." I was almost hoping that our next move would outlast your lifetime myself. "And after what my sibling did, I can hardly blame you." Though I still don't understand why Lux destroyed the beings who freed her. "But...well, it's important that I speak with you."
She fell back, and Gabriel flinched internally.
"Do not be afraid," he tried again, "I'm...terribly sorry, I should have done this more gradually." Or sooner, when it was still fresh and she could process it all at once. I should have told her everything then, whatever Michaela and the others said. I should have told her what Lux was, what we all were, the role she was supposed to play...I should have told her then.
"Wh-what..." she whispered, "wh-what do you want from me?"
We want you to play bait. Not that he could tell her that. "We haven't heard from my sibling who you met, not since...well, I'm sure you remember." Which was a terrible way to put it. It had been so long since Gabriel had been given a message for a human, he was botching this whole thing. "For which we apologize, on our sibling's behalf." Or at least he did. It would never occur to Michaela to apologize, and the others...only the Holy One could know what went on in their heads. "But...well, we have reason to believe that this sibling will make contact with you again."
"Oh, God."
"Not to harm you!" he hastily assured her, and he believed it. If Lux had wanted to seriously harm this girl, she would never have survived the fire. "At least, we don't think so." Because he could be wrong--only the Holy One could say how her time in prison had changed the way his sister thought. "There is, however..." He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair--a quaint human gesture he'd picked up at some point over his centuries of contact with the other species.
"What?"
"We believe that this sibling is drawn to you, for good or ill. For now," he said, "all we want you to do is contact us."
"How do I know I can trust you?" You don't. You shouldn't. I am too far removed from anything you can understand, let alone trust. We all are. "I don't even now who you are."
"As I told you," he said. "I am sibling to the one you know as Lux, among others. I would like to leave you a number, and if Lux should reach out to you...all we want is for you to let us know, please? Lux is...Lux has done terrible things, and not just to you." So many had died during that first wave of their civil war, and even if she had been slow to start the second... "We don't know what Lux is planning, and you're our only hope of containing something much worse than a half-dozen dead and a terrible fire."
Dr. Anders was silent for a moment, then finally agreed. "You can leave your number."
He smiled. "Thank you," he said, handing her a card from his sleeve. "Do not be afraid," he tried to assure her, then threw caution to the wind with a half-truth. "We're all behind you." Or, at least, I am.
Before she could question that, he slipped out the door, then went to meet Michaela. Hopefully he hadn't botched it too badly. Hopefully, Michaela wouldn't take other steps to contain the situation.
With any luck, Dr. Anders would lead them straight to Lux, and they could safely contain her before any more of them died.
Not that Gabriel thought there was much chance of that. They were too far down the road.
Still, it was nice to hope.
