Inosculate - Ch 3, 4, 5

CW: A character threatening suicide with no actual ability to carry it out. Nobody dies or is hurt

Chapter 3

For the next few hours, Serena remained curled in a little ball, eyes closed, wishing she could somehow will away the crushing reality around her. She had cried til she ran out of tears, then cried some more. Eventually, her brain slowly managed to turn itself back over into something of a productive mindset. She had a harsh reality to face: Kenzie had been taken by the affini, and she was likely to be next. For a while, she tried to understand why her two captors had simply left her alone instead of attempting to pry information from her. She tried to understand why she hadn’t already been shackled, collared and pumped full of mind melting xenodrugs. Eventually, Serena decided that sort of thought process wasn’t going to get her anywhere, and she started to consider her options. That, at the very least, didn’t take long, on account of her not really having any.

The best thing she could come up with was, if she wanted to do something about her situation, she needed to understand it more. She needed to find some kind of leverage and fast. Whatever Hesperia and Ilex’s reasons for leaving her alone were, she would serve herself far more by using it to search for any advantage she could muster than by using it to simply feel sorry for herself and for Kenzie. Call it stubbornness, call it delusion, but  Serena had to believe there was something she could do. Her first advantage, she figured, was small and simple enough: the affini had undone her bonds. To some, that might be discouraging—the affini clearly view her was so insignificant of a threat that even restraining her was unnecessary—to Serena, that just meant they underestimated her.

What Serena really needed, was to figure out their angle. Maybe then she could come up with a plan. Clearly, Hesperia and Ilex saw it important to keep Serena alive and relatively appeased, so they must have had it in their heads that she knew something useful. The question became, then, why tell her Kenzie had been made into a floret? To scare her into compliance? That seemed unlikely, the affini seemed too smart to think that would actually work. Making Serena think she had nothing to lose gave them no leverage. Could it be that they truly thought they could convince Serena that being a floret was a good thing? Admittedly, that would open up a whole world of options for the pair. It was actually quite brilliant, convince a prisoner her worst possible outcome is actually a good thing, and suddenly you’ve turned a stick into a carrot. All of that, of course, was based on the presupposition that it would work.

Humming thoughtfully, Serena stood from the bed, and swept her cell with her gaze. There was a small panel next to the door, if she could pry that open, maybe she could escape? But then what? One step at a time, perhaps. It wouldn’t hurt to at least see whether prying and rewiring the panel was even an option. Stiffly, Serena walked across the room, examining the door, it’s panel, and the room for any indication of how to proceed when, to her shock, as soon as Serena drew close to the door, it simply slid right open. Baffled, Serena stopped short as realization dawned on her. Was this room not her cell? Just a single room in a very large, multi room cell? For fuck’s sake, the affini truly did want to convince her they were on her side. She almost laughed, then strolled through the door to find herself in a sprawling living room connected to a slightly vintage looking Terran-style kitchen. They had even outfitted it with one of those homey looking ovens that all the wealthy Terrans used before the war. Apparently they had really gone overboard on trying to ‘make her feel at home,’ or whatever Hesperia and Ilex would say.

Half-expecting some sort of trap, or an affini to spring out from the vents or drug-filled gas to start seeping in through the walls, Serena began to explore her surroundings. All in all, it was… fine, really. The place was devoid of anything sharp, no knives, not even a lighter—why a home like this would actually need a lighter wasn’t something Serena bothered considering—but it was comfortable. Or, rather, it would have been comfortable if she wasn’t a prisoner on an affini ship. She continued to search the place, then searched some more, then continued for good measure until she couldn’t help but ignore the burning question of ‘what are you even looking for?’ Truthfully, she didn’t have an answer. Something that would let her win. Some oversight, some perfect piece of information or eureka discovery that would give her the leverage to force the affini to play by her rules.

But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that, even if she did find some crucial bit of something to grant her a proper bargaining chip, it wouldn’t matter. Serena was a nobody, a mid-ranking rebellion officer. She didn’t know any important rebellion secrets. The only reason she’d even become a captain was because the rebellion was desperate and Serena owned her own ship—had owned her own ship, Petrichor was likely long gone by now. How much grief could she really expect to cause the affini before they decided she just wasn’t worth the trouble? And then Kenzie would be truly alone. The tears were coming back again, the uncertainty, the understanding that no matter what Serena did, she and Kenzie were fucked.

Feeling utterly hopeless, Serena dragged herself to the sofa in the home’s living room, and collapsed forward in a fit of sobs. In that state, telling time wasn’t exactly something Serena was particularly good at. Her mind was mostly focused on indulging her worst impulses to spiral further and further. But, eventually, a sound at the outer door to her cell roused her. Serena didn’t bother reacting. Then there was another sound, and another. A few muffled voices spoke; the door opened. For a moment, Serena entertained the idea of just playing the despondent prisoner, remained unresponsive, hope that if she ignored the problem it would go away. Perhaps at this point she was merely bored and curious, perhaps she just wanted to get it over with instead of linger in limbo, but Serena sat up, and followed the noise.

“You’re multiplying,” she commented bitterly.

“A new friend,” Hesperia explained.

“She wants to meet with you, has a good reason, too.”

“We’ll be leaving you alone with her.”

“We’ve briefed her on your situation.”

“Please do give what she has to say a listen; we think you’ll be interested.” Almost as quickly as they entered, Hesperia and Ilex whirled together in a flurry of entwining vines, and evacuated the room, shutting the door behind them.

If nothing else, Serena had to admit, their seemingly deliberate strangeness was a tad bit disarming. It almost would have been amusting, if not for the circumstances. There were, however, more pressing matters to attend to, namely this new affini standing in her cell.

Putting the two out of her mind, Serena shifted her focus to the newcomer, who honestly looked just as surprised and perplexed by Hesperia and Ilex’s rather swift and dramatic exit as Serena felt. She was, well... she was an affini. Admittedly, Serena wasn’t an expert on how affini looked. But she seemed pretty normal, normal for an eleven foot plant person, that was. The main thing Serena could distinguish about her appearances were the hundreds of bulbous flowers colored a dark indigo arranged all over the affini’s body. Strangely, all the flowers were closed, making them appear almost like decorative string lights, minus the light. Beyond that, she looked… nice? Specifically, she appeared nice in the sense that every affini Serena had interacted with so far did their best to play at warmth and kindness. She was clutching something in her hands, a small bag made of tightly wound plant matter, which she supported from the bottom. She also seemed to be at a loss for words as she stood frozen in place, staring silently at Serena.

“Is that supposed to be another present?” The sound of Serena’s voice seemed to shock the affini out of her stillness. Perhaps the extra venom she’d laced her tone with acted as a nice boost. Hopefully it had, the fact that Serena was still unable to stop crying likely did her no favors in the realm of intimidation.

“It’s a sign of good will.” Whoever she was, she sounded almost as shaken and nervous as Serena felt.

Rolling her eyes, Serena nodded toward the coffee table in front of her sofa. “Show me your bribe.”

Was this affini afraid of her? Serena wondered. The way she flinched at the disdain in Serena’s voice, the hesitance in her every word and movement, it was all quite the contrast from Hesperia and Ilex. Nevertheless, she did seem to work up the courage to approach, albeit slowly, like Serena was some sort of cornered animal. Honestly, that wasn’t an inaccurate description of how Serena felt. Kneeling down to reach the—from her perspective—incredibly short coffee table, the affini gently set the bag down with a surprisingly loud thunk. As though disarming a bomb, the affini delicately and deliberately opened the top of the bag and, without warning, the smell hit. Food, admittedly this was unsurprising, given the candy tactic from earlier, but that candy didn’t come with an overpowering, mouth watering smell. Serena couldn’t help but wonder when she last smelled something that delicious. Before the war, that was for certain. The aroma was familiar too, meaty, spicy, though Serena couldn’t place it exactly.

Before she had the chance to speculate further, the affini wordlessly reached into the bag, looking nervously at Serena the entire time, and withdrew an entire black stone bowl of all things. She set it down in front of Serena, and recognition, followed by delight, then closely followed by nervous fear all cycled through her mind in rapid succession. Trembling, Serena exhaled a long, shaky breath, then looked from the bowl to the affini. “What the fuck?” She whimpered. “Who told you?”

Again, Serena’s hostility seemed to have quite the uncharacteristically withering effect on her new company. A strange little show of expressions played across the affini’s face. Admittedly, Serena was no expert on affini psychology or expression, but if human body and facial language were any indication, the way the xeno shrunk back and averted her gaze in a pouting grimace suggested disappointment, apprehension, shame, perhaps even a touch of guilt? This was all the more affirmed by the affini making a deliberate show of straightening herself out, smoothing her ruffled leaves, and taking a seat on the floor across from Serena in a display that almost seemed as though the xeno was trying to center herself, calm herself down.. After a few moments of silence, the affini seemed to have gathered up her courage. She looked Serena in the eye, and spoke. “It’s bibimbap, right? There are some pickled radishes and kimchi in the bag as well.”

“Answer the question, plant,” Serena half growled, half sobbed.

This time, the xenos resolve seemed unshaken. Without missing a beat, she continued. “It’s your favorite food. You had it on your first date with Kenzie, she had japchae noodles.”

“I know what the fuck it is!” Serena couldn’t remember the last time she’d properly screamed at someone. Perhaps it was all the crying, but Serena just couldn’t roar the way she was used to. Her breath was coming fast now, was she hyperventilating? “Tell me. Who. Told you.” Each word was a struggle to force out between gasping breaths.

Seeing the state Serena was in, the affini took on a much more outwardly worried posture. She made a move to stand, leaning forward, but as she did, Serena scrambled backward away from her. “Don’t come any closer,” Serena hissed, forcing herself to control her breathing. If nothing else, the affini listened, sitting back down, but still eyeing her with concern.

When it seemed clear that Serena was, at the very least, not on the verge of a full-blown panic attack, the affini opened and closed her mouth a few times. A quiet, croaking noise of uncertainty followed an unintelligible stammer, eventually, she seemed to give up, and reached a hand into her vines, withdrawing a small tablet—small for an affini, at least.  Wordlessly, the affini held it to her face, and tapped its screen a few times, before setting it on the coffee table, and pushing it toward Serena.

Frustrated, and more than a little worried about what the plant wanted to show her, Serena reached toward the tablet, before hesitating a moment as her darker thoughts took hold, informing Serena of all the different awful things she might see. Again, Serena felt driven by little more than feelings of inevitability. With a trembling hand, she reached out to take the tablet, brought it toward herself, and glanced at the screen.

A picture, a very nice looking, high resolution picture at that. It featured two familiar faces, though, one was far more familiar than the other. On the right side of the frame, was the same affini who currently sat across from Serena. She was lying on the grass with a bright smile on her face as she held the tablet up for the picture. Left of her, and a little bit doward, was the heartstopping sight of Kenzie, nestled within the affinis arms and nuzzling into the crook of her neck. She wore a bright smile, and the same pair of sunglasses she always wore out.

Stunned, Serena glanced up from the tablet, meeting the xeno’s gaze. Just as the makings of a response began to form on Serena’s lips, an unseen vine gently tapped the tablet’s screen, causing Serena to jump, as well as with a new photo to appear. In this one, Kenzie sat with her back against a tree, her feet were dangling off a short ledge into a shallow stream below. Her eyes were cast toward her lap, with a content smile on her face. She was gazing at the affini, whose head rested in Kenzie’s lap, eyes closed, appearing to peacefully nap in the sun.

Another tap, this time it was video. Kenzie sat in a comfortable looking chair with her back turned, humming a happy tune as she tinkered with an antique looking radio. From behind the camera, the affini’s voice called out, gloating about how she had told Kenzie that song was an earworm, leading to a surprised and delighted Kenzie to jump, turn around, break into a fit of giggles, and admit the affini was right, it had been stuck in her head all day. The video ended with Kenzie gleefully throwing herself toward the camera as vines swept out to catch her. More taps, more photos, always Kenzie and the affini, always happy.

Was this real? Was Kenzie truly as happy as these photos suggested? A brief kernel of light bloomed the abyss she’d found herself navigating. For a moment, Serena really, truly, wanted to believe. But she couldn’t, not this easily. She needed more. If Kenzie really was okay, why not allow Serena to meet her? Could she just… ask? maybe. She needed to understand. Hands trembling, Serena slowly set down the tablet, looking from the screen to the xeno across from her. “What is this?” She rasped.

“My name is Mirabilis Luz, Seventh Bloom. Or just Mira,” she trailed off for a moment, before getting back to the point. “Kenzie is my floret. I thought if you saw how happy she was—”

“Let me see her,” Serena snapped. “In person.”

Mirabilis stiffened, her leaves standing on end as her vines slowly retraced. “I… can’t right now. She’s recovering from surgery.” Just as she finished, a sudden look of regret bloomed on the weed’s face. One could practically track the moment Mirabilis realized she’d fucked up and accidentally said too much down to the millisecond. Serena wanted to feel triumphant, the way she’d gotten the plant to make that admission. The way Mirabilis knew she’d accidentally revealed the awful truth. For obvious reasons, she couldn’t feel much of anything besides despair given the news.

“What have you done to her?” She wailed, casting the tablet away from her and collapsing against the sofa in a fit of uncontrollable tears. It was all a lie, another affini trick. Doctored images, rendered video, who knew what these monsters were capable of. Worst still, they’d clearly milked Kenzie for information about Serena so they could tug on her heartstrings with her favorite food and pretty words. And surgery, fucking surgery, what kind horrors had the put Kenzie through. Serena couldn’t bear the thought. From the corner of her eye, she watched Mirabilis stand, stammering and taking a half step toward Serena.

“Little one I promise she's okay, we didn't hurt her we just—”

“Get out!” she screamed with all her breath, “get the fuck away from her. Get the fuck away from me.”

Spent, Serena curled up on the couch and wept. Over the sound of her sobbing, she heard Mirabilis stammer a half baked attempt at an excuse, but seemed to realize that ship had already sailed. The affini grew quiet. A moment later Serena heard the sound of footsteps leaving the room, along with the door to outside opening and closing, though it barely registered. She didn’t have the time to consider in more detail why Mirabilis had left. Restless sleep soon took her.

She awoke to an empty room, a dry mouth, and a voracious hunger. There was also the depression. Across from her, the Bibimbap sat, now cold. Serena’s stomach growled at the sight and smell. For a moment, she considered whether it might be drugged, then realized she didn’t care. The worst part was, it tasted delicious.

Slumped against a wall in the kitchen, half-sitting, half-laying on the floor, Serena nursed a glass of water, and tried not to think about anything at all. It wasn’t working. Her mind couldn’t help but wander back to that ever-burning question: why? Why do all this? Why keep her in a cozy little cell? Why play good cop, good cop, good cop with her? Why not drug her? Or tortured her? If they wanted information from her so badly, surely they could have had it by now. Unless their drugs weren’t as potent as they wanted her to believe. More and more it seemed like they were gambling everything on convincing Serena the affini were actually quite benevolent. That had to have been the point of Mirabilis’ little dinner and a show routine, right? Maybe now she’d fucked that one up so royally the affini would finally take their polite little masks off. That would be refreshing, honestly. That way she could just get it all over with instead of stewing in this pain.

One last time, Serena tried to find something, anything, she could use for leverage. To what end, she wasn’t certain anymore. Even if she could somehow rescue Kenzie, wouldn’t it be too late? She had to try, she supposed, but how? The one thing Serena was certain of, was that the affini wanted her alive and talking. Perhaps they even needed her. What Serena could possibly tell them was beyond her. But it was something. If she could somehow convince the affini she was putting herself in danger, without them realizing she was only doing it to scare them into making a deal, then maybe she could bluff her way into something.

The problem, of course, was how to do that. For one, Serena had already searched the place for anything sharp and come up empty. For two, she needed something both credible enough, and dangerous enough that they wouldn’t just let her try, and send her to their medical wing if she succeeded. As her eyes trailed around the room, part of Serena idly wondered whether she was just doing this to distract herself, but decided the answer to that question didn’t matter.

Absolutely devoid of ideas, her eyes fell on that vintage Terran oven, and Serena remembered an old story Kenzie liked to tell. Apparently for a while, back before she or Kenzie were even born, an older version of ovens like that one was really popular in Martian homes. That’s actually where they’d been invented, too, Mars. Off planet they were pretty much unheard of. Anyway, they developed a nasty habit of exploding, something about a pressure-based heating system and a bad reaction if the ovens' built-in cooling tanks leaked. They were pretty big explosions, too. Naturally, the manufacturer eventually got around to making safer ovens—after a few dozen or so homes went up in fireballs.

Serena stood and crossed the room, then thoughtfully traced her hand along the oven. The new ones had pretty sophisticated failsafes to make that sort of thing basically impossible, so they wound up exploding in popularity instead. It was the perfect combination of retro aesthetic, with all the safety and effectiveness of cutting edge tech. Plus, Mars-Chic was in vogue. By the 2540s pretty much every new home in the Terran accord came with one, which was probably why this affini ship also had one.

Regardless, that wasn’t the point; the point was Kenzie’s story. Even if the new models were popular everywhere else, no matter how much they were assured the new models were safe, Martians wanted nothing to do with the things—not that Serena could blame them. Ironically, expensive new homes on Mars pretty much always came with them pre-installed, much to the chagrin of wealthy Martians. Which is where Kenzie, genius little rascal that she was, saw dollar signs. She’d spent half her teens, and the early bits of her twenties, working as a handywoman slash con artist, searching out wealthy Martians, convincing them that their actually very safe ovens were primed to blow any day, and charging top dollar to stick her head inside with a screwdriver and say ‘hmm’ for twenty minutes. When the unrest on Mars started to boil over, insurgents even started rigging up the scrapped older models as improvised bombs, making people even more terrified. Sometimes Kenzie would even hire a crew to break in and fake-tamper with the explosion-proof new ovens to make her story, and her pay, extra credible.

‘The best way to persuade them,’ she used say, ‘was never to make them believe the danger was real, but to convince them that you believed the danger was real. Once you did that, the rest was always easy.’ That story had always put a smile on Serena’s face, especially the way Kenzie told it, waving her hands wildly and slurring her words after a few too many beers, blowing her hair out of her eyes whenever she got a little too erratic and her bangs fell forward. Serena very, very much wanted to see her Kenzie again. And couldn’t help but wonder: how up to date on obscure Martian appliance history was the average affini?

Returning to the bedroom, Serena plucked the tablet which had been left for her off its desk, and was relieved to find she could actually connect to the net with it. She took a second to consider whether she was actually going to do this. If any affini took the time to research her bluff, they’d probably realize there wasn’t any real danger, and then who knew what those weed bastards would do? Then she thought about Kenzie, out there alone and scared, and realized that yes, of course she was going to do this. Her plan was shaky at best, but Serena was good at improvising. And, as she made a cursory search for articles about Martian insurgents turning pressure ovens into makeshift bombs, she repeated Kenzie’s words to herself. “The best way to persuade them isn’t to make them believe the danger is real, but to make them believe you think the danger is real. Once you accomplish that, the rest is always easy.”

Chapter 4

There really was no feeling quite like knowing you had made everything worse. With just a single slip of the tongues, Mirabilis had accidentally not only destroyed any scrapings of goodwill her photos of Kenzie may have built, but actually made poor little Serena even more distressed. The poor thing was probably convinced Kenzie had been put through something unspeakable. It was enough to make Mirabilis wish she could reach her vines through the vacuum of space, find whatever rebel leader was in charge of the anti-affini propaganda campaign, and show them the error of their ways in the most meticulous of detail. Though, in reality Mirabilis probably wouldn’t have the stomach for that sort of thing, keeping a floret who had caused such immense, wide-sweeping harm was for affini made of sterner stuff than she was.

Regardless, Mirabilis couldn’t dwell on that. She did, after all, have other responsibilities. Namely, looking after the floret she already owned. Whether or not bringing Kenzie back up from her sedatives was still necessary, Mirabilis couldn’t say. She hoped for Kenzie’s sake, and for Serena’s sake, that she hadn’t ruined things so completely that any chance at all of Serena becoming her floret had been ruined. And, if there was a way to still peacefully convince Serena to surrender, she wanted to find it. Declaring the girl a lost cause, a danger to herself and others who needed to be domesticated against her will always had a high chance of backfiring and resulting in less desirable outcomes. Though, if she did wind up on Class-Os, Serena, at the very least, wouldn’t mind. Kenzie, however, probably wouldn’t take well to learning her girlfriend had been last-resorted into an eternally blissed out pleasure pillow. Still, Class-Os were a last resort, and they hadn’t gotten there yet.

There were still plenty of ways things could shake out leaving Serena happy and with her mind more or less in-tact—depending on Serena’s own preferences, of course. But there was no sense not taking all the help she could get. Her Kenzie was a clever little human, and, of course, Serena’s entire reason for being aboard the Baiera. If anyone could help Mirabilis convince the poor girl that the affini meant her no harm, it was Kenzie. Which, regrettably, meant Mirabilis would need to take her floret of the sedatives earlier than intended. It was perfectly safe, Kenzie would be fine. Though she might end up with a bit of a headache, and be a bit grumpy. Still, Mirabilis was certain her floret would understand, and remedying something as simple as a headache would be no problem. The real loss, as far as Mirabilis was concerned, would be that ending her floret’s drugged out recovery vacation early, meant that many fewer days she got to dote on and play with her adorable, helpless, and adorably helpless darling floret.

With a regretful sigh, Mirabilis glanced down at the squirming, gasping bundle of joy she’d been teasing and petting, encased in an endless tangle of her vines. Every little moan, every shudder, every whimper of her name brought Mirabilis endless satisfaction. Having to bring the girl back up early felt like one of the great injustices of the world. She was certain Kenzie would agree, if she were capable of thinking that far ahead. Either way, Mirabilis was sure to hear no shortage of complaints from Kenzie when she found out she was supposed to have gotten three more days of this. But, once her floret learned the reason as to why, Mirabilis was certain Kenzie would understand. She took one last moment to indulge herself, which wound up stretching on to another, then another, and another as Kenzie squirmed, purred and nuzzled adoringly at her Mistress’ every touch. Ten minutes later, Mirabilis sighed in frustration, and forced herself to produce a needle from one of her flowers. Gently, giving Kenzie soothing caresses and soft praise the whole way, she slid the needle into her pet’s arm, and injected the catalyst which would begin the process of off-ramping Kenzie’s multi-day drug trip.

At the very least, Mirabilis could take comfort in the fact that she still had several hours before Kenzie would even begin to regain her lucidity, which gave the two of them some time to enjoy what was left of Kenzie’s high. And stars did Mirabilis need it after everything she’d been through. She felt immensely guilty about the whole thing. The last thing she wanted was for Serena to suffer. Quite the opposite in fact, she’d been almost as excited as Kenzie was at the prospect of getting to meet—and hopefully, domesticate—the little human. Making her floret happy was the most important thing in the universe to Mirabilis; getting to have a pair of florets pinnate who could do that for her opened up a whole world of possibilities. Instead, she’d wound up having to leave Serena, a crying, scared mess, having done nothing but make the Terran even more afraid of affini. Trembling, Mirabilis held Kenzie close to her, squeezing her floret for comfort, whispering a soft apology that would doubtless fall on deaf ears.

Her little self-pity and commiseration party was interrupted by the feeling of her tablet buzzing somewhere in the mass of her vines. Groaning in frustration, she reshaped her body into something a bit more cohesive, and checked the notification.

>>Lex: What in the stars did you say to that girl!?

>>Hex: This is Hesperia and Ilex, by the way.

Mirabilis froze in confusion. What were they talking about? Had something happened? Worry crept its way up the whole of her being, one leaf at a time.

>>Eveningbloom: What’s wrong?

>>Lex: Allegedly she's built a bomb???

She stared at the text for several moments, scarcely believing what she was reading, before reality set in and she hurriedly typed a reply.

>>Eveningbloom: WHAT?

>>Hex: A couple hours after you left she started pounding on the door til one of the nurses came to check on her.

>>Lex: She had some story about wanting some tools and components ‘cause she ‘liked to tinker’ and wanted to take apart the oven.

>>Hex: Nurse was a bit suspicious, but they agreed once Serena said they could watch her work to be sure she didn't hurt herself.

>>Lex: We approved it since we thought anything to occupy the poor dear’s mind was better than her stewing.

>>Hex: Anyway she built a bomb.

>>Eveningbloom: From an OVEN??

>>Hex: Apparently there was an… oversight.

>>Lex: We are having people look into it now, but it does seem earlier models of the oven in her hab unit did have a tendency to explode.

>>Hex: She actually sent us some… very helpful articles on the subject. Resourceful little thing. She is either taunting us or didn’t think we would believe her. Perhaps both.

>>Lex: At present we are… uncertain of what to make of the situation.

>>Hex: We have found evidence to suggest the problem was fixed in newer models, but it’s possible there may be a way to deliberately sabotage them.

>>Lex: Most of what we can find are either official company release statements, or sensationalist Terran news articles. Neither are good sources of reliable information.

>>Eveningbloom: … What is she trying to accomplish, exactly?

>>Lex: She wants to bargain for your Kenzie.

“Dirt,” Mirabilis groaned. Of course this was about Kenzie. What else could it be?

>>Hex: Seems to have deluded herself into thinking the bomb will blow a hole in the side of the ship so we’ll have to cave and give her what she wants.

>>Lex: Of course, she’d do nothing more than blow herself up.

>>Hex: Terrans continue to be the greatest threat to their own existence.

>>Lex: Very frustrating, but worth getting to keep such lovely pets.

>>Hex: She wants to talk to you.

>>Eveningbloom: Left hab. On my way.

To any passers by aboard the Baiera who found themselves along the route between Mirabilis’ hab, and the detention wing, the sight of a formless mass of vines hurtling itself through the streets and spewing and incredibly colorful string of curse words as it went wouldn’t have exactly been shocking, though it would have been at least a bit unusual, and perhaps amusing. Never in her life had Mirabilis moved so quickly. Never in her life had she felt more horrified at the consequences of her own actions. Did she even deserve to take Serena after this? Did she even deserve to keep Kenzie? How could she ever look her floret in the eye and tell her what happened, explain that it was Mirabilis’ own fault? No, it wasn’t going to happen. Serena wasn’t going to die. They would find a way to make a deal, reach a mutual understanding.

In a small lobby just inside the detention block, Mirabilis spied Hesperia and Ilex. In a flurry of vines and flowers, Mirabilis reformed herself into her humanoid shape, and brushed right past them, gesturing for them to follow as she went. “Has anything happened since I left?”

“In the past two minutes? Not really, no. We’re at a bit of a standstill. She’s demanding to speak with you, presumably because she wasn’t satisfied when we told her we didn’t have the authority to just up and deliver Kenzie to her,” Ilex explained.

“I’m not letting Kenzie anywhere near that bomb,” Mirabilis replied.

“We think she has some kind of scheme in mind. It seems… unlikely she would wish to bring  her girlfriend near the potential blast radius.” Hesperia had a point. Mirabilis just hoped she was right. Serena might have just well and truly lost it. Even so, the move struck her as strange. Her confusion was exacerbated by the fact that, even while she fretted over the situation, for some stupid reason, despite all her worry and stress, Mirabilis couldn’t help but feel a fluttery feeling rush through her vines. The reckless, irresponsible human was doing something completely foolhardy, but the girl's bravery was undeniable, and it was all for Kenzie. Was it strange this just made Mirabilis want to take her even more? Perhaps this wasn’t the best time to process those sorts of feelings.

The affini trio rounded a corner, and Mirabilis took in the chaotic sight before her. Dozens of affini were scrambling about the place, evacuating dazed looking rebel captures from the blast area, a group of worried affini medical staff were crowded a safe distance away from Serena’s hab, taking urgently among themselves. The door to the hab unit was open, standing at the edge of the doorway was another nervous looking affini who was trying desperately to get a word in edgewise over all the screaming. Taking in the scene, Mirabilis came to a slow stop, and looked to Hesperia and Ilex, “are you sure sending me to talk to her is a good idea? I kind of only made things worse last time.”

They exchanged an uncertain glance, then Ilex spoke. “She isn’t listening to anyone else. You’re the one she wants to speak with.”

With an uncertain sigh, Mirabilis straightened herself out, did her best to appear as though ever single cubic inch of her body wasn’t wound tight enough to crush a Terran sport ball, and performed her best approximation of a confident stroll that said ‘yes, I do in fact know what I’m doing.’ As she approached, the affini in the doorway seemed to recognize her, and immediately looked relieved. They gratefully and silently withdrew, and made room for Mirabilis to take their place.  Inside was… well, actually not that different from before. Serena hadn’t gone to any lengths to wreck the place or anything. The only real difference was an open toolbox and a few scattered wires strewn about the floor. Standing next to the oven, and brandishing what appeared to be the appliance’s remote control, was Serena. As soon as the girl saw Mirabilis, her already smoldering, teary eyes focused and narrowed with laser precision. Mirabilis shuddered; she couldn't stand the way the girl looked at her with such rage and contempt. Why couldn’t Serena just see she wanted what was best for her and her most precious person? Doubt crept in the back of her mind, but she couldn’t afford to listen to that now, too much was at stake. Clearing her throat, Mirabilis took a step forward, into that hab.

“Stay back!” Serena shouted, matching Mirabilis’ approach with a backward step of her own. “I’ve repurposed this remote as a detonator. If you come any closer I’ll blow us both out into space.”

Forcing calm into her voice, Mirabilis replied with as much outward patience as she could muster. “Alright, Serena. I won’t come any closer. You wanted me here, right? I’m here.” As a sign of goodwill, Mirabilis even took a step backward, lingering in the doorway the same way the previous negotiator had. For a moment, Mirabilis wondered whether she could cross the room and grab the remote before Serena could hit whatever button she needed to hit. Then she imagined trying to explain to Kenzie that her girlfriend was dead because Mirabilis had overestimated herself.

“I want Kenzie,” she shouted. “I want Kenize. Bring her to me. I also want a ship we can leave on together. In return I’ll tell you everything I know about the rebels, and, of course, I won’t set off this bomb.”

A ship? Did she honestly think that plan would work after everything she’d seen? Maybe she truly was delusional. “I can’t do that, Serena,” Mirabilis explained as calmly as she could. “I won’t put Kenzie in danger by bringing her here.” Was that relief she saw on Serena’s face? Had she not wanted that request to be granted? Something was definitely going on. Mirabilis decided to press the issue. “If you come with me, I could take you to her. And I’m happy to have someone ready a ship for you, in exchange for information and this ending peacefully, of course.” The last part was a bluff, of course, but an easy enough bluff to make, since Serena would never be able to make her way to the Baiera’s hangar without being subdued. As far as the information went, Serena clearly overestimated how much value the affini were putting on what she knew. But letting the girl think she had more bargaining power than she actually did seemed like the best way to keep her from panicking and blowing herself up.

“No!” Serena shouted. “I’m not leaving this room.”

That was… also perplexing. Why would she pass up the opportunity simply on the basis that it would require leaving her hab? If Serena wanted to escape with Kenzie, wouldn’t she be eager to leave the blast radius and no longer be in danger of blowing herself up? Mirabilis had to be on to something. “Why not? I’ll make sure to keep myself, and any other affini far enough away from you as we walk,” she explained. “And that remote should have a very long effective range. If we were to try anything, you could still blow the hull open.” Of course, there was no way Serena could actually blow the hull open. But if the human realized that, she would also realize all her leverage was gone the second her life was no longer in danger. And then there would be no way at all to get her to leave.

“I’m not leaving this room unarmed,” Serena insisted. “I want a pistol, and I want that ship. Give me those and I’ll go with you.” Again, Mirabilis was at a loss. Surely, no matter how irrationally she was thinking, Serena understood that a single Terran pistol wouldn’t be enough to take on an entire ship full of affini. She already had the far more credible threat of blowing a hole in the ship, or, Serena at least thought she had that credible threat. So why would a single pistol be the pivotal concession to convince her to leave the hab? Mirabilis’ stress was mounting, why did Serena have to be so twitchy with that thing? Why couldn’t the poor girl just understand that the only thing Mirabilis and the rest of the affini cared about in this situation was keeping her from hurting herself?

A sudden voice at her side snapped Mirabilis out of her thought spiral. “This isn’t the first time she asked for the pistol,” Hesperia commented, having suddenly appeared just behind and to the right of Mirabilis, behind the wall and out of Serena’s line of sight. “We are… torn on the matter.”

“You’re actually considering it?” Mirabilis hissed under her breath, quiet enough so Serene wouldn’t hear.

“We are not taking this lightly,” Ilex replied gravely. “On the one hand, giving an unstable rebel Terran, or any Terran for that matter, a deadly weapon goes against everything we believe in. The risk it would pose to herself and to other Terrans potentially caught in the crossfire is simply unacceptable.”

“On the other, she is currently threatening to blow herself up if we don’t do as she says, which obviously poses a much greater risk,” Hesperia added.

“If we were to give her the pistol, we could lead her out of the bomb’s blast radius, then disarm her.”

“It’s possible she may open fire on one of us, which would certainly be unpleasant, but it’s nothing a quick trip to medical couldn’t fix.”

“Obviously we are looking into every other option possible, but we haven’t found a way to remotely disarm it.”

“We considered cutting the power, but since the explosion is triggered by pressure which has already built up inside the oven, it’s too late for that.” Both affini let out a simultaneous thoughtful hum.

“The unfortunate reality is, the longer we wait, the more desperate and reckless she becomes. Unless we can think of something soon, we might have to just risk giving her the gun.” From the sound of her voice, Ilex seemed to absolutely despise the way those words felt on her tongues.

Mirabilis shook her head. “Give me a little more time. Something doesn’t add up about her wanting the pistol and I think I’m on to something,” she whispered, and returned her gaze to Serena.

“Done with your little secret meeting?” Serena snarled.

“What’s the gun for, Serena?” Mirabilis asked pointedly. “You’re a clever girl. And you know as well as I do how ineffective it would be against an entire ship-full of affini.”

That seemed to get her attention. Serena baulked, clearly caught off guard by the question as she cobbled together a justification. “I-it might not be enough to kill a whole ship but it’s still enough to take some of you plant bastards with me.”

Like a spider descending on unsuspecting prey, Mirabilis unleashed a slew of questions, tearing the girl’s weak justification to shreds. “But I thought your goal was to escape with Kenzie, not kill affini? The bomb is a much more effective threat, so why ask for a pistol as well? And why are you so insistent on keeping yourself in danger by staying inside the blast radius?”

Squirming in place, Serena flicked her eyes from Mirabilis to the detonator. For a moment, the horrible thought that she’d pushed too far occurred to her, then Serena broke open. “I—you—I’m not leaving! Don’t come any closer!”

“Do you know what I think?” Mirabilis asked. “I think you know you can’t cause any of us any real harm, but you don’t want us to know you know that. I think you realized after I left that we want to keep you alive. Of course, you don’t believe us when we say the reason why we want you alive is because we genuinely care about your wellbeing. So you assumed all we really cared about was your rebellion information.”

“You’re wrong!” Serena stammered, her tone suggesting Mirabilis was very much not wrong.

“From there, you realized the only real bargaining chip you had, was to threaten suicide in the hopes you could use our desire to keep you alive to bargain for Kenzie. But there were two problems with this plan, one begetting the other. First, you needed to find a way to credibly threaten your own life, hence your stunt with the oven. But the problem with the oven-bomb is that as soon as you left this room, all your bargaining power disappeared since you would no longer be in danger.”

“You want to see danger? I’ll blow this ship wide open,” Serena screamed.

Mirabilis sighed, shaking her head. “No, you won’t, and you know you won’t. You know the only thing that bomb will do is kill you. And you know we don’t want you to die. And that’s what the pistol is for. You don’t want to point it at us. You want to point it at yourself, so you can leave this room and still be able to credibly threaten us with suicide.” Confidently, Mirabilis took a step toward Serena.

“You want to see a credible suicide threat? Take another step,” Serena hissed.

Surprising even herself, Mirabilis called the bluff, and took another step, causing the girl to flinch. “Serena, stop playing games with your life. We’re not giving you a pistol, and I’m not letting you endanger Kenzie by bringing her here. We’re not going to hurt you, none of us would ever dream of hurting Kenzie. Everything I’ve done to her she asked for of her own accord. The way I see it, you have two choices. You put down the detonator, and I’ll take you to see Kenzie. Or we can see which one of us is faster, but I guarantee you that it’s me.”

Looking well and truly cornered, Serena’s eyes swept from the detonator, to the oven, to Mirabilis, then back to the detonator. Hands shaking, she slowly placed the detonator on the counter, and collapsed into a ball of tears. Rushing forward, Mirabilis caught the girl before she hit the ground, wrapping her in her vines and holding her close, shushing her soothingly. “It’s okay, dear,” she whispered. “You made the right choice. I promise.” Half expecting Serena to thrash and squirm, Mirabilis kept her grip relatively loose. Perhaps she was simply too overwhelmed and exhausted to resist, perhaps her need for comfort trumped her distaste for the affini, but Serena simply went limp in her arms. “That’s it,” Mirabilis soothed. “That’s a good girl, you were so brave. I’m so proud of you.” Unable to contain her relief, Mirabilis’ whole body shuddered right along with Serena's. On shaky legs, Mirabilis stood, bringing Serena up with her. She tilted the girl’s face up to look into her eyes, catching a mix of fear, exhaustion, desperation and, beneath it all, hope. “I’ll take you to see Kenzie now. She’s missed you dearly.”

Chapter 5

Put lightly, the only thing which had exploded, was Serena’s plan. At bare minimum she had to give herself some credit, it had almost worked. She was fairly certain they had at least been considering giving her the gun before Mirabilis came in and just completely read her like a book. Now, as though her defeat wasn’t bad enough, the affini had to add humiliation into the mix. Mirabilis was… touching her. And, for some stupid reason, she felt too vulnerable to try and stop her. Everything since she’d first woken up in her cell had just been too much. Serena had fought so hard for so long, had tried and failed so many times. The emotional rollercoaster of constant fluctuation between slumps of despair and peaks of barely perceivable hope mixed with heaping helpings of delusion had worn her down to the bone. At this point despite everything she knew contrary, despite all her better instincts, despite all the pain and fear, Serena just desperately hoped everything the affini had told her was true.

They had defeated her, completely. From their impervious vines, to their incalculable numbers, to their unwavering dedication to the cause of selling her the story that both she, and Kenzie, were safe under their care. And now, Serena just couldn’t fight anymore. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, she obviously still cared about Kenzie’s safety. But, at this point, what choice did she have but to just trust them and hope she wasn't being duped? If nothing else, it was easier that way, and Mirabilis had been kind to her so far. Maybe they weren’t lying. Maybe everything really was going to be okay. And, if they weren’t, Serena could take some solace in the fact that whatever came of her, it wasn’t her fault. She’d done everything she could; she’d done well. She’d still lost. It wasn’t poor planning, or lack of determination. It wasn’t a run of bad luck. The truth was, the whole thing was rigged from the start.

And now, being escorted through the garish and luxurious streets of the Baiera, taking in the sights and sounds of affini opulence, Serena finally understood: it had been futile, inevitable since the moment she took off in that stolen fighter. The moment she decided to try and save Kenzie, her fate had been written. Attacking the vines, attempting to negotiate with Hesperia and Ilex, the bomb threat, they were all just little speed-bumps in the Affini Compacts grand design. It was funny, she’d started out lamenting how her poorly timed return to the Tempest had seemed almost like fate making a joke at her expense. Now she understood as well as anyone, things like destiny, fate and gods just weren’t necessary when the affini were right there. And, in the face of that overwhelming power, what else could Serena do but put her faith in their purported benevolence?

All around her, Serena saw a thriving and diverse city. There were affini, of course, as well as humans, but a myriad of other Xenos she’d never even heard of. Signs of suffering and fear were nowhere to be found. Mostly, Baiera’s people just looked content as they went about their own little lives, completely unphased by the overwhelming force the Affini Compact commanded. Were they all truly just fine? With all her heart, Serena wanted to believe that were the case. Somewhere on this ship was Kenzie. Serena had to believe that when she saw her girlfriend, Kenzie would carry herself with the ease, the same contentment, the same carefree happiness which Serena could see all around the Baiera.

“Almost there,” Mirabilis called back to her, and the weight of the moment suddenly became so much more real. Serena could speculate; she could hypothesize and observe and deduce and pray all she liked. At the end of the day, none of that mattered; she was on the cusp of an honest to goodness moment of truth. Whatever she thought, whatever she hoped, ultimately didn’t matter; Serena would be brought before Kenzie, and for better or for worse, she would learn once and for all of her girlfriend’s fate. She would learn once and for all what seemed likely to be her own fate. Dark thoughts of arriving at Mirabilis’ home to discover that Kenzie had been twisted into a shell of herself flooded her mind. With great effort, Serena silenced them and focused instead on clinging to the hope that wasn’t the case.

Mirabilis rounded a corner, which gave way to a residential district dotted with hab units, little boutiques, restaurants, grocers, signs of normal, everyday life as far as the eye could see. It was like a Terran city, just scaled up in size, and far, far nicer to look at. Leading Serena down one walkway, then another, Mirabilis strolled past a row of hab units, then stopped before a door. She gently held her arm up to signal Serena. For her part, Serena’s heart was nearly exploding with nervous anticipation. She almost wanted to scream at the plant to get it over with, but this kind of seemed like a nice neighborhood, it felt rude. The nurse trailing behind Serena came to a stop as well, a few paces away. With a silent gesture, Mirabilis beckoned  Serena over. Slowly, cautiously, she approached the door, each footstep bringing her that much closer to the end.

“Are you okay, Serena? You look rather frightened,” Mirabilis sounded genuinely concerned. Then again, the affini always sounded concerned over her wellbeing, so this was hardly a new development. The only thing truly new, was that for once, Serena found herself desperately hoping that concern was genuine.

“I don’t know what I’m going to find behind that door,” Serena confessed.

To her surprise, Mirabilis just gave a warm smile. “If I had to guess? My living room,” she gave a quick chortle at her own joke, then continued. “Also, probably an old friend of mine who I asked to look after Kenzie while I was gone, as well as Kenzie herself. It’s home, our home. And...” she trailed off, her eyes shifting away for a moment as her leaves stood on end and her hands gently fidgeted with her dress. After a moment, she straightened herself out, and returned her gaze to Serena. “And um, if you’d allow me to hope for a moment, what also might one day become your home, too.”

In the wake of Mirabilis’ display, Serena had to ask herself one question: would a sadistic alien plant monster ever actually say something that corny? She took a breath, “she’s… she’s really in there?”

“Unless I have the wrong house,” Mirabilis winked. Her face grew a bit more serious, but not grave by any sense. “You should know ahead of time, she isn’t exactly the most lucid right now. Like I said, she’s recovering from surgery, and is coming back up from her medication. But I swear to you, little human, everything I’ve done to her, she’s asked for.”

With everything she could muster, Serena wanted to believe that. She wanted it so bad, wanted Kenzie to be okay, wanted herself to be okay. What if it was a lie, though? What if this was the end. What if Kenzie really had been turned into some kind of lobotomized human pillow or mindless worker husk? Worrying about wouldn’t change the inevitable, though. Serena tried and failed to center herself, failed, but took another step toward the door anyway. The mere act of bringing herself that much closer to the end caused something in Serena to snap; she flinched, staggering backward and hyperventilating and oh, she was freaking out.

Seeing the state she was in, Mirabilis crossed the distance between them in a single step. She looked down at Serena, and hesitated for a moment, then spoke. “I can… I can give you something to help calm you down, if you want.”

“What would you do if I told you no?” Serena choked between desperate, gasping breaths.

“Then I wouldn’t dose you, so long as you continue to behave. If you were to start posing a threat to yourself, or to Kenzie, I would have no choice.” That was a good enough answer, Serena supposed.

Weighing her options, Serena realized she really had nothing to lose anymore. If the affini were going to hurt her, she couldn’t stop them. So what was the point in fighting it? “I don’t want to be afraid,” she admitted.

“Of course,” Mirabilis smiled, and tenderly grasped Serena’s arm. Before she could so much as tense up, the needle had already slid in, and a cool, relaxing feeling was spreading all through her body. She felt heavy, but good. Everything would be okay. Serena looked up at Mirabilis, and smiled. Mirabilis smiled back, and withdrew her arm. Serena took a step forward, and stumbled, falling forward only to be caught under the arms by Mirabilis. The second her vines made contact with the bare skin on Serena’s arm, delightful sensations played upon her senese. She gasped in pleasure, letting out a low moan, and went limp. Dimly, she was aware of Mirabilis going rigid, and humming to herself in confusion. She said… something, but Serena didn’t catch it. Then she said something else, something about dirt? A moment later, the door to the hab unit slid open, revealing a dimly lit living room occupied by a new, very mossy looking affini, lounging on a sofa and reading a book.

The sound caught the new affini’s attention, and she stood, then addressed Mirabilis. “Wait… is that?”

“It’s her,” Mirabilis explained. Serena was hearing, but not parsing.

“Is she alright?” The affini asked.

“Perhaps a little too alright.” Mirabilis winced. “I gave her something to relax, and may or may not have forgotten this was her first ever dose of affini medication outside whatever they gave her immediately following the crash. I also sort of maybe was just so relieved she even trusted me enough to take the drugs that I kind of forgot to actually pay attention to how much I was giving her.”

“Ah, so she’s stoned out of her board,” the stranger concluded.

“Out of her gourd.” Mirabilis corrected.

At that, the moss lady just shrugged. “Tomato tomato,” she said, pronouncing both words the same way.

Sighing, Miribils changed the subject, “is Kenzie in the bedroom?”

“Yep, I’ve got her wrapped up in a few vines, but I’m sure she would delight in your attention. And in your newest acquisition.” The two shared a smile, and the mossy affini stood, then excused herself.

For her part, Serena was mostly just happy to be there. She was having a pretty great time staring blankly at the opposite wall and thinking about how good the drugs she was on felt. Every once in a while, Mirabilis would brush one of her vines against Serena’s skin, and scatter her thoughts in every direction as she erupted in pleasure. Then, slowly she’d piece herself back together and remember where she was and what she was doing and how she was going to get to see Kenzie soon just in time for another gentle caress to bring her to her knees. She found herself being bid to move, so she did, idly wondering where she was going. Mirabilis opened the door into the next room. It was around then that this cool painting of some kind of big and weird long-faced dog with hooves caught Serena’s eye and as she started staring at it instead of watching where she was going, causing Serena to walk head first into the wall. She fell backward in a fit of giggles at her own obliviousness, then started staring at the cool fucked up dog painting again.

Mirabilis gasped and picked Serena up, then deposited her back onto her feet, then guided her through the doorway. When Serena’s gaze continued to tilt ever backward toward the livingroom, she gently grasped the girl’s head, and turned her gaze to the bed. For a few moments, Serena stood still, idly looking at the figure in the bed. The room was fairly dimly lit, much like the rest of Mirabilis’ hab unit, so making out faces in the dark was difficult. Then, Serena remembered why she was here in the first place, and recognition dawned on her, followed shortly by a pure, unmitigated delight which she couldn’t have even put to words if her brain was working properly. Kenzie was sitting up on the bed, dazed and glassy eyed. She wore a peaceful smile on her face that only grew wider when she recognized her Mistress’ silhouette in the doorway. Gently, Mirabilis shooed Serena forward, and, as the dim light caught her face, Kenzie gasped aloud.

Lucidity returned to the girl's face as smile brightened and her pupils focused. “Serena!” She shrieked.

“Keennzieee,” Serena slurred. With a bit of assistance from Mirabilis, Serena stumbled forward, and collapsed onto the bed and into her girlfriend’s lap. A moment later, Serena was pulled into the tightest hug she’d ever gotten. At least the tightest hug she’d ever remembered getting. If one were to test Serena’s memory at the time, however, it would have come up pretty lacking, however. Either way, it was a good hug, a tight hug. One with lots of tears and incoherent babbling from both parties, Kenzie because she was completely overcome with emotion, and Serena because she was completely overcome with xenodrugs. That wasn’t to say Kenzie wasn’t still high, she was just used to it.

“I can’t believe it, it’s really you! You’re okay. I’ve been so worried about you. I’ve missed you so much. Mistress you… you really found her! Thank you so much, I can hardly—” Kenzie kept going for a while, much longer than Serena could track. Her attention span and entire sense of awareness were being absolutely obliterated by the feeling of Kenize hugging and stroking and kissing her everywhere. Instead, Serena just nuzzled into her girlfriend’s lap, and let the drug high do it’s work as she slipped in and out of awareness, feeling safe and content the whole time. Eventually, the initial shock and excitement began to wear off, and Kenzie started to slow down as her own drug dosage began to slip back over her mind.

Her own lucidity beginning to ebb, Kenzie’s caresses began to slow, along with her words. She began to speak in disjointed, stream of conscious non-sequiturs, mostly little declarations of love and relief, or random stories from their time apart, or memories they shared which would come to her. Serena was distantly aware of it all, Kenzie’s words slipping in, out and through her mind at their own pace. Sometimes she even responded with barely coherent anecdotes of her own. Slowly, the physical and mental exhaustion, combined with the not-insignificant doses of sedatives, took them away from consciousness. The last thing Serena remembered before sleep took her, was staring blankly into Kenzie’s pretty, glassy eyes as her mind worked in overdrive to think about how pretty she was, how happy Serena was to have her, how lucky she was that everything turned out okay.