Astraea
Island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, 2017
This has certainly been a lot longer than I had hoped when I had put myself into Ilios' stasis device. I wonder when I would have woken up if it hadn't been for the earthquake that shattered the whole thing. I had come to completely disoriented, and alone. It had woken me up during what is called the "Golden Age" of Ancient Greece by scholars now. Scant years after the death of Perikles, now recognized as the father of democracy. Which was about two thousand years earlier than I had wanted… Mind, that is less time than Dike and I had been traveling the ancient world together… But the earthquake had not only awoken me; it had also completely destroyed what little had been left of Ilios' laboratory facility. After all the years it sat there, I suppose it was lucky that it lasted that long in functioning order. So, I suppose that makes me lucky for it having cut my waking time into a fraction of what it would have been.
But now… I look out over the Tyrrhenian Sea and breathe deeply. It's finally time.
I watch as the menacing black clouds sail over Vesuvius speeding towards where I am aboard a ferry minutes away from the scariest moment of my life at that point. I finish getting myself ready for a long swim.
I have been in hacking into the weather monitoring equipment hooked to the internet in this area to keep an eye on how the currents are fairing. Luckily, that is a fairly lowkey hack that won't garner the attention of anyone important such as the likes of Abstergo, the Brotherhood, or Erudito…
And now I have a loose goal of where I am going to plant myself to be miraculously 'found' on a deserted island. Deserted being a relative term. I found a smattering of islands that are decently out of the way, but ones that some locals use are base jumps for longer recreational boat trips. My odds of being found are pretty high, but they are deserted enough that it could take a while… Which is something I want. My body type is so completely different now that I need something to attribute it to. Minor starvation could do it. So long as no one looks too closely.
The real problem is going to be with my family. I'm going to have to be very careful to never let them see my bare skin. I may be more durable than most people but I'm not indestructible. And that shows with how many scars I've earned over the last two millennia… Luckily, the three scars on my face are easily hidden and light enough that a light layer of foundation ought to cover them just fine.
I look back to the storm and feel the energy coming from it. Something I hadn't been able to perceive then. That storm is anything but natural. I wonder whether it was always meant to happen the way it did… And if so, what made it that way… No Isu ever took credit for my existence back then and, despite the thousands of Isu sites I've seen in my search for the vault left by Astraeus and Eos, I never found evidence of research about what could have changed me anywhere.
I wade into the water and begin a well-paced swim in the direction of the small collection of semi-deserted islands.
As I suspected, it has taken long enough that a normal person would have begun to feel the effects of not only dehydration but minor starvation as well. I've spotted a few boats too far off in the distance in the time since I arrived on this little island, and by my count it's been around 14 days. Which someone who would have been at my body type would have lived this long well enough with water, like I have made sure to have a source of.
I light the fire I had built and begin to wave at a sailboat. That seems to be aiming for this little island for a rest stop.
The unfortunately strange circumstances of my falling off the ferry will have garnered some attention but hopefully it more or less has stayed local between the nearby communities in Italy and my home city in Canada. I have hopes for a nice couple of decades away from the whole Templar-Assassin conflict to spend that time with my family. I have gone to some pretty drastic preparations in order to hide my presence from all involved parties. Many of these preparations having been put in motion more than a couple of decades ago.
Venus
Touring Rome, 2017
"I can not believe them. I was talking to them and they had said that… That they didn't care much about body types. That they can look past the surface! Maybe if that surface was a puddle you could step in without getting your shoes wet!" Venus has been venting out the bathroom door for a while now, even before Astraea could hear her. "I mean really! You have lost so much weight since… I really thought that maybe things with males would change too… I'm sorry Raea… Please know I think you are beautiful."
"Hey, it doesn't really bother me anymore." Astraea smiles at Venus as she steps out of the bathroom, but the smile seems sad instead of her usual cheery, glowing-from-the-inside smile. I hope that I didn't have anything to do with that… Venus thinks remembering how she acted to Astraea when they were younger. "I know how much work we both put into this and we certainly got the results." Raea gestures to her body, she is right.
"I know… But that isn't the point. I'm just so sick of that kind of guy only talking to me until you come and then acting as if you're some kind of freak." Venus tries to explain why she was so upset about it.
"Like I'm your duff, you mean?" Venus clenches the toothbrush in her fist hard enough that she can feel her nails digging into her palm, I wish that word had never been created.
"Yes. They literally treat you like the literal definition of a duff. You're not even fat or ugly at all!" She stuffs the toothbrush into her mouth and begins to aggressively brush her teeth. Venus only wants Astraea to find confidence in herself… Confidence that had disappeared over her adolescence by what Venus is pretty sure was at least partly her fault. A few minutes of silence from the room lets Venus finish brushing and begin to rinse out her mouth.
"I mean… My hair did kind of look like a disaster there for a while… All that humidity in that cramped, slanted staircase to get to the top of the dome really did a number on the frizz level… Not to mention the level of sweat I produced. I guess it was worse than I thought if I looked like a monster." Venus can't help but snort from laughter, which causes the toothpaste water in her mouth to spew from her nose. The water burns as it jets from her nose. Venus wipes off her face and gargles a bit of water to help get the sting out of her mouth. But the sting in her nose keeps making her eyes water. She takes a step out of the bathroom to jokingly berate Raea.
"You made me snort toothpaste water. That really hurt!" Venus goes back into the bathroom to clean up herself and the mess that got made… It's all over the mirror… God… I'm even meeting a contact later…
"Mum is meeting us in Naples, right?" Raea asks from her bed.
"Yep. She's coming to Capri with us, but she wants to join us for our tour of Pompeii too." Venus answers without leaving the bathroom.
"Cool, that'll be great." She has really been looking forward to visiting with their mom. Although, I can understand why… Venus and her mom work closely together. Not always physically close, but they work for the same people. Maybe some day Raea will join us too… The thought slips across Venus' mind without warning. No. Raea is not cut out for what happens. The only thing she has going for her is her incredible talent in basically all the skills that she would need. In fact, out of all of us… Mesonyx, Aquilo, Zephyr, and myself she is probably the most talented… She probably could surpass us skills-wise in maybe a couple of years… Or perhaps even less… But Venus also knows that Astraea values life too much to be suited for most of what goes on with their family.
I just wish we wouldn't have to lie about it all… But that was the deal that mom had made. That her children would be given a choice on whether they would join or stay out of it. For Venus and her siblings, they had all been presented with the choice after they had finished their post-secondary education. Soon, it could be Raea's turn to choose…
"Alright, all done now. Your turn, you gonna have a shower?" Venus steps out of the bathroom carrying her now packed bathroom bag to her suitcase.
"Hmmm…" Raea ponders for a moment before deciding, "Yeah, I think so… St. Peter's was ludicrously hard. I sweated up a storm… My poor shirt will never be the same." She jokingly pulls her shirt away from her, sniffs her pits, and makes a face. Venus laughs at her sister. She can get laughs from people so easily, it was always something that Venus kind of envied about her little sister.
"Your telling me! I thought my legs would give out!"
"I know, right!" The sisters chuckle together before Astraea goes for her shower.
"I'm just going down to the lobby to grab a couple of snacks; I won't be long." Venus says to the closed bathroom door.
"Oki doki." She hears from the other side, before the sound of the curtain closing and the shower starting.
Venus grabs a key card from the table and stuffs it into her pocket before going out the door and waiting for it to shut behind her before leaving to head down to the lobby of the hotel to meet with her contact.
When Venus arrives in the lobby, she is surprised to find that her contact is in fact her older brother… One of a set of twins, Zephyr. He grows a large grin on his face, must be good news… Venus sits down across from him.
"Hey, Vee! How are you doing?" The stupid grin still plastered on his face.
"Zeph… I thought that you and Lio were on a job elsewhere…" Zephyr combs his fingers through his chestnut coloured hair, the grin turning sheepish. His clear grey eyes adopting a greener hue in this light.
"Well, we finished up so I… Volunteered to bring you this stuff." He pulls out a file and passes it over to Venus, "Dad said it should be the remainder of what you need for the trip."
"Great. Thanks, Zeph."
"I'm always happy to help my adorable little sisters." They both stand up and give a quick hug, Zephyr's six feet towering over Venus' slight frame, "Do you think that mom is going to tell Raea?" Venus steps back a little from Zephyr.
"Honestly? I've really thought about it a lot, and once in a while I wonder if we should tell her… But… No. Raea is not like the rest of us… She…"
"I know what you mean…" Zeph interjects, "I agree… She is too kind for it all… Even just knowing would really affect her, I think." They both keep their voices a little low to avoid any possibility of eavesdroppers.
"Yeah…" Venus agrees, Zeph is so in tune with all the people he loves, he knows how to cheer them up, and when they just need someone. And he also knows who they are… Not just the person they present to the world, he seems to really get a sense for who someone is deep down. Something that Venus wishes she could do but can only ever get the barest hint of true intention.
"Hey, have you heard from Nyx at all?" Venus asks Zephyr.
"No, nothing for a while, but you know her… She's very serious about her work, and those Instruments bastards are tricky sometimes, because they've even had our kind turn to them." Zeph shrugs, "But I'm sure she's fine. She has been at this longer than the rest of us after all…"
"I suppose so… I guess I just worry about her sometimes, she can seem so distant." Venus wrings her hands a little bit.
"Anyway, I best be on my way. I told dad I wouldn't linger too long… He worries about you and Raea a lot." Zeph places his hand on his sister's shoulder.
"Tell him not to worry too much… I know what I'm doing, and Raea is plenty capable on her own too. She may be too kind for this world, but her talents undoubtedly are keyed for it."
"You said it. I saw some of the clips from when Ali was coaching her in her martial arts a couple of months ago. She is an unbelievably quick learner… Even without the Animus for help... That doesn't even cover all the other things she's learnt." Venus gives Zephyr the eye and he holds his hands up, "I know, I know…" He begins to walk away.
"Take care." Venus says, Zephyr answers by turning for a moment and flashing a big grin before leaving Venus in the hotel lobby.
Venus gets some fruit and a couple of muffins from the guest lounge to bring up to the room for her and Raea to share.
The sisters chat for a while after Raea emerged from the shower before they both decide that they should get some sleep for their day of travel tomorrow.
Venus finds herself waking to the sounds of gasping. Her heart begins to pound worrying that someone had broken into the room, she smacks the switch for her bedside light and looks over to Astraea's bed.
But it is only her and Astraea in the room. The gasping is Astraea.
Venus climbs out of her bed and canters to Astraea's side. It doesn't seem like Astraea is actually having trouble breathing, but she is grunting and gasping like she can't breathe. She's also gripping the blankets so tightly that her knuckles are white.
"Astraea. Wake up." She shakes Astraea's shoulder hoping to rouse her but Raea continues to gasp, "Raea! Wake up." A sudden sharp intake of breath and her eyes fly open. "Hey… Are you alright?" Venus looks into her sister's emerald eyes as she focuses from waking up suddenly, "You were gasping like you couldn't breathe or something…"
"Yeah… I'm okay. It was a nightmare… I think…" Her eyes scrunch up like she trying to focus on something far away.
"What was it about?" Venus sits back down on the edge of her bed, "It seemed really awful, like you were being suffocated or something…"
"I… don't remember…" Her hand goes up to her forehead, not quite like she has a headache but more like she's searching for the dream.
"That's unusual for you. Most of the time you remember the tiniest details from your dreams."
"Yeah… Oh well, if I woke you up from it, maybe it's better off forgotten…" Venus shrugs, slips back under her covers, and turns off her light. It's going to take a while for me to get some sleep…
"Goodnight, Raea."
"Night, Vee…" Venus hears Astraea roll over in her bed, and after a while of silence in the dark, Venus begins to hear the soft and regular breathing of her sleeping sister.
After another twenty minutes or so of not being able to fall to sleep, Venus gets up to get a drink of water in the bathroom. She then uses her phone's flashlight to check the room over again. From the window's locks to the several locks on the door and even peeking out the peep hole. All secure.
She focuses herself the way her parents taught her to, and she uses it to confirm that there have been no other people in the room besides the two of them.
Feeling a little more at ease, Venus returns to her bed and manages to fall asleep.
"I was really looking forward to spending some time with her… It feels like its been ages since we were able to spend time together." Raea's shoulders visibly slump with the disappointment as she watches the car with their mother inside drive away, Venus puts her hand on her sister's shoulder.
"Don't worry, you'll be able to spend time with her later." Venus smiles reassuringly at Astraea, "Plus, we have to get going to that tour bus! We don't want to miss the tour of Pompeii right!" She nudges Raea's shoulder with her fist, "You are an architecture nerd after all, right?"
"Well, only surface, really." I chuckle, "That was only part of my double major." Raea gives her chest a double smack, "At my CORE I am an art nerd! Although… That just makes Pompeii all the more interesting to me. There are some of the best-preserved Roman paintings in Pompeii from having been covered in ash so quickly!" Venus could practically see all the, barely, withheld information that is probably just waiting to spew forth. Venus had joked after their tour of the Vatican that they almost didn't need to guide for it after all.
"NERD!" Venus teases as she bumps Astraea's side.
Her mother being called away not once or twice, but four times in the last three days has put Venus on edge a little bit. Especially since she has had any contact with people actively working on business limited. Her whole family had agreed that it would be best until they had all decided whether to tell Astraea the whole truth. Because if we got her involved too deeply, she would no longer have a choice, even after being told about it all. But if they could keep her out of the enemies' eyes for the time being then she could still have a chance at a normal life. If that is in fact what she wanted for herself.
The sisters stroll down the streets towards where they are supposed to meet the tour guide and bus.
Venus watches the route carefully, staring at the shadows in the side roads for movement, the looks upwards to make sure no one is watching from the roof tops, eyeing each rooftop garden for glints of scope or binoculars. She also kept spying for escape routes in every direction in case they become suddenly surrounded and outnumbered.
A crash from inside a noisy café. Horns honking a few streets over. A shadow that turned out to be a pigeon that flew away as the two approached. A couple that had come from a side street, in question until the woman looked truly mesmerized by their hands joined. A window that shut as they approached drew almost too much of Venus' attention as they come around a corner and found the crowd of people with a bus nearby and a tour guide shouting for everyone to sign in before boarding the bus.
"I have the papers, so I'll go sign us in with the tour guide." Venus strides over to the tour guide, wary of the amount of people. God, I need to relax a little or I'm going to run out of energy before we even get off the bus in Pompeii… Venus internally berates herself for feeling so paranoid.
Venus checks in with the tour guide ensuring that her and Astraea are both present and he gestures for both of them to go wait over by the tree near the bus until it is ready for boarding.
Venus and Astraea had gotten back to the city so late that Venus had to leave her sister to go to the nightclub where she is meeting a contact tonight. She had made Astraea promise to go straight to the hotel room. Although, once they had gone their separate ways, Venus regretted the tone she had used in her rush to get to the nightclub in time to meet her contact from the assassins. Astraea isn't a child anymore… She could have spent the evening doing something else, but for Venus the paranoia of them being caught in the lens of the Templars is at the forefront of her mind. And she had let her concern for her sister get away with her and ending up treating her like a juvenile… Which she hates…
Venus enters the crowded nightclub, silencing the people immediately around her. I was told to go and dance and that the person I am meeting would find me.
So, she goes to the bar, orders a quick shot, to blend in with the crowds of people waiting for their alcohol, and then she moves out onto the dance floor. Venus easily integrates herself into the mass of people dancing to the electronic music with the heavy, fast tempo music. Before long she has a group of people all dancing similarly around her.
"You certainly know how to make yourself known when it suits you." One of the people in the crowd steps in front of her and begins to dance closely with her. Venus immediately recognizes the dark hair and ice blue eyes of an old friend.
"Emmett, it's been a long time." She puts her arms over his shoulders, "I take you're the one I'm meeting today then?"
"Naturally." He chuckles a little bit, "I'm here to let you know that you shouldn't have to worry about being tailed right now." Venus narrows her eyes a little bit.
"Why? It isn't like they've all just up and retired, right?" He chuckles again.
"Well, according to our sources there is something going on internally. While Shaun was making sure your trail is disguised, he told me that they had found evidence of something big happening in Egypt."
"What would they want in Egypt?"
"Now this we aren't completely sure of, but there have been whispers about a tomb belonging to an ancient assassin…" Venus ponders the new information as the song shifts with the DJ's mood, "Bill is going himself to investigate. Aquilo and I are going with him, along with a couple others of course."
"Well… That is certainly news then isn't it? Thanks, Emmett." The pair leave the dancefloor, "Take care."
"You take care too, Venus." Venus then leaves the nightclub to head back to the hotel where Astraea will likely be waiting up for her.
Venus mulls over this new information… She wishes she had more of a gift for remembering history like Nyx and her mother… Venus can only recall that there was something significant about an organisation that would later lead to the Brotherhood that had been formed in Egypt in the early First Century. But any details about it escape her… She had always been more interested in the Italian Renaissance crop of assassin history.
She arrives at the hotel and heads straight up to the room, which when Venus enters, is found empty. Venus rushes around the room checking the bathroom, and the desk and tables for a note or some other indication as to where Astraea was.
Venus' heart begins to pound, the room doesn't look disturbed… But the Templars have taken people and left no evidence before… Please, be okay…
Venus sends Astraea a message with the hope that she will answer right away.
Then Venus receives an answer within the minute.
Raea*— Sorry!
I lost track of time…
I'm on my way back now.
Venus slumps onto the bed in relief. I'm going to kill her for that.
Once Astraea returns, Venus can't help but let out the frustration of having been so worried about Astraea.
"Where did you go? I was so worried when I got back, and you weren't here… What would I have done if you had been abducted or worse killed?" Astraea only makes an apologetic smile.
"I'm really sorry I didn't say anything or leave a note for you… I really hadn't meant to stay out drawing that long… I lost track of time... But don't forget that I'm an adult too. I do know how to take care of myself most days." Raea sits down on her bed, "I know I should have let you know one way or another, but I just didn't think it was going to be necessary at the time… I'm sorry." Venus inhales deeply and huffs it all out at once.
"No… I should be treating you like an adult… I joke about treating you like a kid sometimes, but I guess… To me you are still my little sister. And I guess I still feel responsible for you like when I used to babysit you… I'm sorry too… But please, please, please let me know next time you decide to go draw for hours on end…" Astraea salutes to Venus.
"Yes, ma'am." The sisters laugh a bit before Venus decides to have a shower to help release the tension of the day.
While she's in the shower, Venus can't stop all the worries clouding her mind… She's spoken to Zeph, Lio, and Nyx about it but she really isn't sure if it's the best decision. The rest of them all seem so set that since Raea is unsuited for life with the Assassins, that she should know nothing about it… But Ever since they left on this wonderful trip, the nagging feeling keeps coming back. And it always poses the same question.
Should I tell Raea about it all?
But each time Venus' logic wins out, she knows that her mother is right. That if Raea is told about all this, as she is, she would never go back to being who she is now. And Venus knows for sure that she doesn't want to be the cause behind such a bright light being forever dimmed.
Venus looks at her watch again, it's getting into the evening now, and mom and I are supposed to meet a contact on the next ferry… In no later than just under an hour…
"Alright, did you get your picture?" Venus impatiently shouts across the distance to her artistically inclined sister.
"Yes, I did…" Raea stands up slowly and begins her trek back across the rocks to the river's shore.
"Great! Let's get back to the docks so we can catch that ferry back to Naples!" Venus shouts as she checks her watch again, mom and I have to get the information from our contact now for me to give to the contact I'm meeting at the party later…
"Okay, okay…" As Raea hops to a larger stone it shifts as she lands on it, their mother gasps suddenly, even though she knows that Raea is plenty agile enough to handle that…
"Do not scare me like that, Astraea!" Her mother walks up to Raea hands on her hips as Raea walk towards the pair over the grass. Venus looks over to see her mother wringing her hands in front of her with the worry over her baby. It is kind of a miracle that mom hasn't insisted on a top to bottom inspection of Raea…
"Sorry, mum. But you know I have better balance than to fall into the river from that."
"Yes, I suppose I do know that." Raea and their mother share a smile before the three of them go back up the slope to the bicycles that they ride back to the rental place near the docks, then they will board the ferry to return to Naples.
"I'm just going to head to the washroom quickly to freshen up." Venus announces as they come to the lineup to board the ferry, their boarding time isn't for about fifteen minutes and Venus has to leave a small signal for their contact to be able to find their table easier. Venus just hopes that Astraea behaves relatively predictably and heads out to take some pictures from the deck of the ferry once they've left the harbour… The ferry ride is supposed to take about one hour so hopefully she can get some good views and will be preoccupied for long enough that Venus and her mom's contact can come and go before Raea returns to them.
Venus makes it back a little before they have to board the ferry and she spots her mother dreamily watching the family in line ahead of them. She hadn't been able to choose how she lived. She like all of us had been born to the conflict. Only by the grace of the Brotherhood was she allowed to raise her children away from it all, leaving each of her children to choose once they were old enough. Although, one condition of that was that she had to ensure that they had to be ready for it should they choose to join the fight. So, each of her kids ended up being trained on the sly using kid's classes and extra-curriculars, as well as a few private lessons with undercover assassins.
Once they board the ferry, they find a table with booth on either side fairly easily and they sit down and wait for the ferry to be on its way. With Venus and her mother next to each other and Astraea across from them. They chatter aimlessly for a while until the horn signals that the ferry is leaving.
"Once we get back to Naples, we'll go get those new clothes! And maybe even a dress for you to show off your curves at the party tonight!" Venus waggles her eyebrows at Astraea, once again attempting to convince her to join Venus at the party happening later, knowing full well that Raea will not come anyway. But Venus must at least seem like she wants Raea to come, mostly so that Raea doesn't feel too left out. Venus hasn't ever really thought about what she would do if Astraea did agree to attend a party where Venus would be meeting with someone for business.
"Nice try. But unlikely… We would have to find some dress to make me want to go to your party." Venus' eyes light up, "Wait…" Astraea tries to backpedal the conversation. But that is too much for Venus to resist. Can't not tease her with this.
"That sounds like a challenge!" Venus exclaims excitedly.
"No no no…" Raea desperately tries to backpedal it away from exactly where she knows Venus is going.
"And I accept!" Venus slaps her hand down on the table, startling the couple passing by to a table further down.
"Scusi…" Their mom says to the couple before giving Venus the look. Venus looks sheepishly back at her mom.
The three of them chat about more little things and plans for later for a while until the ferry is well away from the dock.
"I'm going to head on over to the washroom… I'll be back in a bit, but I might head on deck for a while to get a few pictures too." Excellent. Predictable as ever. Raea grabs her little camera pouch from her bag and leaves the rest with their mom.
"Sure Raea, just make sure to come back before we get to the dock in Naples. I don't want to be saddled carrying your bag of bricks…" Mom smiles as Raea gets up and walks down the hall to door where the little washroom picture is leading the way to the restrooms. Leaving the opposite side of the table empty.
After a few minutes, a man in the signature deep hood arrives and sits across for the two of them.
"Ah, Lukas… It's good to see you."
"Likewise, Aurora." He sits down across the table from us.
"I don't know if you've ever met my daughter, Venus."
"I don't believe I have. Not this one anyway…" He chuckles at his own joke and hold his hand out for Venus to shake. He brings down his hood to reveal a pair of dark brown eyes and wavy black hair.
"A pleasure…" Venus grasps the hand for a quick and firm shake before they get to business.
"There isn't too much for me to pass along… Bill decided to stay where he's ended up. He has a team on standby for if something comes up." That'll be Aquilo and Emmett, "But it seems that that lot tried to release an employee from their services." Release being a kind word for Abstergo killing someone they wanted to get rid of. "But things didn't exactly go their way. Apparently, this ex-employee handled it solo. Before Bill even got there."
"Wow. Why would they try to fire such a star employee then?" Aurora asks, Venus marvels at her mom in action, so smoothly picking up on the terminology Lukas is using to make it seem more like they're gossiping about a workplace scandal than a death fight. I guess there's a lot to be said about time actually spent doing the job.
"Apparently, this person went forward with a project that had been cancelled by the supervisor. And not only did she do it herself she actually roped in a co-worker as well. There isn't any word on whether the co-worker got fired as well, yet anyway."
"Wait… You said they tried to fire this employee what exactly happened then?" Venus interjects noticing that he never did say that Abstergo succeeded in their attempt to kill this person.
"Like I said, this employee handled it. She managed to quit before they got to fire her." He slides a paper across the table, "Here's what the other office had to say about it." On the paper it says that the woman in question, Layla Hassan, had gone to Egypt in search of a tomb earlier in the month, but instead of bringing it to Abstergo, as ordered, she used the DNA of the deceased in her personally upgraded Animus to access his memories. Which Abstergo decided was enough of an offense to off her. So, they had sent Sigma team to storm both where Layla had been in the cave and her co-worker Deanna in a hotel room. But Layla dealt with the whole team sent to her location on her own. That was all before William Miles had even arrived on scene with his team to secure her and her research into Animus technology.
"Well, that's not something that happens with them very often is it?" Venus quips. She slides the papers over to her mother who looks them over.
"You can say that again!" Lukas chuckles.
They chat about some other things, like Venus' dad, Aiden, and how his work is going. What Venus has been doing for the most part. He even asked about whether Aurora would be bringing Astraea into the fold or not. He mentioned that he may have bumped into her, but she had continued on her way.
"Have you heard from Rebecca? I imagine those two are still glued at the hip…" It takes Venus a moment to figure out who her mother was asking about, but then she clues in that she was asking about Shaun and Rebecca.
"Naturally. It would take a lot to separate those two at this point. But last I heard they are doing fine. How about on your end? Last I heard you were making some progress on finding a potential artifact? Is the dig going well?" Lukas is referring to the work Venus' mom had been doing on hunting down Isu artifacts, like the Apples of Eden… Seeing as she has always been great with history, Venus' mom was put on one of the teams following leads on Isu technology.
"Actually, yes, we have made some great progress on the dig. We even found a clue that may lead to another potential site too."
"That's great. I'm glad to hear it's going well." Lukas begins the farewells.
"Same for you Lukas, it was wonderful to see you again." Venus' mom replies easily.
"Likewise, Aurora. And Venus, great to meet you. I can easily say you are nothing like those rascals you call brothers."
"A fact that I am immensely proud of. It was my pleasure, Lukas." Venus responds to Lukas' quip at her twin brothers.
Lukas stands tips his head and walks over to the door leading to another section of the ferry while bringing his hood back to cover his head. Venus checks her watch. Wow, that took twenty minutes. And now we just have to wait to arrive in Naples and we can go about our day as we had planned.