Captain Smalls eyed the holo-wizard, rubbing a hand along his bald scalp thoughtfully.  He'd talked to this MerLN entity before (travel through the Wyrmgates means you pretty much have to), but never... In person?  He wasn't even sure that was the right way to say it.

Reading people had always been easy, but this projection...  It was almost like people... But not quite.  Kinda uncanny.  Hard to read.

Smalls continued to eye MerLN, trying to read him...it?...they? anyway, "More of that secret stuff Ser Brun was working on then." Not a question.  He continued, "Look me in the eye and tell me how dangerous this might be and how important Ser Brun thought it was?"

Meara did not know why, but somehow, when Mimi was around, she could always feel something... positive.  Just a little bit.  It was usually buried beneath everything else, especially that sense of loss that hung over her ever since the pyrrhic victory.

Mimi definitely understood that everyone was sad and seemed determined to cheer them up.  Especially Meara.

When she fully recovered, Meara would be sure to tell Mimi how much that helped.

It wasn't as if Irina wasn't putting in just as much, if not more, effort into raising Meara's spirits up, but it had to be exhausting just keeping Meara going for that first week.

Still, such a question from Mimi needed an answer.  Meara thought for a moment.  Becoming stars to protect them.  It was very poetic.  She wondered which star was Brun, which was Euryleia, and which was her beloved uncle.  It brought a tiny smile to her otherwise expressionless face, and she managed to give Mimi a simple reply.

"Not yet.  Not for a long time, no matter how much it hurts," she finally replied.

---

Captain Smalls received a handwritten letter addressed to him personally, on paper no less, sealed with the wax stamped with the crest of House Chonaill.  With all the rationing, not just of food, but of all other resources as well, even the highest levels of nobility had to restrict themselves on Avaluna, so this was a show of how important the message was.  The writing was distinctly Meara's, and the letter was one of thanks for all he and his crew had done, and continued to do, for Brun and Euryleia.  It extended the very same offer he and his crew had made to her in regards to mourning and also her pride and admiration in their resolve and assistance throughout all that was going on, especially with herself and her cousin.

The letter continued on, occasionally stained with tears, with Meara stating that, while she needed to help and support her aunt, she also still believed in the King's dream, and hoped that the Thames and her crew would assist.  Should the royal court of Avaluna not be able to provide funds for such expeditions, she would pay for them herself, reputation be damned.

It closed with a vow to always be there for the ship and her crew, past, current, and future - they need only ask and she would do what she could for them, as it was only right to do so for anyone who considered her family.

There was also a small slip of paper that was printed and not handwritten.  On it was account information for funds for the Thames to spend however it wished.  To House Chonaill, it was not a large sum, not enough to get Meara in trouble with her mother (although perhaps an eyebrow would be raised), but it would definitely be a welcome boost to the Thames' funds.

---

Now that she was, at least in some small part, back on her feet, Meara gave Irina a thankful, loving kiss, told her what she wanted to do to thank Captain Smalls and his crew, then asked her about her cousin, discovering his new (and understandable) obsession.  As she could not assist in that right now, she instead requested a meeting with Queen Valerie on the subject of how she can assist her aunt the most at the immediate moment.

09:37, Today: Meara rolled 0 using 4 Fudge dice with rolls of 1, 0, 0, -1.  Household +4.
Giving the Thames the advantage "Discretionary Funding" with one free invoke

The response to the letter does not come quick.  Meara might worry she had insulted them somehow with the offer, if she didn't have do much else to consider...

But it finally did come.  In the form of a young man (just a bit younger than Meara really) who bore a certain resemblance to the Captain, from the few times Meara might have seen him.  The young man looked like he spent quite a bit of time cleaning up to be a presentable messenger.  His shipsuit was relatively spotless, THAMES written boldly across the back.  The Stjernevold black and silver on his shoulders.  Name tag said "Bibi".  He'd wait patiently near her quarters till an opportunity presented itself to catch her.

"Lady Meara!" Bibi called as he jogged over.  He offered a package with what he hoped was a pretty good bow, "Dad... Er...  Captain Smalls says to thank you for your offer, ma'am, and to give you this." Once the package was accepted, "So, thanks.  Captain says you are to be treated as crew and crew gets this.  Also that you should, if you want, join us for dinner, ma'am.  And to bring the missus."

The package, when opened, is a simple ship-jacket.  Durable, relatively cheap and common.  Bold THAMES across the back.  The left shoulder has the black and silver Stjernevold patch.  The right has a very good, handmade attempt at a House Chonaill patch.

There were times when Gwydion wasn't anywhere to be found, and those were the times he'd taken up the captain on his offer. For brief periods, Prince Gwydion was simply another member of the crew, on scavenging missions to the Mars battlefield where Ember-Rend had been obliterated, along with all sense of peace in the solar system. He wasn't there just to search for Arthur's body or any signs of his friends' remains, but to collect samples of the dragon for use in his experiments. The Emergent form was special. It was powerful. It was the key to restoring his family, of that he was sure. Naturally, Gwydion also gathered mundane scrap for the ship and crew, almost as payment for their continued service. He wouldn't come across as simply using them to further his ends. They loved Brun just as much as he did, and they deserved to have their efforts aided in whatever ways Gwydion could manage without bringing down political hell upon them.

Back home, when he smiled at Iliza, it was almost like he was smiling through her at some vision she was part of, but that wasn't in the here and now.

MerLN looked Captain Smalls in the eye, "Imagine the worst and then hope it is not so bad as that. Truthfully, you could very well find nothing at all. What I can say for certain is that I worked on this matter extensively alongside Sir Brun and I know he considered it to be extremely important. The outcome could have lasting benefit for the Kingdom, something we could definitely use during these dark times. The choice is yours, of course, Captain Smalls."

---

"Oh, I like that," Irina said appreciatively as Meara held up the coat she had received from the crew of the Thames.

When Meara told her about the dinner invitation, Irina burst into tears. She rubbed at her eyes as if to force away the emotion, but that only seemed to make her cry harder, "The last time we...when we...it was the last..."

---

Irina thought for a long time before she answered her fiancée's question about the Prince, "I don't know. He won't actually say it, but I think he has in mind to use information from the phenomenon we encountered on Earth to change what happened. The idea of that I understand. I just don't know if such a thing is possible. Moreover, he isn't himself. Not that anyone is after what happened, but...I don't recognize him. It's like he is a different person. My sister has noticed it too, I think. But she won't talk about it either. I don't, for a second, believe those awful rumors, but I am not sure if I still know Prince Gwydion either. Have you tried talking to him? You have known one another your whole lives, maybe he'll talk to you? Maybe you can help?"

---

Meara's request to the Queen went unanswered. To say that this was unusual was an understatement. Queen Valerie was meticulous about protocol, decorum, and duty. At the very least, she should have received a polite reply declining her request. Instead, there was nothing. What should she do?

---

Gwydion studied everything. Every scrap. Every mote of dust. Every reading. Everything that was there. Everything that wasn't.

Some things perplexed him. He could find remnants of Calibur-N, of Euryleia, but not what one expected to find. If they had been destroyed there should have been trace particles from their reactors. Each armour's reactor had a distinct signature and while armours did make use of ECM, and Brun especially had been an expert at it, a destroyed armour would have no way of masking it's distinctive signature if one could detect the particles before they decayed. But none of his samples showed signs of either armour.

What they did show was trace elements of Wyrmgate particles. MerLN had argued that such data was to be expected. The host of Avaluna had sallied forth from the Red Wyrmgate to do battle with the Dragon. Their armours would all have been saturated with the tell-tale signs of Wyrmgate travel. But Gwydion believed that there must be more to it than that...there had to be...he just had to keep studying the data...

What time was it? Didn't he have something to do? Iliza's birthday! Yes, that was...yesterday. She would...surely she would understand.

Captain Smalls didn't respond for a beat after MerLN gave his answer.  That answer wasn't exactly helpful.  Or reassuring.  Shit.  "Yeah," he agreed finally and firmly, ""We'll have someone there at that time.  If you want anything specific looked for, log it and send it to my personal dropfile.  We'll ping you if we catch anything..." Smalls trailed off not having a good description, so he just rolled his shoulders as he turned away, "Anything...secret"

---

The crew wasn't happy to hear they were to get the ship unloaded and resupplied to head back through the gate as soon as possible.  They'd just arrived and much of the crew were beginning to get attached to having a home port like Avaluna.  It didn't help that Captain Smalls couldn't give them any good details about what they were heading back out for.  MerLN hadn't demanded secrecy, but when a holographic wizard asks you for a favor full of questions, you assume it's meant to be kept quiet.

When the seniors gathered to report on how long they'd need to get Thames ready again, no one asked for more details.  But Smalls knew by the looks in their faces they were waiting.   For them, he layed out what he knew and his plan for getting it done.  Nobody disagreed once it was clear that it was more of the Knight's work.  They'd all voted to carry that for a while longer yet.

There was a strain though.  So many changes to their home since Callisto.  New faces.  Hell, they were almost an armed warship now.  A long way from the original agreement to escape the Wreck.

They were still flying though.  Without the Knight and the Lady, they'd have ended at Callisto.  That kept everybody buying in.  For now.

After the discussions, the seniors headed out to get their sections in order.  Esme, his wife and Environmental Lead, stopped on her way to give him a kiss and a look that said they'd talk later.  Not a question.

His sister, Beth, was rougher.  She shoved him suddenly against the bulkhead with a firm hand and said quietly, "I'm flying that shuttle out.  You're a shit pilot and you know it.  Something goes wrong, I can get back.  Not losing you just because you don't want to ask someone else to run risks.". She patted him on the cheek and turned to head off, "That's what these knights do.  We gotta be more practical.  Dumbass."

Rupert grinned and rubbed his cheek like she'd punched him, "Love you too, Bet."
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:58, Mon 18 Dec 2023.

Meara cried with Irina when her fiancee broke down at the news of the dinner invitation.  She genuinely felt the same way.  The two of them had a good, long cry.

---

At the suggestion that she speak to her cousin, Meara nodded.  "I definitely should, but without knowing what has been going on, I would not know where to start.  I hope he at least remembered Liza's birthday.  I think I had a simple gift of flowers prepared ahead of time to deliver to her, and with everything going on, I am sure she would not want to make a big deal out of it, but even with all of this going on, I am sure it would mean a great deal to her if he at least let her know he remembered."

It was then that she had a thought, and after sharing it with Irina, Meara contacted the Scathach for an update about the Thames.  Specifically if it looked like they were planning on staying around longer or if it looked like they might be heading out soon.

---

Without sending any prior word, Meara and Irina showed up at the dock and gave the workers performing the final outward checks on the Thames a smile before casually making their way through the airlock.

At least, Meara was doing it casually.

In her hands were a pair of duffel bags, and she wasn't wearing her usual outfit.  In fact, the both of them were dressed like civilians - Irina in her shop clothes and Meara in simple but flattering jumpsuit with the jacket she received with the name of the ship emblazoned on the back on over it.  She was not carrying her usual sword, either.

The back of Irina's coveralls had "T H A N E S" with the E backwards written on it in marker.  Mimi was with them in spirit.

Once they got onto the Thames proper, Meara finally spoke.  "Surely you are not leaving on some secret mission related to our friends without us, are you?" she asked with a big grin, "Engineer Irina and Crewwoman Meara, reporting for duty!"

"Happy birthday, Iliza." Gwydion had gone to see his lady with a gentle smile and a bouquet of flowers, 15 thornless red roses. He'd considered adding other flowers at first, but didn't want to dilute the messages: love at first sight, and I'm sorry. "I haven't been here for you as I should have, but I'm here now." It still looked like he hadn't really slept recently. It did look like he was genuinely present, though, his tired eyes focused on her rather than through her. "Would you like to go for a walk with me? It's been some time since we took in the beautiful views of our home."

Gwydion could see that he wasn't the only one who had thought of a gift of flowers. A large arrangement from Meara & Irina sat nearby. Despite its size, Gwydion could tell that the display was a show of restraint compared to his cousin's usual tastes.

"No," Iliza said as she hugged Gwydion tightly. "I just want you to talk to me. I told you, my love, your burdens are not yours to bear alone."

---

As Meara and Irina made their way to Thames docking berth, they passed by the armour bay that had once been given over to the use of Brun and Euryleia. In the recent weeks it had become a shrine, chapel, and community center even more than it had been before.

Once aboard the Thames, Irina and Meara were quickly put to work.

Kinsey was happy for the help and more than a bit impressed with Irina's technical ability. Irina was already diagramming a more efficient power conduit layout within half an hour.

Meara found the gunnery deck well-ordered under Clegg though his gunners struggled with military discipline and still getting used to their new equipment.

Thames was underway in short order and arrived at the Martian Wyrmgate ahead of schedule. The concentration of Martian patrols was particularly high. It was clear that the Dragon's assault had done considerable damage and L4-NC3-L07's knights were determined to prevent a repeat of the event. If this mission was to be a secret, it might be hard to hide it from so many eyes.

Beth, at the Pilot's station, reported, "Gate traffic zone clear.  You got that plot for me, Orson?" She seemed as unconcerned about the Martian patrols as ever.

Orson was occupied with tagging each contact on his scanners and becoming more concerned.  There was a lot of armament out there.  He was getting very tired of being under guns...  At Beth's question, the older man shifted his attention to his navigation screens.  A few final adjustments, then he shifted it over to Beth, "Yeah.  There you go....".  He looked back to his scanners again, but continued speaking, "We're not doing anything these fellas would get mad at, right?"

Rupert had already answered this question and, normally, didn't like repeating himself.  But, for Orson, he didn't mind.  He deserved patience.  The Captain gave a firm nod, "We're just doing what we usually do.  Just have a specific place and time to be this run.  We're good.  Transmit our usual greetings and current flight plan.". He added, towards the pilot's station, "Once they give the okay...."

"I am free to burn.  One-G push.  Nice and gentle.  /Just like usual/," finished Beth without looking up from her station.

Rupert grinned and sipped his kaf, "Just like usual." MerLN didn't say anything about hiding anything and he wasn't about to act shady with all these jumpy knights looking for reasons.  Thames was nobodies enemy right now and he aimed to keep it that way.

It hadn't taken long for Meara and Irina to figure out what the Thames was doing.  Having had all the prior meetings with Brun and MerLN about the G.R.A.I.L., as well as the rough timing, the duo silently confirmed with each other that this was definitely G.R.A.I.L. related, and Irina sussed out that it was probably MerLN who had asked the favor.  As such, the two of them had requested to be present on whatever expedition was heading out - Meara explained that it was a joint venture that Brun had been working on with her, Irina, Iliza, Gwydion, and the King and Queen, so unless he had more specifics, she didn't feel comfortable telling him just yet.

But they were determined to finish the job they had started together.  They just wish the others could be here with them.

This did not, however, stop them from helping out on the ship.  Meara, for her part, channeled her Inner Freyr to assist with building up discipline and also explaining why it was important to have that level of responsiveness, since in combat, any hesitation or delay could mean the lives of many.

Of course, Meara being Meara, she also joked around with everyone, so it was a toss-up whether she was ultimately helping the process or not.

She just had to stay strong until they got back.

He'd been leaving her alone too much. In the dark. It wasn't right. Iliza had been so open with him, and so supportive, she deserved better. Gwydion's smile wavered, and it looked like so much of his exhaustion was readying to catch up with him. He got comfortable with her, held her hand, and let her in.

"Everyone's hurting. We've lost so much with just that one battle. When Callisto fell, things seemed hopeless except for the chance that we could integrate the people here on Avaluna. It felt like moving forward, but all those people who couldn't come with us... it hurt. Now we've lost Uncle John, King Arthur. We've lost Mars. Brun and Euryleia are gone, even on the same day we discovered that she was alive. There are a lot of people saying this is the end of the dream of Avaluna. They say it's all over. It hurts. But with all we've seen, I think maybe there's a chance to fix it. We experienced a form of time travel on Earth, and on Callisto, with Dr Locke's ghost. Brun really was on that shuttle as it took off decades ago, it was real, tangible. I know it's a long shot, maybe even impossible, but I want to try and use that phenomenon to bring Uncle John back. And maybe Brun and Euryleia, and others we've lost if it works. I... I just miss him so much."

Iliza listened while Gwydion spoke, gently squeezing his hands with her own.

"It's so frightening just how suddenly everything can change..." Iliza commiserated. "I know. I know how badly it hurts," she pressed herself closer to him. "But your Uncle's dream need not end here. You are the Prince of Avaluna. It can be your dream too. You can safeguard it. Lead it forward into the future. You, perhaps more than any one, embody the ideals of Avaluna."

Iliza listened as Gwydion told her of his theory to undue all the woe that had been done. "Do you really believe that such a thing is possible," Iliza asked. "It seems impossible, but...but if you believe it can be done, then I will support you however I am able. Just...just don't push me away. My place is at your side and in your heart. Always."

---

Captain Smalls wouldn't allow the Venusian Princess aboard the shuttle given the unknown risk and the potential fallout if something were to go wrong. He did, however, consent to Lady Irina being aboard the shuttle as a passenger given her technical expertise. If there were something out there to find, she had the best chance of spotting it. Wigglesworth would accompany her.

Given leave to conduct operations, the Thames went about its mission. It found little salvage. What there had been to find had been reclaimed for the rebuilding effort or collected by licensed scavengers.

As the appointed hour approached, Beth and Irina deployed in the shuttle.

"Twenty Kilometers to target coordinates. Anything," the pilot asked.

"Negative. Nothing. Just dust," Irina replied.

As the minutes wore on the tension ratcheted up both on the bridge and in the shuttle. Irina ran scan after scan using both the shuttles onboard sensors and Wigglesworth's full-spectrum scans.

Nothing.

T-minus five minutes.

Nothing.

T-minus two minutes.

Nothing.

T-minus one minute.

Nothing.

T-minus thirty seconds.

Nothing.

T-minus ten seconds.

Nothing.

T-minus five seconds.

Nothing.

Mark.

T-plus one minute.

Nothing.

T-plus two minutes.

Irina slammed her fists on the console in frustration. Once, then again.

"You break it, you buy it," Bet said in an even tone.

"I don't know why I am so upset," Irina sighed, disappointment clear in her voice. "Given how little we understand it was foolish to think we would find anything at all."

"Hope is never foolish, Lady Irina." said a voice behind her.

Irina turned to find Euryleia and Brun buckled into the shuttle's jump seats. The shuttle didn't have a holo-emitter.

---

Oblivion turned out to be a good deal more turbulent than Sir Brun had imagined. He was struggling against a current that was pulling him in all directions at once. He felt that he was being pulled inside out or outside in or both at once.  He tumbled through a hundred moments at once. He saw an armour engulfed in flame. He saw Gwydion, older, the weight of responsibility heavy on his countenance. He saw Meara, older still, hair in looped braids, a coronet upon her brow, fierce and defiant in the face of overwhelming odds. He saw Euryleia, countless thousands standing before her, hands outstretched, reaching, reaching...

He felt Euryleia's arms locked tightly around him, pulling him from the depths and toward the surface of...

Compassion, Equality, Valor. These are our watchwords. From the time you take the Oath until your dying breath, these are your burden. There is no rest. No respite. From now until the end of your days will you labor in service to the people of this realm.

The voice seemed to be everywhere at once.

Do you know what unites the three, Sir Brun, the voice asked.

Brun's eyes opened and Euryleia smiled at him as tears of joy fell from her eyes.

Brun opened his eyes to see Euryleia's face and he smiled brilliantly, "Love....". He reached out to brush a tear from her cheek and she leaned into his hand.  He seemed confused and concerned at that, "Why are you crying again? I don't think the King means it strictly literally. "

Euryleia's smile saddened a bit at those words.  She patted his hand gently, "I am sorry, My Knight.  I don't know what came over me". She then looked over to Beth and Irina, "Thank you for waiting.  Is Thames close by?"

---

Captain Smalls stared at the shuttle's interior feed along with everyone else on the bridge.  He calmly took a sip of kaf, then asked, still trying to project calm,"What the fuck?

At first, Meara had seemed just fine when she saw Irina off to the shuttle.

By the time she had reached the bridge, however, she had already started to worry.

After a few minutes, she started to pace.

After a few more, she looked like a nervous wreck, constantly glancing at the video feed to the shuttle, then the view of the outside of the ship, then back at the video feed, as if constantly looking for threats and expecting something bad to happen.

She was seconds away from running to the airlock to try and jump out with nothing but an exo-suit and hope her aim was true when it happened.

Staring at the video feed, the princess was frozen in place, her mouth trying to form words.

After the captain made his incredibly suitable remark to describe the situation, she spoke as well, in a low, desperate, disbelieving, but slightly hopeful tone in her cracking voice.

"... This... this is not an illusion?  Did they... return to us?"

With her support and compassion, relief washed over the prince's face and tension sloughed off from his body. Gwydion smiled to Iliza and pulled her close.

"Impossible or not, we have to try. I love you, Iliza. You're always... so wonderful..." The last of his strength left him in the comfort of his beloved's arms. Who could know when was the last time he'd allowed himself any rest?

Brun and Euryleia were very real indeed. Euryleia was somehow solid and both appeared physically unharmed, though Brun was clearly disoriented. The shuttle made its way back to Thames without incident where everyone aboard was reunited.

---

Rest would have to wait.

Gwydion received a summons from Queen Valerie requesting his presence. He has seen little of her in recent weeks.

The Queen was dressed in black with a veil which covered her face. She did not turn to receive the prince when he entered. She kept her gaze focused out the window.

"Prince Gwydion. Thank you for coming. It is time we discuss the security of the realm. Much has changed. You understand this as well as anyone. What the King built was fragile. The realm began to fragment even before we could truly acknowledge that he was taken from us. Even together we are vulnerable. But apart we have no chance. For Humanity to survive, we must safeguard the realm. To that end, you will be wed to Princess Meara of Chonaill. She will be named my heir and together you will secure the unity and legacy that John and I could not."

When the four arrived back on the Thames, Meara ran to the shuttle bay to give Irina a huge hug, picking up the other woman and spinning her around.  Meara looked a bit of a mess due to her worry.  After spinning Irina and giving her some kisses, Meara looked over at Euryleia and Brun with a very hesitant hope, as if afraid their existence was a lie.  She slowly let go of Irina and walked over to them, then started walking around them, still full of disbelief.

Then she very blatantly stared at Brun's butt, leaned in, narrowed her eyes, then got very, very excited.

Standing back up straight, she exclaimed, "It IS you!  Oh my goddess, I can barely believe it!"

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed again.  "You missed Liza's birthday."

There was a brief silence as the command parsed through Gwydion's weary mind, working its way across the rest of the information he'd filled his head with. The lines of fourth-dimensional movement could cut between disconnected points, Iliza's face was so pretty when she looked at him, Brun's heroism was needed to bring back Mars into the unity, Uncle John would think Gwydion and Meara a cute couple to be sure, what?

"What? Meara? But she's marrying Irina. And I'm marrying Iliza. I don't now if they'd be alright with my marrying both. Though it would let me keep a close eye on them. What about Mars? I'm certainly not wedding L4-NC3-L07 after what he said of you. I'll have to kill him first. Maybe I can bring him back after that and it will be fine, but we don't really have much rapport..." Gwydion's confusion turned into a slow ramble. He hadn't mentioned anything about bringing back the dead to his aunt before, but then he also hadn't mentioned anything about marrying multiple people.

During the gathering of the Host and the flight out to the Red Gate to face Ember Rend, Brun had made the time to introduce the senior crew to Euryleia.  Taking as many as could fit into the cockpit at a time so they could actually see and speak with the impossible intelligence within the Armour.  They had questions of course and Brun wanted to answer...but time was short....  He impressed upon them the need for secrecy outside of Thames, by the King's command.  But that there would be no more secrets kept from the crew, per their traditions, and he asked their forgiveness for hiding her from them in the first place.  They would discuss it more after the battle.

There would be time.

But there wasn't.  Their Knight and his impossible Lady had died destroying the king-slaying dragon to save them....everyone... Again.

They had kept the secret anyway.  Who'd believe them?

Now the senior crew in the bridge stared at a live vid feed of a shuttle carrying their fallen Knight and his Lady back to the ship again.  They didn't have the words.  They had some words.  Most were similar to the Captain's.

---

The shuttle ride back to Thames was quietly tense.  Beth didn't really know what to make of this. But since there didn't seem to be any immediate danger, she concentrated on her piloting and communicating their approach back to the ship.  Like this was any other routine trip.  Yep.

If Irina asked anything, Euryleia did the answering.  Her answers were mostly unhelpful and short.  She did her best to remain polite, but give the impression that she needed a bit...but would try to explain more.  Later.  Now, she needed, wanted,  to focus on her Knight.  Who did not seem wholly himself...

Brun alternated rapidly through various states and expressions.  As someone in shock might do as they tried to sort through what happened.  At one point, he did suddenly focus on Irina.  He smiled in a friendly fashion, checking his wrist as though there was a chrono there, "At least we get to walk around, eh?  A little more exciting than just watching an upload progress bar..." Then he spotted Wigglesworth in the shuttle and his smile faded.  Brun became very concerned, "Wait... No...  Meara and Iliza were supposed to be with the drone...  What happened to them..."

Euryleia reached over and took Brun's chin gently, redirecting his eyes to her, "They are fine.  You haven't gone exploring yet.  See?". She let go his chin and he looked around again.  The tension melted away and the moment passed.

Before Irina could ask, Euryleia just shook her head, with apology.

---

Euryleia stepped out of the ship after they docked, gently guiding Brun.  His look was far away.  The shuttle dock was crowded with the Captain, senior crew, and as many others as could have managed to get there.

As Meara rushed past to hug Irina, the movement seemed to catch Brun's attention.  He looked confused at first, trying to piece something together.  When Meara began circling the pair, his expression settled into a curiously amused smile.  When she focused on his butt, he adjusted ever so slightly to make the view better.  His smile grew at her response to it.

Letting go of Euryleia's hand, Brun stepped closer to Meara.... uncomfortably close.  He looked at the princess in a way she had never seen him look at her before.  His hand went towards her waist, inviting her closer, "Oh, I'm sorry...  But I promise to be the very best present to make up for it...". He leaned in to whisper, casting eyes over to Irina, "I won't even charge extra if you want to join us..."

Euryleia's eyes widened in surprise, shock, and such apology.  She started to try and pull him back, but it all happened so quick...
This message was last edited by the player at 15:11, Fri 22 Dec 2023.

Meara had no idea what to expect, but out of all the things not to expect, that was near the top of the list.  She had found Brun rather handsome, yes, and Euryleia was definitely beautiful, but aside from teasing Irina, she hadn't given much actual thought beyond idle fantasies unrelated to her actual feelings to such an idea.  As such, the Princess of Chonaill, heir to a duchy, and, unknown to her at the time, soon to be formally heir to the throne of Venus herself, looked into the eyes of the Lord of House Stjernevold, met his gaze...

And nearly bluescreened.

"Eh?  Eh?  Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh?!"

While the rest of her was trying to figure out what was going on, her ovaries were doing a little happy dance.  They never cooperated to begin with, so why would they start now?

Irina's face turned a brilliant shade of crimson as she covered her mouth with both hands.  Part of her wanted to jump forward and force herself between the Brun and Meara to push them apart.  Another part of her wanted to jump forward and force herself between them for other reasons.  She was shocked at the second part, but, being ever curious, was also intrigued.  Did she like men that way?  Her current fantasies said yes, at least for this one.  Pressed between Meara, Brun, and Euryleia-

Meanwhile, the other part of her was getting increasingly jealous, and she pictured herself pulling Meara away and giving Brun a very possessive glare while holding her darling princess.

Of course, all of this was in her head, and try as she might, the only reaction she could provide was a simple, "Meep."

When Meara looked up into those eyes, despite distractions, she could see something was....wrong.  His pupils seemed to fluctuate, like he was trying to focus but unable to settle.  His eyes flicked back and forth, just a little; only noticable because of the intimate distance.

Brun did, in fact, pull Meara close as she did not seem to be against the idea.  He seemed very pleased at the effect he was having on the pair.  He reached out, crooking a finger in a come-hither fashion towards Irina....

Then Euryleia finally stepped in.  She gently took his outstretched hand and stepped into his eyeline, "Brun, I'll take them...  Boss says they need you back at the tables." Her tone is oddly light and friendly.  A coworker to another coworker.

Brun looked disappointed at the interruption, but did....slowly release Meara from his arm after one last, light squeeze, "Perhaps next time...  Duty calls.". Irina got a wink that implied far more than a wink should be capable of.  He made to saunter off, but quickly stopped....  As though he forgot where he... Um...  Wait...

Euryleia left him like that for the moment, concentrating on Meara and Irina, trying to snap them back out as well, "Yes.  He's very pretty, but I need you both to focus up for a moment."

Once she felt like she had their attention back, Euryleia turned to include the Thames crew as well.  They had been quietly watching all this, whispering to each other.  They quieted as the Lady seemed to be about to say something.  Hopefully an explanation.  Captain Smalls crossed his arms and waited.  This better be good.....

"I know you want answers," began Euryleia looking around at everyone now, "I wish I had better ones, but I will do my best.  That is the real Ser Brun.  I am the real Euryleia.  We did not die in Ember Rend, to my surprise.  Since you are all here, I hope that means the dragon was destroyed.". She paused a moment to spot the agreement with that statement, then kept going before anyone could really interrupt her report, "Good.  That's something.  Energy released in the destruction pushed us, I do not completely understand how, into a temporal subspace. From our perspective, we were there for a very, very long time.  I was eventually able to determine how to use the spacetime weak points previously discovered to break us back out.".  She says all this very matter of factly.  Laying out impossible things as simply as she could.

With attention drawn to her, those who had met the holographic version would see that she is a real, physical copy of that image.  She seemed to breath.  She blinked.  In most every way that could matter, she was very alive and real.  Her eyes could possibly be considered an unreal shade of icy-blue, but that's not a lot considering what she apparently was. Her outfit was a duplicate of Brun's flightsuit, fitted to her.  Both flightsuits seemed brand new.

Brun seemed to catch the tail end of Euryleia's report.  His brows knit as a clenched fist and jaw, "It won't be easy to get away even when we break out, my love.  Malagant will not just let us go....
This message was last edited by the player at 19:40, Fri 22 Dec 2023.

In reply to Gwydion (msg # 517):

The Queen's tone was somber and serious, "This is not a matter for levity, Prince Gwydion. The current engagements will be broken. There will be no room for others. Any dalliances would threaten the stability of the realm. The potential for claimants to the throne is too great."

The Queen still did not deign to face the young Prince.

Aunt Val's reply pulled Gwydion's focus back to her, leaving his balance to falter for a moment before he managed to put in the effort to remain standing.

"Levity? I apologize, Aunt Val, I did not mean to communicate the idea that I'm taking your command lightly. But I am indeed marrying Iliza. That is simply happening. I can marry Meara as well to protect the realm. I won't let the kingdom fall apart. I'll protect my loved ones no matter what it takes. No more losing people. If I keep them all close then nothing else can happen to them. I can prove it. Just need a little more time. Then time won't matter anymore. You'll be so happy when it happens. You'll see. He's going to be fine." Gwydion was quickly losing what lucidity he had, along with his ability to stay upright on his own. Without full control of his legs, he slumped to his knees and held himself up with his hands instead, staring at the ground while consciousness fluttered around him as though trying to decide whether or not to stay.