Chapter 1: Another Routine Morning
***CHIRRP*** ****CCCHHIIIRRRRPP***
"Ohhhhhnoooo" Mylene groaned, rubbing her eyes. She answered the phone "Vocal
only"
Her mother appeared in a red suit with a blue beret "Good morning, my pretty
birthday girl!" She was being way too cheerful Mylene, at this.... She checks
the clock, 8 am .... Ungodly hour. "Sweetheart, let me see your face, please?"
Mylene stuck out her tongue at the screen while gathering a sheet around her
a little. "Screen on" she said.
Millia Farina Jenius took a good look at her youngest daughter, smiling. She
was so grown up now, her features were still very young, but that was genetics,
she would probably always have a baby face. Her long hair was a mess; she'd
obviously woken her up, as she planned. She was beautiful. Millia sighed,
she could tell Mylene was getting impatient; she was starting to glower on
the screen. She smiled. "Still coming over for lunch, honey? Your dad will
be here too."
Mylene's mood lightened at the thought, her parents' relationship had been in
bad shape 2 years ago, but slowly and steadily they had been reconciling. They
still loved each other; their jobs being at odds had been hard on them. They
didn't live together, but now it was like they were dating. Mylene thought it
was cute. "Yes mom, I'll be there, I'd love to see you and daddy. 1 PM at your
apartment?" Her mom answered "Yes, dear. See you then, baby. Happy birthday!"
The screen went blank, leaving an afterimage of her on Mylene's eyes.
Mylene sighed, and rolled over. More sleep. More sleep is good. She rolled
over a few more times, and 15 minutes later found herself staring at the
ceiling. 'Guess I am getting up' She thought to herself.
She made her way to the bathroom, sleep still in her eyes. The shower woke
her up, washing the sleep away from her. She hadn't a lot of sleep, but
enough. When she got out of the shower she looked at the bathroom clock
noting the time. 8:45. She sighed, way too early for lunch. She made her way
to her kitchen and made herself some toast and poured herself a glass of juice.
She thought about going for a swim, this was her normal day or a swim, after
all. "One has to keep oneself in shape to be in the public eye, Mylene" she
repeated to herself, quoting her manager Akiko. She thought about skipping
swimming, but it WILL kill time, won't it?
She usually swam on Tuesdays and Thursdays, today was a Tuesday. She ran on
Mondays, weights on Wednesdays, Tai Chi Chuan she tried to do on her own daily,
she met Veffidas usually once a week for "push hands" and sparring, the large
Meltroni was an excellent Tai Chi player, and she insisted that Mylene know
how to defend herself. Her mother approved, of course, but the reason she had
started was to relearn balance after those growth spurts, Veffidas had suggeste
d it, and she'd kept up with it because she enjoyed it... and the time she
spent with the stoic Meltron.
She finished her toast and juice, feeling more human.. "Or half human", she
teased herself out loud, touching the tips of her pointed ears, smiling. She
changed into a simple once piece suit designed for drag so she got the most
out of the workout, put on some sweats over it, and a pair of tennis shoes.
She looked at them critically a moment. They were huge. She shook her head,
and left her apartment for the basement gym for her building. The City 7
tenement buildings were truly amazing, especially if you could afford a good
one. Mylene never feared her safety or privacy in this upscale building, a
far cry from Roy's digs in Akusho, a low end add on module to City 7. Why
didn't he move?
Mylene took an elevator to the basement gym, and the locker room. She stowed
her sweats and shoes in a locker there, took a towel from the hamper, and
made her way to the pool. Remarkable how empty it was, there was only one
other person using the pool, everyone else must be at work at this time, she
guessed. She stretched out a little by the side of the pool, then tucked her
hair in a swimming cap and slipped into one lane of the competition length
pool. She took the first few laps easy, letting her body warm up, but soon
she was swimming as if born to it, immersing herself in the feel of the water,
the motion, the muffled sounds. Mylene guessed that if she were not a musician
she could have been a competition swimmer with her built...especially with her
damn feet, they were like fins!
After a while she could feel herself starting to tire, time to end this
workout. She increased her pace to burnout pace, trying to swim as fast as
she could, feeling the burn in her muscles. She completed two more full laps
at that pace then clutched the side of the pool, breathing hard.
*CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP*
She looked up. The other person, a woman, was looking at her slowly applauding,
smiling at her, she'd already put a sweat top on and was sitting on one of the
Aquatorium's benches at the side of the pool. Mylene just looked at her, still
breathing hard.
"You must be a professional athlete, miss, your swimming style and speed look
just incredible. It's like you were born to the water instead of the earth!"
Mylene pulled herself out of the pool and looked at the woman, smiling at the
complement. "Sorry, I just do this to keep in shape. I do enjoy it though."
She took off the swim cap and shook out her hair, the woman's eyes widened
for a minute, probably recognizing her now that she saw the hair.
"I'm sorry, you must be Mylene Jenius. I had heard that you lived in this
building, I'm sorry if I bothered you!" Mylene smiled, shaking her head.
"Not at all, Miss.....?" The woman smiled, nonplussed. "Mahara, Mahara
Fabrio." Mylene knit her brows for a minute "Fighter pilot, I recognize your
name, Lieutenant right? You were one of mom's favorites, right?"
The woman's eyes widened for a second then she smiled. "Of course, I hadn't
thought of who you were, I was just recalling you in Firebomber. You're
Millia Jenius' youngest daughter." Mahara smiled widely. "I never got to know
the Colonel's family very well, there are so many of you girls. I left the
service for a while, but now I'm back, I'm a commander now. I spent a little
time scouting pilots during the protodevlin war from athletes and grew an
appreciation of them. I must say Miss Mylene, you are a very impressive
swimmer for an amateur."
Mylene smiled at her, toweling off roughly, then draping it over her shoulders.
"I think it's because of these flippers, " She lifts a foot toward Mahara
showing it to her " and the fact that I somehow got all the Meltron height,
without the build." She said putting her hands on her slim hips. Mahara was
much shorter than her, and her bust and hips were about the same width, and
the woman was slim.
Mahara nodded towards the locker room, and both women walked that way while
chatting. "I think you are a beautiful woman Mylene. You make many women
think that they are disparately fat because you are so slim."
Mylene shook her head "It's just some weird genetics, I think me and my
sisters are the only German-Meltron mixes in all the fleets. What I hate
is that I have all the height and none of the build. I have a sister that is
barely 5 feet tall and very slim, and we have nearly the same measurements!
My sister Emilia is built like a Meltron, the boys drool over her." Mylene
laughs and gets her sweats on.
Mahara looks at her steadily, propped in the door to the pool. "Don't run
yourself down Mylene, your looks may not be normal, but they are good. OK?
I'd love to talk to you more, but I really need to get going, please feel
free to call me anytime, I'm in the directory. I won't answer if I don't
want to be bothered, leave a message. OK?" She smiles and stands up, heading
for the elevator. "Have a good day!"
Mylene watches the retreating woman, bemused. She liked running into some of
her mother's trainees, they were usually very good people. She shook her head
to clear her thoughts. She stretched a little, then donned her sweats and heade
d back to her apartment. She always felt so good after a workout, probably
something to do with endorphins, or some such.
When she got back into her apartment, she immediately took a shower, getting
the chlorine off her skin and out of hair, then looked at the clock. 10:30.
Great....
Maybe a few times around with Tai Chi, and some "Chi Gung" exercises. That
should focus her, get her practice in for the day, and kill some time. She
changed back into sweats and put on a pair of tight slippers, doing the form
in silence in the middle of her living room, focusing on her breathing and
her balance. She did several of the breathing exercises then did the "short"
form 3 times in a row, the first one at a normal pace, the second one very
slowly, and the last at a quickened pace. She stood and breathed for a while
afterwards, relaxed, feeling at peace.
When she finished her *3rd* shower of the day, she looked at the clock again
and decided she could get ready for lunch with her parents. She picked a
simple blue dress that came to mid-thigh (it looked almost short on her) a
pair blue heels (they showed off her legs a little better, and tilting her
feet makes them look shorter).
She checked the clock again. 11:50. The hell with it, so she'll be early.
She wondered a little about her sisters, whether any of them would be there
or not. She put on a jacket and grabbed her goggles, ready to drive her
convertible. Her mom's house was out of town a little, on a nice hill. The
drive would be nice, with lots of challenge, she was looking forward to it.
When she got to the garage she pulled the cover off her little Ferrari
roadster, and tucked it in the trunk. The engine sprung to life, raring to
go, despite a few months of neglect. She revved it a few times, making sure
all was well in the retro ICE plant under the hood, then took the car out of
the garage with practiced precision.
Mylene loved her car.
End Chapter One
***CHIRRP*** ****CCCHHIIIRRRRPP***
"Ohhhhhnoooo" Mylene groaned, rubbing her eyes. She answered the phone "Vocal
only"
Her mother appeared in a red suit with a blue beret "Good morning, my pretty
birthday girl!" She was being way too cheerful Mylene, at this.... She checks
the clock, 8 am .... Ungodly hour. "Sweetheart, let me see your face, please?"
Mylene stuck out her tongue at the screen while gathering a sheet around her
a little. "Screen on" she said.
Millia Farina Jenius took a good look at her youngest daughter, smiling. She
was so grown up now, her features were still very young, but that was genetics,
she would probably always have a baby face. Her long hair was a mess; she'd
obviously woken her up, as she planned. She was beautiful. Millia sighed,
she could tell Mylene was getting impatient; she was starting to glower on
the screen. She smiled. "Still coming over for lunch, honey? Your dad will
be here too."
Mylene's mood lightened at the thought, her parents' relationship had been in
bad shape 2 years ago, but slowly and steadily they had been reconciling. They
still loved each other; their jobs being at odds had been hard on them. They
didn't live together, but now it was like they were dating. Mylene thought it
was cute. "Yes mom, I'll be there, I'd love to see you and daddy. 1 PM at your
apartment?" Her mom answered "Yes, dear. See you then, baby. Happy birthday!"
The screen went blank, leaving an afterimage of her on Mylene's eyes.
Mylene sighed, and rolled over. More sleep. More sleep is good. She rolled
over a few more times, and 15 minutes later found herself staring at the
ceiling. 'Guess I am getting up' She thought to herself.
She made her way to the bathroom, sleep still in her eyes. The shower woke
her up, washing the sleep away from her. She hadn't a lot of sleep, but
enough. When she got out of the shower she looked at the bathroom clock
noting the time. 8:45. She sighed, way too early for lunch. She made her way
to her kitchen and made herself some toast and poured herself a glass of juice.
She thought about going for a swim, this was her normal day or a swim, after
all. "One has to keep oneself in shape to be in the public eye, Mylene" she
repeated to herself, quoting her manager Akiko. She thought about skipping
swimming, but it WILL kill time, won't it?
She usually swam on Tuesdays and Thursdays, today was a Tuesday. She ran on
Mondays, weights on Wednesdays, Tai Chi Chuan she tried to do on her own daily,
she met Veffidas usually once a week for "push hands" and sparring, the large
Meltroni was an excellent Tai Chi player, and she insisted that Mylene know
how to defend herself. Her mother approved, of course, but the reason she had
started was to relearn balance after those growth spurts, Veffidas had suggeste
d it, and she'd kept up with it because she enjoyed it... and the time she
spent with the stoic Meltron.
She finished her toast and juice, feeling more human.. "Or half human", she
teased herself out loud, touching the tips of her pointed ears, smiling. She
changed into a simple once piece suit designed for drag so she got the most
out of the workout, put on some sweats over it, and a pair of tennis shoes.
She looked at them critically a moment. They were huge. She shook her head,
and left her apartment for the basement gym for her building. The City 7
tenement buildings were truly amazing, especially if you could afford a good
one. Mylene never feared her safety or privacy in this upscale building, a
far cry from Roy's digs in Akusho, a low end add on module to City 7. Why
didn't he move?
Mylene took an elevator to the basement gym, and the locker room. She stowed
her sweats and shoes in a locker there, took a towel from the hamper, and
made her way to the pool. Remarkable how empty it was, there was only one
other person using the pool, everyone else must be at work at this time, she
guessed. She stretched out a little by the side of the pool, then tucked her
hair in a swimming cap and slipped into one lane of the competition length
pool. She took the first few laps easy, letting her body warm up, but soon
she was swimming as if born to it, immersing herself in the feel of the water,
the motion, the muffled sounds. Mylene guessed that if she were not a musician
she could have been a competition swimmer with her built...especially with her
damn feet, they were like fins!
After a while she could feel herself starting to tire, time to end this
workout. She increased her pace to burnout pace, trying to swim as fast as
she could, feeling the burn in her muscles. She completed two more full laps
at that pace then clutched the side of the pool, breathing hard.
*CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP*
She looked up. The other person, a woman, was looking at her slowly applauding,
smiling at her, she'd already put a sweat top on and was sitting on one of the
Aquatorium's benches at the side of the pool. Mylene just looked at her, still
breathing hard.
"You must be a professional athlete, miss, your swimming style and speed look
just incredible. It's like you were born to the water instead of the earth!"
Mylene pulled herself out of the pool and looked at the woman, smiling at the
complement. "Sorry, I just do this to keep in shape. I do enjoy it though."
She took off the swim cap and shook out her hair, the woman's eyes widened
for a minute, probably recognizing her now that she saw the hair.
"I'm sorry, you must be Mylene Jenius. I had heard that you lived in this
building, I'm sorry if I bothered you!" Mylene smiled, shaking her head.
"Not at all, Miss.....?" The woman smiled, nonplussed. "Mahara, Mahara
Fabrio." Mylene knit her brows for a minute "Fighter pilot, I recognize your
name, Lieutenant right? You were one of mom's favorites, right?"
The woman's eyes widened for a second then she smiled. "Of course, I hadn't
thought of who you were, I was just recalling you in Firebomber. You're
Millia Jenius' youngest daughter." Mahara smiled widely. "I never got to know
the Colonel's family very well, there are so many of you girls. I left the
service for a while, but now I'm back, I'm a commander now. I spent a little
time scouting pilots during the protodevlin war from athletes and grew an
appreciation of them. I must say Miss Mylene, you are a very impressive
swimmer for an amateur."
Mylene smiled at her, toweling off roughly, then draping it over her shoulders.
"I think it's because of these flippers, " She lifts a foot toward Mahara
showing it to her " and the fact that I somehow got all the Meltron height,
without the build." She said putting her hands on her slim hips. Mahara was
much shorter than her, and her bust and hips were about the same width, and
the woman was slim.
Mahara nodded towards the locker room, and both women walked that way while
chatting. "I think you are a beautiful woman Mylene. You make many women
think that they are disparately fat because you are so slim."
Mylene shook her head "It's just some weird genetics, I think me and my
sisters are the only German-Meltron mixes in all the fleets. What I hate
is that I have all the height and none of the build. I have a sister that is
barely 5 feet tall and very slim, and we have nearly the same measurements!
My sister Emilia is built like a Meltron, the boys drool over her." Mylene
laughs and gets her sweats on.
Mahara looks at her steadily, propped in the door to the pool. "Don't run
yourself down Mylene, your looks may not be normal, but they are good. OK?
I'd love to talk to you more, but I really need to get going, please feel
free to call me anytime, I'm in the directory. I won't answer if I don't
want to be bothered, leave a message. OK?" She smiles and stands up, heading
for the elevator. "Have a good day!"
Mylene watches the retreating woman, bemused. She liked running into some of
her mother's trainees, they were usually very good people. She shook her head
to clear her thoughts. She stretched a little, then donned her sweats and heade
d back to her apartment. She always felt so good after a workout, probably
something to do with endorphins, or some such.
When she got back into her apartment, she immediately took a shower, getting
the chlorine off her skin and out of hair, then looked at the clock. 10:30.
Great....
Maybe a few times around with Tai Chi, and some "Chi Gung" exercises. That
should focus her, get her practice in for the day, and kill some time. She
changed back into sweats and put on a pair of tight slippers, doing the form
in silence in the middle of her living room, focusing on her breathing and
her balance. She did several of the breathing exercises then did the "short"
form 3 times in a row, the first one at a normal pace, the second one very
slowly, and the last at a quickened pace. She stood and breathed for a while
afterwards, relaxed, feeling at peace.
When she finished her *3rd* shower of the day, she looked at the clock again
and decided she could get ready for lunch with her parents. She picked a
simple blue dress that came to mid-thigh (it looked almost short on her) a
pair blue heels (they showed off her legs a little better, and tilting her
feet makes them look shorter).
She checked the clock again. 11:50. The hell with it, so she'll be early.
She wondered a little about her sisters, whether any of them would be there
or not. She put on a jacket and grabbed her goggles, ready to drive her
convertible. Her mom's house was out of town a little, on a nice hill. The
drive would be nice, with lots of challenge, she was looking forward to it.
When she got to the garage she pulled the cover off her little Ferrari
roadster, and tucked it in the trunk. The engine sprung to life, raring to
go, despite a few months of neglect. She revved it a few times, making sure
all was well in the retro ICE plant under the hood, then took the car out of
the garage with practiced precision.
Mylene loved her car.
End Chapter One