Chapter 4

"… and you should have seen his face when he realized his name was on the patent! Well, we do get some of the money from the sales of his precious engines, so it all worked out well in the end."

Count and Contessa Vartanian exchanged glances. The Contessa's said, let's have Clairessa contract a spontaneous illness so we can get rid of this damned woman. The Count's answered, oh, but she hasn't run to us crying yet, she must like the boy…

The Contessa crossed her legs and said smoothly, "Carmine, you mentioned earlier your son was involved in the military?"

"He's not part of the military, no, but he is working on a joint project with the Curtiss' child – the one they're fostering."

"Ah, the Balfour boy." Count Vartanian smiled. "I've never met him in person, of course, but his parents were wonderful people. Met them many times at our summer home in Keterburg. Sarah in particular, especially on sunny days – I can't really speak for Jasper, seeing as he was in and out of the hospital so often."

"Not like Davis," added the Contessa.

Lady wyon Neiss' eyes narrowed. "Well, we can't all be blessed with health," she said. Or good impulse control. "I assure you that my Saphir in no way takes after him."

"Of course, of course," said the Count in an obvious attempt to break the tension. "Well, it's been a few hours, Clair hasn't come to us with any complaints and Saphir hasn't come to you in tears, so I assume they're getting along well. Shall we go check on them?"

He rose and motioned for the two women to follow suit. After the briefest exchange of glares, they did.

***

"And you know the heir apparent? I've only met him once, there was a party that Father had to go to, but the Gardioses were there and then he came in, even though he was supposed to be in Chesedonia! Does he always do things like that?"

"Of course. When Jade and I were little he'd randomly show up at our school."

"You went to school with him?!"

Clair hadn't said much about herself, just asked about him. The initial shyness had worn off, and Saphir had proceeded to get drunk on questions and flattery and the heady smell of roses. The sound of the door opening, however, snapped him back to sobriety.

"Is – is something wrong?"

"You two were just so quiet, we wanted to make sure you hadn't killed each other!" said the Count, and laughed. Saphir laughed nervously with him. Clair didn't.

"Father, does Saphir have to go now?"

Saphir saw his mother and the Contessa exchange a venomous glance behind the Count's back. "Saphir does have to go back to the laboratory to work on the project," said Lady wyon Neiss. "Isn't that right, Saphir? I'm sure Jade needs your help."

"I – "

"But it's not late yet!" Clair burst out. "Surely he can stay another hour?"

"No," said the Contessa. "Carmine and I were talking, and we decided it would be best for Saphir to leave now. He can come visit another time."

Clair's eyes narrowed, and she turned her gaze to the ground. "Fine."

That one word held as much venom as anything Jade had ever said. Saphir thought it a testament to the strength of the Contessa – or maybe her sheer stubbornness – that she didn't flinch. "Don't act childish, Clair. You have literal years to play with him. Besides, you're almost an adult now."

"On the bright side, at least you like him!" said the Count. "Imagine how this would have gone if we'd brought you one of those filthy boys you see walking the street!"

"Mother wouldn't have let him cross the threshold. The point is moot."

The Count's smile faltered a bit. "Well. Clair, you can't keep him here forever. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?" He turned to look at Lady wyon Neiss. "I apologize, Carmine –"

"Oh, it's not a problem. Come, Saphir." His mother smiled. "You can come visit again soon."

"Tomorrow?" said Clair, looking up at Saphir.

Saphir faltered. "W-well, I took a lot of time off today, I have to make that up tomorrow working with Jade –"

"Aw. Day after?"

"O-okay."

Clair smiled her bright smile. "Yay! Thank you!"

Saphir smiled weakly back. "Okay," he said again, and stood and walked away. "Goodbye, Clair."

"Byebye, Saphir!"

***

It was only after he reached the military base that he remembered oh yes, the higher-ups were still here. Sadly, he only remembered this after the Major stepped out of the building. He tried to avoid her, but she locked eyes with him.

Jade mentally cursed before putting on the most pleasant smile he could, which under the circumstances made him look like he'd rather tear the Major's throat out than hold a conversation. "Oh, hello."

"Hello again, Jade." Major Katarina Curtiss' smile wasn't much more sincere, but at least it looked more practiced. "I really am sorry for what happened. I know this project was very important to you."

"Oh, that's all right," Jade said with a wave of his hand and his smile dropping a few notches in the sincerity department. "After all, the world needs war machines much more than it needs a way to heal, reconstruct, perhaps even bring back the unjustly killed. I completely understand."

The Major's smile vanished completely. "Sergeant Curtiss, if you acted this way under my command you would be turned out."

"Bit too late for that, isn't it? The adoption papers are legally binding," Jade said, noting with a sort of disturbing satisfaction the shift from Jade to Sergeant Curtiss.

"You understand the state of international affairs," continued the Major with no sign that she'd heard Jade. "And you understand the Score. It is very likely that there will be an attack soon. We have to be ready."

A thousand comments leapt to Jade's mind, but he pushed them down. Did the Score predict the monster I created?

Besides, it was disheartening to the opponent if they never got the last word.

He turned away, heading for the door to the laboratories. My argument still holds. "I'll just go clear out the laboratory, then. We might need it to prepare the war machines."

He didn't really care about being disheartening right now.

***

"I like her," Saphir said quietly once they'd reached the carriage. Reynolds or one of the other servants had brushed the horses while they were inside, and the carriage driver looked pleased with the result. He jumped onto the seat as Saphir and his mother approached, and Reynolds opened the door for them to enter.

"I'm glad, Saphir," said Lady wyon Neiss, in the tone she used when she wasn't really listening.

Saphir frowned. "But she actually liked me too! I mean, usually people don't talk to me that much, they end up talking to Jade instead, but she was really interested and really nice… and she likes fontech too!"

"Well, let's hope you haven't exhausted your conversation topics, since you're going to see her again in two days." Reynolds closed the carriage door and motioned that it was clear to the driver. The carriage began to move.

With a sigh, Saphir turned away. His mother wasn't listening. Oh well, he'd just tell Jade about it later.

"Can the driver drop me off at the lab instead of at home?"

Now Lady wyon Neiss looked up. "Of course, Saphir. I was just thinking, I haven't visited your father in a while, and the lab is on the way anyways. Unless you'd like to come with?"

"No thank you." Jade was more important.

***

Books. Change of clothes. Writing paper and pencils. More books. Jade really didn't need much – ignoring the blankets and pillow, he could carry everything he had at the lab in one bag, even the things he'd forgotten there. He spared a glance for Saphir's portion of the room and sighed. They'd have to back a cart up to the door to get all his stuff out, and that was only considering the things officially in his part of the room, ignoring all the cosmetics and books and Yulia only knew what else that had found its way into drawers and cabinets.

Jade swung the bag onto one shoulder and took one last look at the lab. They'd have to come in later to dismantle the machinery. Even if they still received money, there was no way to run the replication machines – Saphir had already done everything possible to reduce the energy use without sacrificing functionality, and it still cost quite a bit to run the machines even once a week. It just took too much energy to form the fonons into a complete and functional human being. Jade supposed this was why it normally took nine months and why the beings formed were considerably smaller.

There was the big glyph on the floor that needed to be scrubbed out and filled in. The cabinets that needed to be cleared out of all the specialized equipment. Even the door locks needed to be removed – Jade had installed extras after an accidental entrance by a confused soldier-in-training.

The lab had to look like no one had ever touched it.

He let the image of the lab burn itself into his mind, and then turned to leave.

Just in time for Saphir to smash headlong into him.

Jade found himself on the floor staring at the ceiling (at the extra lights, those needed to go too) with a gasping Saphir on his chest. All in all, not the most pleasant position. He brought one arm up and shoved Saphir onto the ground.

"Perhaps you need new glasses, you don't seem able to detect a person standing five feet from you."

"S-sorry," gasped Saphir, pushing himself up. "B-but I wanted to get here… in time to work…"

"You're too late." Jade got to his feet. "Military command cut funding. Starting today we're only getting half the money we were. We have to shut down the project."

Saphir fell silent. A rarity.

"… b-but –"

"But what? Unless you can find some magical unending source of money, we're done. Do you know how much it takes to power one of those machines? Not even to use it, just keep it in stasis and ready to work? Just one? We have three." Jade turned on the heel of his boot, looked down at Saphir. "And don't give me anything about reducing the energy cost. You know very well that the only way to do that is to sacrifice accuracy and functionality, and we can't afford that if we want to make a breakthrough. The project's finished."

"Y-you can't accept defeat like that!"

Wonderful, a shouting match. "Do you have a plan, then? Rob a bank? Convince command to shut down Project Tartarus – which, by the way, is producing results, and much sooner than we would have?"

"Give it a few days! They can't shut us down like –"

In one fast movement Jade knelt and dragged back Saphir's head by his hair, so Saphir's eyes met his. "Yes, they can."

Saphir shuddered. Jade let go of his hair, and stood, and turned back to the door.

"… what about private funding?"

Jade laughed. "From who? My dead parents? Your insane father? The Major and the doctor, who personally told me how useless our project was?"

"If you really loved Professor Nebilim – !"

Saphir stopped. Jade had turned back, red eyes glowing in the dull light of the overhead lights.

"If I really loved her what? Do tell, Saphir."

Saphir looked away. "… if I can get private funding within a week, will you convince command to not cut the remaining?"

Jade was quiet for a moment, then turned to the door again.

"If you can get us private funding, I will" probably drink myself to death – better to die from the bottle than from humiliation. Then again, it would be less painful to "drop dead on the spot."

And then he left.

Saphir called after him, "Big deal! Then I'll get the patent money!"

***

A/N: More Jade and more Clair, and the first major interaction between Jade and Saphir. Saphir's so ridiculously feminine, literary conventions demand that his father must either be conspicuously absent or overbearingly masculine. I chose the former, just because it's easier. But of course there must be a reason for the absence.

Until next chapter…