Chapter Five: The Simple Things in Life

With a touch of irony, Da'an, Tay'jay and Hubble were given rooms that formerly belonged to members of the high council. The hierarchy and high council buildings were now both being renovated. However, the high council renovations had only gotten past the third floor. The high council suites were all on the highest levels. Auger was given a room next door to Da'an's. All the high council rooms were connected by doorways, meaning that they could have private access to each other if needed.

The moment Hubble lay on his back, he realized just how tired the journey had made him. He fell asleep immediately. Tay'jay remained awake for a long time, but soon fatigue caught up with him as well, and he fell asleep. Ariel had slept through most of the trip, and she was just starting to awaken. As she grew restless in Auger's arms, he knocked on the adjoining door to Da'an's room.

"It's open," a faint voice said.

Auger walked in with Ariel fidgeting all the way. He saw Da'an laying on her stomach. There was the faint sound of music on a desk in front of her bed. The song that had been playing when Auger walked in ceased and was replaced with "Echoes."

Da'an had poured a small glass of water and placed it in front of the bed. Tiny droplets were rising and floating in front of her. They began to create all kinds of complex shapes.

"You do this all the time?" Auger asked.

"Not often," Da'an said. "It helps me learn to control my telekinesis."

"What happens when you lose control?" Auger asked.

"The water spills," Da'an replied.

Ariel could see the shapes and was reaching out to touch them. Auger sat cross-legged in front of the dancing droplets. The droplets all combined to form a single liquid orb. It moved towards Ariel. When she grabbed it, it stayed in place, even when she stuck one of her fists right through it.

"She's pretty curious," Auger said. "Is she always awake all night?"

"Not always," Da'an said, "but it is not like Link and I really care. Neither of us need to sleep."

"Lucky stiffs," Auger muttered.

The orb moved away from Ariel and towards Auger. He reached out and grabbed the orb, but the moment he made contact with it, cold water spilled all over his hand. Ariel started laughing.

"You meant to do that," Auger grumbled to Da'an, setting Ariel down and looking for a towel. "Where's the bathroom around here?"

There was a large wardrobe to the right of Da'an's bed. Its doors flew open and two alien cloths flew into Auger's face. Auger rolled his eyes, removed them from his face, and started wiping his wet arm and his pant leg, where the rest of the water had found its way.

"Street was right about you," Auger said. "You were never this big of a trickster when you were a Taelon."

"How do you know? You never spoke to me when I was a Taelon," Da'an said, sitting on the edge of the bed. Ariel floated into her lap. The child was cooing the whole time she floated.

"Then, were you a trickster back when you were a Taelon?" Auger asked.

"You mean did I make fun of other people's misfortune. No. On Taelon, it wasn't funny when someone slipped on fruit and fell on his back."

"It is funny to you now?"

"Occasionally."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think it means?"

Auger thought for a moment. "What color is the sky?"

"Depends on what day it is."

Auger nodded humorously. He knew what Da'an was doing. "You're making fun of me."

"You looked like you could use a little humor," Da'an chuckled.

"Yeah, well," Auger said, "I guess you're right about us never meeting. So let's introduce ourselves. Hi, I'm Marcus 'Auger' Devereaux. What's your name?"

"Da'an," she replied.

"I like holo-women, coffee, martinis and gambling. What about you?"

"I enjoy reading, listening to people talk about themselves, diplomacy, C, and derivatives."

"Hmm, C+. So you're an old school girl?"

"It was the best language at being both simple and efficient."

"They don't have enough of you people out there, you know?"

"I know."

"How about exponential charts?"

Da'an shrugged. "They're only good for interest."

"Okay. What about chemistry?"

"Fluorine, Uranium, Carbon, Potassium chemistry."

Auger had to think about that one for a second. "Oh, that's wrong!" he cried when it finally hit him. "Who taught you that?"

"The human scientists who used to work with me on various projects used to say it in moments of frustration."

"Interesting. A Taelon learning bad nerd jokes."

"That's nothing. You should hear the one about the constant."

"No, stop! I know that one!" Auger said shielding his face. "That's a bad one. That one's bad even for nerd jokes."

"You're funny," Da'an laughed.

Auger joined in the laughter.

Ariel was bouncing happily on Da'an's knee.

"She really likes you," Auger said pointing to the infant.

"I know," Da'an said. The music player switched off. Da'an reached into a pocket in her robe and pulled out a blue crystal. Ariel squealed with glee and grabbed it. "She loves this thing."

"I guess cause it glows," Auger said.

"It used to glow even brighter than that, but the centuries of its existence have faded it."

"How old is it?"

"I don't know. Older than me."

"That's pretty old. Where'd you find it?"

"Hovering over my head when I was an infant in the hand of my older brother."

"Wow. So I guess you get why she likes it so much, huh?"

"I'd like to think so."

"Uh, what other toys does she like?"

"Stuffed animals, puzzles, plush toys, little airplanes and cars—she also likes books, particularly hardbacks."

"Books. Why?"

"Because she has discovered the sound they make when you hit the front cover with the palm of your hand. She loves that sound."

"Huh. I did not know that. It's the simple things in life you take for granted."

Da'an laughed.

"Well, she's real cute. Lili would be proud."

"She was," Da'an said. "Prouder than I was when I realized that she had my DNA."

"So that explains the eyes, and the hair color," Auger said.

"She used to change the color all the time, but she's since stopped," Da'an said. "Link says she likes my hair color. I don't think so."

"What do you think?"

"Personally? That she got bored with it."

Ariel began reaching for Da'an with the crystal in her left hand. Da'an lifted her and put her against her chest.

"So…um…how did she get your DNA?"

"Lili compelled me to give my energy to her in order to allow her birth Ariel. The DNA strands in my energy fused with Ariel's genetic structure as she taking form."

"I guess you weren't too happy about that."

Da'an's eyes turned downward. "I hated her."

"So were you glad when she…?"

"Of course not," Da'an said sternly. "That only made me hate myself. Lili carried a part of my soul inside of her, and I carried a part of hers. She was the best friend I ever had, and I hated her. But she never hated me. She always cared for me. She never stopped. I don't think she ever stopped caring for the people she loved, even when they turned against her. The fighting must have made her tired of hating people. It made me bitter."

"Did she…say anything about me…before she died?" Auger asked, blinking rapidly to try and hide his tears.

Da'an stared at his eyes, which were filled with water. "Yes," she lied. "She said she loved you."

Auger nodded and wiped his eyes. "Thanks."

Da'an nodded.

"She must have really cared for you if she gave you Ariel. Whatever happened to that bastard husband of hers?"

"He was court-martialed on death row. I do not know if they executed him. They take all the death row prisoners to a prison colony not too far from here. I believe it is on one of their moons."

"Well anything he gets is too good for him," Auger muttered.

"That's what I say."

"So why'd you bring Ariel here—I mean, if they've found a way to help her adapt to Earth's atmosphere…"

Da'an fell silent.

"You're right. None of my business," Auger said putting his hands up. "It just seemed like…she didn't need to come…"

Ariel tried as best as she could to wrap her arms around Da'an's neck.

"Oh my God," Auger realized. "You're planning on giving her up. You wanna give her back to the Jaridians."

"The thought has…crossed my mind."

"You can't. Lili gave her to you. That means she wanted you to take her. Nobody else can have her."

"You do not know that."

"But don't you?"

Da'an said nothing.

"She can't stay here. There are too many problems. There's too much war. Her dad's on death row here. Her dad's here!"

"Her father will be dead and forgotten soon enough. Her health is easier to manage here, and there are plenty of good Jaridians willing to care for her."

"But she wants you."

"For how long?"

"Every kid hates their parents every once in a while. It's a fact of life. You can't just dump 'em because you want them to love you all the time. That's how they become dependent on you."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"Yeah…Jay told me. You and Zo'or—I guess you think she'll turn out like Zo'or."

"Link and I never planned on having children for that reason. We still do not plan on having any more."

"So you're gonna leave her because you don't want children?"

"What is so wrong with that? I cannot be a parent unless I want to be, and right now, I do not want to be a parent."

"But you two work so well together. She never cries or whines when she's with you. You know all the things she likes. You don't sleep, so you don't have to worry about her waking you up in the middle of the night. You probably know all the foods she likes too, right?"

"I do."

"You know all the TV shows she watches, all the funny stories, all the music—you know how to make her happy when she's sad."

"She's only been under my care for a month."

"But she doesn't know anyone else but you," Auger said.

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"Think of all the fun stuff that's gonna happen when she gets older. You're gonna see her first step, hear her first word, take her to school on her first day, hear about her first crush, teach her to drive, buy her prom dress—well, maybe not a prom dress—but you will buy her wedding dress."

"You are surprisingly optimistic."

"All I'm saying is that nobody else seems to object to you caring for her. Why should you?"

"True," Da'an considered. "If it helps, I am still thinking about it. You had better rest. Morning comes in five hours."

"I am pretty worn out," Auger said. "You want me to take her, or you gonna crash with her tonight?"

"I will take her," Da'an said. "It has been established that I do not sleep unless she does."

"Speaking of which…" Auger said pointing to Ariel. She was curled against Da'an's chest sleeping soundly. "…guess you get to sleep tonight."

"I guess so," Da'an said.

"Good night, Da'an," Auger said closing the adjoining door behind him.

"Good night, Auger," Da'an said lying backwards, with her legs still over the edge of the bed.

The next morning, Balvak and Geris met Da'an and Tay'jay in the lobby of the high council building.

"Where's Mr. Urick?" Geris asked Da'an.

Da'an and Tay'jay glanced uneasily at each other.

"Disposed at the moment," Da'an answered with a smirk.

Tay'jay snickered. "More like disposing."

"What's so funny?" Balvak asked.

But Geris understood. He started laughing. That only made Da'an and Tay'jay laugh even harder.

"Oh man," Tay'jay said between laughs. "You should've seen his face when he..."

Balvak pointed behind them. Hubble was with Auger looking anything but cheerful. Auger was now wearing a blue robe that Ta'lay had given him.

"I'm so glad you all found this funny," Hubble told Da'an, Tay'jay and Geris cynically.

Auger pretended to grunt and then to sigh with relief behind Hubble's back. Then, he waved his hand in front of his nose. That was when Balvak figured it out, and soon all five of them were laughing at Hubble.

"I'm sorry, man," Tay'jay said trying desperately to fight off the giggles.

"I'm so sorry. I just can't…" Da'an could not even finish, she was laughing so hard.

"Can we just get on with this?" Hubble asked in a frustrated tone.

The laughter slowly subsided.

"Okay. We're stopping," Balvak said panting to stop his laughs.

"We're finished, Mr. Urick," Geris chuckled. "We apo-apoligize."

"We're done. We're done," Da'an said getting what was left out of her system. "Seriously. It's not funny anymore."

"Oh man, Auger," Tay'jay panted upon his recovery. "That was awesome. You're all right."

"Likewise," Auger said shaking his hand.

Hubble rolled his eyes.

"So if you are here, where's the infant?" Balvak asked Auger.

"Da'an got up early and gave her to Ta'lay," Auger said. "They're both gonna stay in her suite until the negotiations are over. I wanted to be there to watch."

"As long as she's safe," Geris said smiling at Da'an.

Da'an nodded.

"Well, shall we?" Balvak said pointing in the direction of the meeting room.

As they made their way to the council room, Balvak described the situation of the Jaridians since the civil war had ended. The former members of the hierarchy were reinstated to care for the Jaridians' very fragile economy. It was promised that after the Lillian Contract was signed, the Jaridians would hold elections to fill the rest of the hierarchy seats. Former resistance leaders were up for most of the seats. The rest were members of Balvak and Geris's peace corps. Balvak and Geris were both hopefuls as well, but Geris was hesitant to run. He hated politics.

"What about the insurgents?" Tay'jay asked. "What do you plan to do with them?"

"They will be dealt with accordingly," Balvak said. "We will handle them as our police force is re-established. Then, they will be taken to prison colonies around the system to await trial."

"Sounds like you have a lot under control," Hubble said.

"Only around the Citadel," Geris reminded. "The rest of the planet is still very much under distress. It could take years before Jaridia is as strong as it once was."

"What about the rest of your territory around the galaxy?" Da'an asked. "What will happen there?"

"The warlords will continue to control it…for now," Balvak said.

"Well, the warlords can't be too happy about this shift in power," Tay'jay said.

"As far as we know, they have not been informed of the shift," Geris said. "It takes years to send information out there."

"Are you certain of this?" Da'an asked. "It did not take long for them to receive news of the bounty the Synod has placed on me."

"Even if they do know about the disposal of the high council, there's nothing we can do about it," Balvak said. "The situation is too dangerous here. We lack the amount of forces to take care of the warlords and Jaridia at the same time."

"I very much doubt that," Tay'jay muttered.

"I know what you're thinking," Geris said. "Since we have been able to push you as far out as the Milky Way Galaxy, you assume that we do have the manpower to handle the warlords and the situation here. What you do not know is that those troops are controlled by the warlords."

"The high council put millions of soldiers in the hands of the warlords as their empire grew," Da'an explained. "But seeing as the warlords were controlled by the council, I doubt those soldiers will remain loyal to the hierarchy."

"So you take care of matters here, and then you just hope that the warlords stay where they are," Hubble surmised. "Not much of a strategy."

"If you can think of a better one considering the resources we have, I'd like to hear it," Balvak said bitterly.

Geris darted a scornful look in his brother's direction.

"I…apologize," Balvak said inhaling deeply. He opened the door to the council floor. "Please enter."

Suddenly a group of armed Jaridian soldiers stopped the group in their tracks. Tay'jay could see the hierarchy had been apprehended too.

"What's the meaning of this?" Hubble cried.

"This is an intervention, human," said a deep voice from afar.

A group of twelve Jaridians appeared from the other side of the room. The soldiers forced Hubble and the others to the center of the room with the rest of the prisoners.

"You son of a bitch," Tay'jay whispered to Balvak. "You know you really had us going there for a moment. I was actually ready to trust your lying, cheating ass too."

"These aren't our troops," Balvak said between his teeth.

"Then, whose are they?" Auger interrogated.

"Well, well, well. See how the tables have turned," one of the twelve leaders said. It was Dujak. That was all that Tay'jay needed to see that Balvak had been telling the truth. These were soldiers of the warlords. Dujak reached and grabbed Da'an by her hair. "How does it feel to be made a fool of?"

An unseen force pushed Dujak, freeing Da'an from his grip. In a rage, Dujak struck Da'an, knocking her unconscious. Tay'jay rushed to attack Dujak but a pair of soldiers stopped him. They forced his hands behind his back and pushed him towards Dujak.

"You're quite the little con-artist, aren't you, boy?" Dujak whispered.

"Don't call me boy. I'm older than your grandmother, scumbag," Tay'jay sneered.

"That's good," Dujak chuckled. "You'll be easier to break. Take them to the bunker below and keep them there. The high council's going to make some changes to your precious Lillian Contract, and then you're all going to sign it.

"This isn't over," Geris growled to Dujak.

"You are absolutely correct," Dujak retorted. "Let the games begin."