Heya guys! Here's chapter 10, sorry it's taken a while! I will warn you all that this is an intensely fluffy chapter, a bit lighter than the usual but I think we all need a bit of break! Please let me know what you think, good, bad or ideas for something better! Hope it doesn't disappoint!
Also, as I can't message you, Thank you Jacqueline for your kind review-I hope you enjoy this one!
Chapter 10
The recruits having been called away to their various duties and Cybele 'no, mum' he corrected himself for the umpteenth time was up to date with the current situation Caleb took a few precious seconds to take stock of the last few hours;
Simeon Lansing, his Father, 'DAD' he told himself, was still alive and kicking!
There WERE real live resistance members left fighting for the human race
His recruits were HERE! All in one piece and ready to go!
Pushing the first two impossible things from his mind for the moment, Caleb was still astonished at how well his recruits had done here-active, useful members of the resistance who were obviously important to the Shinagamis. He was so proud of them. Weirdly though, all of them had barely spent a week with him, whilst some had been almost a month here they still looked to him as their leader which was both humbling and deeply encouraging. He must have done something right. He smiled, he really had picked the best.
However, now they were busy he had a moment to collect his thoughts-there was a lot to plan still, a lot to prepare if THE plan was going to be a success tomorrow. They had to prove themselves. He had to prove himself. And get what they needed.
Tall order.
He shivered despite himself. He was missing something though, it was odd, like he was somehow unguarded, he was leaving out something. Something important. He looked about him, half expecting to see some sort of attacker-something to put his senses on edge. But nothing, just a dark, empty corridor, rusty panels and a broken ladder fixed to one wall.
He could almost hear the snort of disgust that the sight of it would elicit.
That's what was missing.
Realisation struck him like a worker's pincer, without a word he set off in search.
Roughly 15 minutes later he found his quarry. But the sight that met his eyes was startling. He froze for a second. Trying to comprehend what he was looking at.
Lexa was sat in a fairly large room, scatter-patterned with haphazard colours in an attempt to make it look bright and cheerful. A few odds and ends that might have just passed for toys lay strewn about the floor but right at that moment he couldn't have cared less about interior decor.
Lexa was totally absorbed in the little bundle she had clasped carefully against her chest, a smile that seemed to come from deep within beamed down at the blankets whilst she rocked gently from side to side softly humming something he vaguely recognised.
Curiosity got the better of him.
He stepped over the threshold.
Lexa looked up sharply and for the briefest of moments all that tranquil love inverted to pure protective ferociousness. She looked like a harpy as her eyes flashed warning violence.
Like she'd rip Caleb limb from limb if he took a single step closer.
He hesitated a heartbeat, suddenly feeling sorry for the Roboidz they had yet to meet. He'd seen what she'd been prepared to do with a can of beans, wait till she got a hold of some of the weapons in this place.
The moment passed. Like she'd just recognised him, her expression cleared.
"Hello!" She welcomed softly, full of warmth and calm tranquillity again.
Well that was just flat out weird.
"Hello," He started, trying to cover his shock, "What's?"
"Shh!" She hissed instantly.
"What?" He dropped into defensive mode, ears and head gear a-quiver.
She rolled her eyes at his reaction, "Talk more quietly!" She urged in a whisper, "I've just gotten her off to sleep."
"Who's her?" He looked about puzzled, as if expecting a sleeping woman to appear out of nowhere.
"The baby who else?"
"What's a baby?"
Lexa looked incredulous. "How can you not know what a baby is?" Without waiting for an answer She eased back the edge of the blanket exposing Nebula's beautiful little face. His eyes widened in shock, breath catching in his throat. This was unexpected. It was so small! And yet, it was perfectly formed, two eyes, infinitesimal lips and a micro-button nose. He touched his own subconsciously, comparing the size difference and his general over-pointyness compared to her dot of one.
He looked up, uncomfortable. The way he always did when gaps in his knowledge of humans was exposed.
"Well," he defended, trying to recover himself "that," he pointed at the infant , "looks like a very, very tiny human and in case you didn't notice- there was a distinct lack of tiny humans on Futuregate. Granted, I had a few very small recruits, but nothing like that one."
Lexa wrestled her face under control.
"Good Point." She grinned at him, "well, you're right, it IS a very tiny human-look," She unwrapped Nebula a fraction more so Caleb could see her minute hand, all curled up against her delicate little mouth.
She snuffled slightly in her sleep, making tiny, sleepy noises that were unlike anything he'd heard before.
He was utterly staggered. The perfection of her. He looked at his own human hand, it looked a thousand times bigger, and yet, both had the same shape, same number of digits and even the same nails at the end of each finger. Careful to the point of reverence he extended one grubby index finger towards her hand. She had some sort of ESP working for her. Her hand suddenly extended, latching on to him- all fingers and even thumb not quite reaching all the way around the tip. But she had a powerful grip , unsurprising given her father. A recruit already.
A spontaneous grin bloomed on Caleb's face at her reaction, witnessing the pure miracle he was looking at. Lexa's expression matched his. She however, was being delighted by both of them. She was intensely grateful she could witness Caleb's reaction to his first newling. She herself had only really heard of them never actually seen a real one till today but she had had an idea of what to expect. As for Caleb, this was totally new territory. And he was enjoying every second of it.
"Where did they find her?"
The question knocked her squarely out of her happy observations.
"Find her?" She repeated confused.
"Yeah," He continued, his attention wholly fixed on Nebula, "Where did she come from?"
Lexa's jaw hit the floor.
She really shouldn't be surprised by the question, really and truly. But she was and the incredulous words came tumbling out before she could catch them.
"You don't know where babies come from?"
His look said it all.
"Okay, okay, sorry, I just kind of assumed EVERYONE knew."
He was about to argue indignantly but she held up a hand to stem the flow, "It's really easy, honestly, there's not much to know. Basically, you know people are made up of base proteins yes?"
"Yes." Caleb agreed with an 'obviously' hanging over it, still annoyed that she seemed to think he was stupid.
"Right, "She continued unperturbed, "well these proteins are called DNA and it's these protein strands that make new people. You need two samples of DNA, one from a man and one from a woman to combine to make a new mix."
He nodded, following so far, softening a little.
"Everyone is unique you see, like you have dark hair, I have red hair and some have blonde, you know, stuff like that so every mix is different making up an entirely new person. Clever huh?"
"Very." This was something he'd never considered, it was fascinating! One important thought struck him though, "Does the DNA have to come from a man and a woman?"
"Yeah, cause we have different proteins to each other. If both halves were the same then it won't work, they repel, like magnets."
"Fair enough." He agreed, accepting the logic of the explanation, "So how do you mix the proteins then?"
"I think it's a highly specialised process, you need lots of skill and practice and somewhere safe to do it." She paused, considering, "I'm not sure exactly what the process is but I think you need a special container."
"Like a Petri dish?" He offered, he seen enough of them during his forages on Futuregate.
"Probably." She nodded, it sounded technical enough anyway!
"Then what?" he pressed
"Then once it's all combined properly you have to incubate the proteins somewhere safe and sealed, normally people have pod-like things they use. You have to give them plenty of the right nutrients so they grow correctly and balanced."
"How long does incubation take then?"
Lexa wrinkled her nose in thought, "Nine months or so,"
"Nine?" Caleb was aghast, "Nine Months?"
"Yes, well, "Lexa huffed, "we ARE complicated things you know, us humans take a lot of effort!"
"So after nine months? What happens then?" He demanded, wanting to know the whole process, this was important! He needed to know how to make more babies! More humans!
"Then they're ready to come out of the pod and start growing on their own."
"Like her?" He pointed, still amazed at the miracle of the tiny bundled human.
"Exactly like her." Lexa beamed.
"So how long has she been out of her pod?"
"Oh, erm, 2 months according to Isis."
Caleb continued to stare at the baby in wonderment, he couldn't get over the idea that something this small, this fragile grew to eventually become like him and Lexa. And in the middle of a civilisation-ending war? It was staggering there were any humans left at all.
It made them all the more precious.
And made him all the more determined to stop the Droidz.
Once and for all.
"Do you want to hold her?" Lexa offered, eyes full of expectation.
That snapped him back into the present.
"What?"
"I asked if you wanted to hold her?" She repeated, her words kind.
"Me?" Panic flooded through him, "No, I can't!"
"Why not?" Lexa looked puzzled, "She's very light."
"My, my hands are too big!" He held his up to her to prove his point.
"Then you're all the better equipped to have her!" She insisted, "Come on, there's nothing like holding a newling! It just makes her so real, so special!"
"I can see that from here!" He exclaimed, trying to keep the desperation from showing too much.
"Caleb," her voice took on a harder, warning edge.
"I can't! Alright? Look, I just don't want to risk it, this cybernetic hand of mine plays up every so often, what if I grab her accidentally? I'll break her for sure!" genuine fear pitched in his voice as he gesticulated dramatically.
"Then just use your other arm," Lexa reasoned, trying to avoid the word 'organic' "she's small enough to fit in the crook of yours and if you're sat down you only need one hand! Come on!" Why was he so resistant? She really wanted him to experience the same joy she had. Nebula was the future, she was what they were fighting for and she desperately wanted Caleb to experience that first hand, for once not fighting for some far off goal. No. Something real and living and right in front of him. To give him the same hope she now had, that the human race was continuing, that they weren't the last!
He opened his mouth to protest just as the door opened.
"CA!"
A hurried pattering of determined feet shot across the floor as two tiny hands grasped at his leg.
Caleb looked down and smiled, deftly picking up Mikomi with his human arm cradling her against his right side, "Anyway," He continued as though nothing had happened, pursing his point doggedly, "I'd never be gentle enough, I'm used to bashing droidz not being delicate or careful." Little hands pawed at his ear and he shifted her up slightly to accommodate what she was after.
It took every ounce of self-control Lexa processed to not explode in helpless laughter at the ridiculous contradiction Caleb was now presenting.
"CA!" She announced patting his nose proudly.
He grinned at her, "Getting there! Bit more practice, it's C-a-l-e-b."
"Ca-ca-ca" she chirped.
"Nearly, you're learning quickly recruit! Try again, C-a-l-e-b"
"Ca-ca-ca-CAB!"
"Close enough! Well done Mikomi!" He beamed at her.
She gave him a sunny smile in return.
"Can you say your name? M-i-k-o-m-i?"
"Cab!"
"Well, maybe another time."
He grinned again and looked up.
Lexa was chuckling happily to herself, eyes swimming with mirth whilst Izzy stood in the doorway looking mesmerised.
"Clever daughter you've got here." He beamed.
"That's, that's, her, her first. She's never said anything before!"
"What?" Caleb had no idea what she was on about.
"That's her first word! She's not really tried saying much yet, just sings to herself in her own little language! And now she's talking! She really started! Isis! Isis! Listen to this!"
Isis appeared from the adjoining room, the worried 'mum' frown firmly in place, "What? Is everything alright? Nebula? Mikomi?"
"They're fine, but look! Mikomi's talking!"
"She's what?"
"Show her Caleb! Go on!"
Caleb was, by now, way too bewildered to have a clue what was going on but obliged anyway.
"What's my name Mikomi? Who am I? Ca-"
"Cab!" patting his cheek for good measure just in case everyone in the room wasn't entirely sure as to whom she was referring, "Cab!"
"Fried bulkheads! That's incredible!"
"My clever little girl!" Izzy swept over plucking her out of Caleb's arm and swirling her around in delight, "So clever! Just like your daddy was! He'd be so proud!"
Mikomi giggled at her mother's pleasure.
The sound of sprinting assailed them as Pan hurtled into view.
"There you are! Been looking all over-"He broke off suddenly, "What's happened? What'd I miss?" He asked, taking in the expressions of joy, amusement and general confusement.
"Mikomi's starting to talk! She said her first word!"
"Wow! Growing up quick! Chittersparking soon eh? What was it? One of the ones you've been trying?"
"No, not really, it was something else,"
"Wha-"
"Cab!" chirped the toddler happily.
"Whoa! Is she trying to say Caleb?"
"Yep!" Caleb beamed delightedly
"Fantastic! How did you manage that?"
"I didn't, she just announced it."
"Clever little sprocket!"
"Isn't she just!" Izzy was beside herself
"Well I suppose rescuing her from the wastes will have that effect! You'll be her hero now I expect." Pan grinned cheekily.
"Well you're certainly mine!"
Lexa couldn't help the flicker of annoyance Izzy's words elicited not to mention her expression of distinct gooeyness, "How was she out there in the first place?" She asked a little more sharply than she intended, pulling Izzy off her current thought track.
The young woman's face crumpled, almost melting with regret, "It must have been through one of the old ventilation shafts, " She reasoned, " some of them touch the surface, she must have found her way into one of them. I thought we sealed them all but some must have been missed. She's such a curious little thing, it's been a mission and half to keep her in sight since she started walking, usually I tether her too me when i'm working but it looks like she's learnt to untie knots." She shook her head disapprovingly at her chirruping daughter. "But I'm not going through that panic again," Her eyes flicked up to Caleb, "next time you might not be walking past. I'll have to think of something else."
"Chain linking?" Pan offered, "It might take her till her next birthday to work out how to escape that leesh!"
"Maybe," She quirked an eyebrow at the boy, "I'll see what I can find. Didn't you want something Pan?"
"What?" He was momentarily stumped, "Oh, yes," He remembered, "Ran, Rama and Gil wanted you both, we wanted to have a look at your weaponry, the blaster and EMP, see what we can come up with."
Sure thing, what components have you guys got spare?
Oh most things, got half a store shed prepped to go. Can't wait to have a proper look, Rama was saying he couldn't believe you've managed these when we're still in the dark ages!" He was getting that awed expression again, the one that made Caleb simultaneously glow and his guts squirm. He wished people would stop looking at him like that, it was kind of nice to start with but it was beginning to get a bit weird.
"Well, you guys weren't living on the most advanced lab this side of the fall. I had a bit of an advantage there, it's Lexa that built her kit from scratch."
Lexa looked up from cooing at Nebula again, "I did have 5 years with not a lot else to occupy me don't forget!" She pointed out quickly.
"But that's why we need you both!" The boy exclaimed as if they were both idiots, "You've got ideas and ways we've not cracked yet! You'll save us loads of time! Plus you two took out the western army!"
"With my recruits help!" added Caleb vehemently.
"But still!" Pan insisted, "You built the time portal that got them here! Come on! You've got loads to teach us!" by this point he was practically hopping from foot to foot with excitement, just about resisting the urge to start pulling Caleb by his sleeve.
"Alright, of course we're coming! Got a Mission to complete haven't we?"
Lexa looked up again, "Er,"
Caleb stared at her, nodding encouragingly, his eyes wide and eager.
Lexa looked back at the sleeping bundle, "I" She was loath to give her up, "I" Nebula seemed to sense Lexa's indecision, and stirred, snuffling at first which quickly grew into a full blown wail.
"What's the matter?" Lexa gasped, suddenly panicked.
"You've broken her!" Caleb exclaimed, slightly frightened himself at the sudden change in the bundle's mood.
"I have not!" She shot back, harsher than she meant, half believing his words.
"Of course you haven't!" Isis' calm authority cut through the discord, "She's probably hungry and," she sniffed with an experienced nose, "I think she needs a change."
"Change into what?" Isis looked up sharply at Caleb's foolish question then relaxed. His face was total innocence, he really had no idea what she meant.
Isis sighed, "You know what, don't worry, I'll explain later. Go, the pair of you, we've got a world to save!" Tenderly, she took her bawling child from Lexa and made for the other room.
Caleb smiled at his somewhat shell-shocked looking friend, who was sat staring dejectedly into her now-empty arms. He extended his hand, "Come on," He offered kindly, his stare blazing into her, "like Isis said, we've got a world to save."
Lexa looked down at the void on her lap then back at Caleb.
He saw the snap decision. Her eyes flashed, the emerald fire intensifying.
She seized his hand, pulling herself up to him. She was going to fight every inch to make sure Nebula got to grow up in a world free of monstrous tin cans.
"Absolutely!" She beamed, ready to take on the world, "Pan, lead on!"
Hand in hand they followed the excited Shinagami out into the tunnels and back into the war.
A/N:
So there we are, another chapter in! I hope people liked it! A little lighter and hopefully people enjoyed the shameless cuteness! I hope it all worked and the characters didn't waver too much off course! I'm afraid I don't know how soon I'll be able to post chapter 11 but I'll do my best to make it as soon as possible!
Thanks again for reading, please let me know what you think!