Fate of Frailty Chapter 14
By Karen Hart
For a moment Jr. stood frozen in surprise, as he stared at a face he'd not seen since in a good six years. Yet despite the time elapsed, the dark-skinned boy looked much the same now as he did back then.
chaos took a step forward, his right hand reaching behind his head in a show of mild embarrassment. "Ah, hi. I heard you and your brother were running things here, so I thought I'd come and say hello."
Another awkward moment passed, before Jr. ushered chaos inside. "Ah, yeah. Nigredo—that is, Gaignun and I, well…" The redhead wasn't entirely sure where to start.
"You don't need to fill me on everything at once," chaos assured him, his words laced with a light chuckle.
Jr. nodded. "You're right. So, what brings you to the Foundation?"
"A small cargo ship, if you really want to know." The two of them smirked at the evasion, knowing it for what it was. "I was in need of transport, and the captain was good enough to oblige." With that, chaos settled himself down in one the suite's plush armchairs and looked up at Jr. "You seem to be doing well enough."
"I guess you could say that." Jr. shrugged, noncommittal. "Some things just seem to've fallen in our lap, so to speak." His voice faded, slightly, as he inwardly went over the events in his life.
chaos raised an eyebrow at Jr.'s tone, but decided against asking, choosing instead to change the subject. "I heard there's some big project going on here."
Jr.'s face lit up, youthful face animated by a sudden surge of enthusiasm. "Yeah, we've been designing a lake of sorts in the middle of the colony."
"Of sorts?" chaos asked, curious about his friend's choice of words.
"Well, we don't expect it to look like an actual natural lake or anything," the redhead clarified slightly, before hopping up. "Come on, I'll show it to you."
---
Transport to the "lake" took the better part of an hour, due partly to the detours caused by the occasional construction crew scattered about the station, but mostly due the station's massive size. The sight of their destination, however, was enough to make the two of them all but forget the trip.
Jr. grinned privately to himself at the look on chaos's face. Spread out before them was something not unlike a massive pool, a good quarter of a mile wide, save for the fact that it was still dry. Machinery and support structures were clearly visible at that point. Tiny specks that could only be work crews milled out, setting paneling or operating the aforementioned machines. It was far from complete, but even then, it was an impressive sight. chaos remained silent, his opinion of the project readily apparent in his expression.
Looking away from the unfinished lake, chaos asked, "What brought this whole thing about?"
Jr. looked upwards a moment in thought. "Well, you know the Foundation was a supply depot?" chaos nodded; it was rhetorical question. "Well, we're trying to move pretty far away from that, into a legitimate colony. And Gaignun looked up a few things on community morale and the like. Seems people that live near water—you know, beaches, lakes, straits, that sort of thing—tend to, I don't know, do better or something like that."
chaos nodded slowly, absorbing Jr.'s answer. "Makes sense."
"Uh-huh."
---
Shelley leaned back in the chair, fingers poised over a touchpad as she regarded the screen with no small amount of apprehension. The library was all but silent, the soft beep of fingers hitting keys and the rustling of pages from the small supply of ancient books were the only things to be heard—those, and her own nervous breathing. Was Gaignun right? Had she been looking in the wrong places? She closed her eyes and thought back to an earlier conversation.
Gaignun's office was a reflection of the young man that occupied it. It was organized and elegant in a simple, unpretentious way. A small communication screen sat at the center of his desk, not far from where a UMN phone sat in a cradle. Flimsies sat in a triad of shallow trays, stacked to conserve space. Against one way a table was surrounded by a pair of couches, a more informal place to conduct business. A potted tree sat near the large bay window that afforded a rather impressive view of the Kukai Foundation. Yes, one had to admit that it suited the young man nicely.
The black-haired man sat on one the couches, leaning back and savoring a cup of coffee. "Found anything yet?" He didn't need to clarify.
Shelley shook her head. "I've been trying to look up everything I can of our mother, but I just keep hitting dead ends."
Gaignun paused for another sip before answering. "What about your father?"
Another shake. "I really can't remember him too well." Shelley thought for a moment, dredging up half-forgotten memories. "Actually, I think he and Mom divorced just a bit after Mary was born." A frown crossed her features, before she smoothed them back into place. "Maybe I'm just quitting my searches too soon."
"That could be it," Gaignun agreed readily enough. "Though…"
Shelley leaned forward slightly, curious about what Gaignun would have said. "Yes?"
"Just a thought, but—have you considered looking up information on yourselves?" At the stunned look on Shelley's face he continued. "Surely there are birth records floating around the UMN. Parents would be no doubt be listed."
For a few seconds Shelley could no nothing but stare at Gaignun in shock before she let out an exasperated sigh. "Why didn't I think of that?" she asked, of no one in particular.
"Too obvious, perhaps?"
Her eyes flashed back open, expression suddenly determined. Quickly she tapped out her search criteria, though she paused for a long moment before hitting "execute".
Progress bars flashed in the corner of the screen, visual assurance that the search was taking place. She held her breath without realizing it as she awaited the results. A moment later a pair of words superimposed themselves near the top of the screen, while a list of names appeared just below them.
"Match Found."