Oh, Mordenna was so ready for his day in the sun.
It was pretty early in the morning for everyone else's standards as he was making his way through the Bridge, hopping up and vaulting over the railing. It was hard to wipe the smile off of his face as he entered the door leading to the short hallway to Eliza's room. Airlock like, almost, but his thoughts were elsewhere. They'd tentatively set up how the rotation schedule would go and Mordenna wasn't going to be a minute late to dote on the love of his life.
He arrived at the door to Eliza's quarters, leaning on the wall next to it and mentally checking the time in his head. Any minute now...
That minute continued to not come. Mordenna rolled his eyes, pretty sure he knew what was happening. Lily wanted a few extra minutes with the Commander, and could he blame her? Yes, actually, quite a lot, because he was one of her surrogate brothers. Speaking of surrogate brothers, he was glad he'd asked for the fifth day slot in order to work with Julian some more. He and Vix were playing along nicely and things were... settled, for the moment, between him and Lily. Not friendly, but settled, and that was good progress in Mordenna's eyes. He'd take that over what it had been before.
Eventually, Mordenna's... impatience caught up with him. Eliza was on the other side of that door, likely in her sleep clothes. Mordenna wanted that. He rapped his knuckles on the door. "Yo! Mom said it's my turn to love on Eliza! Put your panties back on!"
There was the distinct sound of Lily aiming a swear in his direction, but his rudeness had the desired effect. It was hard to hear what was going on in there, if at all, but eventually the door opened and Lily emerged, hair mussed as she was in the middle of putting on her jacket. "Let us sleep in for a few minutes," she grumbled. "Not like I didn't just have the best night of my life, or anything."
"Yeah? My job today is to give Eliza the best morning of her life, because guess who handled her morning reports and is going to impound her in there for a few hours." Mordenna jerked a thumb at himself, unable to contain his grin. "This asshole right here. I'm gonna give her some damn good reasons to stay in bed."
Lily scoffed. "You're hopeless, but at least you're taking a load off Eliza."
"Girl needs more breaks, what can I say?" Mordenna put his hand in the doorway to keep it held open. "And hey, if I go hard enough, I can justify more."
"Ughhh." Lily groaned, walking off. "I didn't need that mental image, thanks! Treat her well and maybe I'll forget about it."
"Wouldn't dream otherwise," he assured, turning and walking through Eliza's door.
Sure enough, Eliza was on the bed, getting up as he entered. Just a t-shirt and underwear, like the night they'd spent together before. God, Eliza was beautiful. He let the door close before he wolf whistled, earning him a laugh. "Good to see you too, Mordenna. Figures you're here on the dot."
"Damn right and not a minute late. Hope you got your time in with your other lovers because you're stuck with me today."
Eliza moved over to her wardrobe, and as she spoke, Mordenna soundlessly stalked up behind her. "Mildly stuck, anyway. There's still some things to cover today—we need to be down to the Black Market here eventually, I need to get details about the supply raid the havens opened for us—"
She stopped as Mordenna crouched down and hugged her from behind, speaking right next to her ear. "Mmm, busy, busy. The Bridge is making preparations to head out as we speak, that mission is over in New Russia and the coordinates are straightened out, and all of your other morning duties have been handled. That just leaves you and me here until we touch down at the Market—which is a while away."
She grinned. "You were ready for this, huh?"
"Damn. Right." Mordenna leaned in and nipped at her ear, causing Eliza to take in a breath. "You and I, Eliza, we've been dancing around our feelings for too long. So let me state this plain: I. Want. To fuck you. Your consent provided, of course."
Eliza fell back against him, scandalized out of words for a moment. "... just like that?"
"Just like that. But only if you're ok with it. I can wait if you want to. And there will always be the option to stop, and things to handle later." He rested his head against hers, heart going a little crazy. "So, Liz? It's up to you. Don't wanna come on too strong."
For a few moments, Eliza was silent, and Mordenna wondered if it was too much all at once. He'd wait for as long as Eliza needed for it to be ok. He loved her, through and through, and he'd only be enjoying it if she was enjoying it.
Another second later and Eliza turned around, her lips meeting with his. "Yes, cowboy. Take me for a ride."
Oh, he hardly needed to be asked twice.
What a morning that turned out to be.
After a rather... active relaxing time, thanks to Mordenna, Eliza had been left satisfied and maybe a little sore. Thankfully, Mordenna had been prepared for the aftercare too, and Eliza was treated to breakfast in bed as his own drone brought it in and he went over the things he did for her morning activities. Oh, Mordenna was a gift. Eliza had some of the best days with other people she'd had in a long time thanks to this lover rotation, but Mordenna certainly made his impression by metaphorically going for the throat at the outset. She wouldn't rank her lovers with a gun to her head, but Mordenna had his own charms.
Still, with that out of the way, it just left the visit to the Black Market. They'd gathered up the supplies they intended to trade for more engineering materials, considering they needed to bulk up for the UFO. Eliza hated, hated resigning herself to it coming, but Mordenna had been right. With Jane in the ship and no way to remove any tracking device without straining her health, it was likely that ADVENT had a bead on the Avenger. At this point, it was just a question of when, not if.
Mordenna must've caught the expression on her face as she held her Seraph helmet in her hands, already in her armor. The other Chosen and Bradford were similarly preparing, and Mordenna walked over, lowering his voice. "Hey, love. Everything alright, there?"
Eliza sighed. "Largely. Just thinking about the UFO again, naturally. I think I'll feel a little bit better when we get those supplies from the Baroness and then get our boots on the ground regarding the Skulljack." Mordenna had handled the specifics of that in the morning too—he'd drafted up a team for the supply raid that could double for whatever they pulled out of the Codex once it was Skulljacked.
He nodded, leaning down and kissing Eliza on the forehead. "I get ya. We're all gonna be with you when things go down, and I'm gonna make damn sure people on the ship are ready. They won't lay a hand on you so long as I'm alive, alright?"
Smiling, Eliza returned the kiss to his cheek. "Glad you've always got a plan, cowboy. I'll be counting on you and everyone else."
Bradford leaned over. "What're you two lovebirds going on about?"
Mordenna looked back, smirking. "Oh, just the things we got up to this morning, just me and Liz. Wanna hear, Brads? I'm just dying to share all the graphic deets."
"Mordenna," Jax said, staring him down, "do that in my presence and I will actually kill you."
That just made him crack up, standing and moving over to clap Jax on the shoulder of his armor. "Aha, alright, but only because you asked so nicely!"
Eliza rolled her eyes, putting on her helmet. She half-wondered what the Baroness would think of all this, if she found out.
Well, no time like the present. The ride in the Skyranger was fairly uneventful, with Eliza just leaning back and relaxing to the sounds of the ship. The walk up to the Market was similarly peaceful, with Jax using his own strength and psionics to lug the produce and other supplies they were bringing as payment.
When they'd entered the Baroness's chamber, however, she was already standing up. Beside her was Heidi. Heidi's skin was extremely white, and Eliza had been told in the past that they had albinism. Their irises were bands of red and purple, and their hair was close-cut. Their Templar uniform was black, and had seen better days without the official support of the Templars to keep it properly maintained. The Baroness sighed as they entered. "Sorry, everyone, no getting comfy just yet. This is my resident psych, Heidi. Heidi, say hey."
Heidi waved, though as always, their eyes were trained on Eliza. "Hello, everyone. I don't mean to bother."
"It's hardly a bother," Fal-Mai responded. "I did not take Templars to be down here, however."
The Baroness sucked some air in through her teeth. "Ex-Templar. Long story short, they got a bad feeling about the whole deal and split. I always could use a few more unique hands around here, so they're with us, now. Anyway, before we can get the inventory sorted out, they wanted to handle something."
Eliza went "ah." Heidi always mentioned wanting to handle something whenever they saw Eliza. "—my fortune, right?"
"All of your fortunes," Heidi murmured. "But yours most of all."
Bradford crossed his arms. "I might sit out, thanks. Got enough anxiety about running the place without knowing and worrying about my own future, too."
Heidi nodded. "I don't mind. I would like to have you all down at my station. I can focus more easily with my tools and runes, there."
Eliza nodded. She still had her Seraph getup on, so it'd just be a matter of making it through the Market. "So long as we get some of your coffee out of the deal, I'm willing to go through with it."
They chuckled, walking past them. "As always, as always. Please follow me."
They all complied, trailing after them out of the main entrance of the building—after Jax talked with the Baroness and just left the crates in her office, of course. There was another opening to the heart of the Black Market; the bunker beneath the building. As they entered, Eliza couldn't help being swept up in the sights—though she took ahold of the hand of the Chosen closest to her to make sure she didn't get separated as she looked.
The Black Market was a being of its own. It almost reminded her of an underground mall, with the center area set up like a marketplace and with more essential storefronts and services built into the walls like outlet stores. It was noisy, but in that way that faded into the background of Eliza's mind. Plenty of people were wandering around, some browsing wares, some making supply runs, and even a few people yelling out about stands further into the marketplace. She'd been down here enough to know the general look of the place, but the stalls occasionally swapped positions or changed out entirely as sellers moved places and set up shop.
What they were going for was one of the built-in locations, of course. Elerium-lined glass tubes fulfilled the same purpose as neon, and Heidi's shop was "The Wandering Gaze," stylized with an elerium-neon eye with a star inside of it. They unlocked their door and opened it, going in and holding it open as the rest of Convoy Seven streamed in.
The inside was heavy with the smell of coffee. Several plush couches surrounded a coffee table with mismatched coasters on it, with a rug underneath that Eliza recognized as Jericho's—another vendor's—work. There was a counter with a high stool at it, with a stand-up card on it reading "The Teller Is Busy." The room was rather purple, lit up by more faux-neon emplacements. It was rather comfy, and served the purpose of a waiting room. Near the back was an ornate door to the back of the shop.
Once everyone was in, Heidi walked further in and turned around. "—my standard policy is to do readings separately. Sometimes... there are things found that others don't want to know."
Bradford walked towards the door, leaning against it. "As long as we have at least two people out here, fine by me."
"Of course." Heidi went over to a table with their coffee machine on it, beginning to start their brew. "Eliza, I have always been meaning to glean yours first. May you please enter the back room?"
The prospect of getting her fortune/future told was still a... mysterious, she would call it, prospect to Eliza. Was it like Marlene's where the future could be changed? Or was it a destiny sort of deal? She supposed she was about to find out. Nodding, Eliza opened the door to the room, entering and closing it behind her.
The back room was quiet, and more steeped in fragrant herbs and smoke than coffee. Baubles and trinkets rested on a table to the side, as well as a few ornate-looking containers, undoubtedly holding substances important to the craft. There was a dull pillow situated in front of a collection of more colorful ones, arranged like they were meant to be laid on. What looked like elerium crystals were embedded in the walls and connected with glowing lines that twisted in entrancing patterns, giving a feel halfway between something alien and something exotic that Eliza didn't have a name for. The ceiling looked like a starscape had been painted on it, with the pinpricks of light mimicking stars twinkling in the night sky.
Surroundings analyzed, Eliza spotted a chair and sat down in it, taking off her helmet and waiting. Heidi wasn't far behind after that, entering the room and bowing to Eliza. "I apologize for the wait, Commander. I simply wanted to ensure you had something for you when we were done."
Eliza waved it off. "It's no trouble. So, how do we begin?"
In response, Heidi walked over and sat on the duller cushion, motioning to the pile. "Lay yourself down on your back, head towards me."
Hm. Well, it wasn't going to take so long that the muscle memory would be a problem, and hopefully Heidi would spot it if it did. Eliza did as instructed, tucking her braid so she wasn't laying on it and stared up at the starscape. She watched as they leaned over, reaching for something on the table. There was the sound of a box unlatching, something being fished out, and then Heidi came back into view. In their hand was a stick of some material, dark in color—which they then broke over Eliza's head. The smell was... of the first time Eliza had stepped into a chicken coop. Not the most pleasant smell, but from the minute she'd seen so many of those feathered friends all in one place, she'd fallen in love. It was a nostalgic smell, to say the least.
"Mm. Promising." Heidi fetched what looked like some sort of incense tray, putting the two sticks broken ends up, taking a lighter and igniting them. The smell quickly faded then as they set the tray to the side. They reached over again, grabbing what almost looked like a tablet with a thick sheet of crystalized, translucent glass between two handles, with a dial-like object on one side. "Look into the glass as much as you can stand," they murmured, "but know there is no shame in turning away."
They turned the dial as Eliza gazed up at it, the starscape distorting further, twisting. The incense... the smell for it came back. It was like the sensation she got when Jax channeled his powers, almost being a subconscious smell to it, like the taste you got in the back of your mouth when an IV drip started. The lights above, coming through the glass, shifted purple, and there came a blurry form past it that started to make her gut twist. Silver helmet. Red robes. Gold trim.
One more day. I'll give XCOM one more day...
Eliza squeezed her eyes shut, slightly turning her head away. The echo of speech in her mind stopped and the smell subsided. There was the sound of something being put back on the table. "... you may open your eyes, now."
Eliza did, looking back up. Heidi's eyes were glowing purple slightly, and they placed their hands on Eliza's temples. "Would you allow me to touch my forehead to yours? It is the best way I can get your history as of yet unspoken."
She let out a gentle breath. "Alright."
As Heidi leaned in, the Commander closed her eyes. There was the warmth against her forehead, that physical contact she usually shared with her lovers. She could feel psionics coming to life above her, and her mind pricked. Heidi wasn't reading it, but more like...
The figure in front of her was cloaked in light blue, tendrils flowing in some unseen, undersea current. It was a shade of what she hated, in the shade of her own psionics. As she sat, nearly dead to the world, it reached an imploring hand towards her.
"Mom...?"
Eliza's eyes flew open and she gasped, causing Heidi to shoot back into a sitting position. Eliza herself sat up, heart racing. Those last two had been memories. What was...?
"Eliza." She twisted back to face Heidi, who looked somewhat sheepish. "... my apologies. I've... never had a reaction like that before. It was as if..." They shook their head, taking a tool and snuffing the incense—which was farther down than what Eliza granted it for the timespan. How long was she out? Or did that just burn fast? "I digress. I have your telling, if you wish."
Turning around, Eliza weighed her options. She definitely had questions about everything that just went down, but what was the price for knowing? Not anything Heidi would set, but something more... cosmic. Still, curiosity won out. "Go ahead."
Heidi nodded. "You lived... what would almost be a standard life, before everything else. A bright future, snuffed by coincidence, which ultimately led to catastrophe. Decisions made that perhaps would have doomed you." That much Eliza was sure of, even if it sounded kind of vague. "After that... there is so much that is beyond your conscious, held captive by your subconscious. Contained, but whether that is better or worse for you is hard to discern."
"Some things are best left forgotten," Eliza returned, remembering one of her clear memories of Argus. Although, hearing what she did... "one more day?" There was another where Argus talked to her near Unification Day, but it was slow to come back. She'd have to think on it later.
"If you say. There can be danger in remembering—lingering on the past distorts the future, and too long in what could have been forever snuffs what could be." Heidi's gaze turned to the side. "Speaking of such, I was... unable to get a clear reading, even with my technique. I normally have a more vague perception of someone's future, but even what I saw was... hard to link."
Well, Eliza was still muddling over what had flashed through her own mind. "Anything worth pointing out, you think?"
"A tower, once rebuilt, splintering once again underneath the force of a divine strike." Heidi put a hand to their temple. "People at the base mourn, but before I lost sight... they were already picking up the bricks to try again once more."
Hm. "Encouraging," Eliza muttered, trying not to think about the implications. Maybe it would have been better to not know that another tragedy was in store. Eliza wasn't expecting to make it out totally unscathed, but there was the hope for it, at least.
Around the time she thought that, Heidi looked back at her. "There was something else, now that I think about it. It was as if there was one more image layered on top of what I saw, but what was in it is beyond my recollection. Given just a few seconds more, perhaps I could've discerned it."
"Is that a suggestion to try again...?" Eliza didn't know how jazzed she was at the idea.
Thankfully, Heidi shook their head. "These things never work favorably. Once scryed, the future flees from me, even with the focuses embedded in this room. It would take more power than a human possess in order to have a firmer grasp on what is to come."
A certain Templar came to mind for Eliza. "... think I know someone like that. You were a Templar—?"
Heidi held up a hand. "... speak not of her. Or of the Templars and their doctrines to me. They know not what they seek, and that 'Seer...' There are some beings man was never meant to grasp."
Well, point taken. Eliza nodded. "I'm sorry, then."
"It's alright—you did not come from a place of malice." Heidi gestured to the door. "Send the next in. And thank you for letting me peer at your history."
The Commander got up. "Of course. Go easy on the Chosen, ok?"
Heidi smiled wryly. "Only as easy as they would go on themselves."
Hm. Mordenna didn't know how much he trusted fortune teller types.
Oracles, sure, he'd had the evidence to them being accurate proven to him. Maybe Heidi wasn't a sham, considering their link to the Templars. He was just... concerned. More so as he watched Eliza walk out of the back room with her helmet in tow, notably more reserved than when she walked in. Mordenna walked over, having been pacing beforehand. "You alright, Liz?"
"I'm fine," she said, immediately making him suspicious. "As fine as having a bit of my future revealed gets, I suppose. Hard to get to grips with that."
Jax leaned over from his spot on the couch. "Then come here, Eliza. I will not see you stew over your own future alone."
Eliza sighed, but ultimately came over to the couch, plopping herself into Jax's lap. Amusingly, Jax seemed rather flustered and caught off-guard, which Mordenna snickered at. "Well, looks like you got your wish, Jax. If you excuse me, I have a fortune teller to interrogate."
"Mordenna." Bradford leveled a look at him. "Go easy on them."
"Only as easy as they went on Eliza," Mordenna muttered, walking towards the door and inviting himself in.
The room inside was interesting, but what drew his attention the most was the pattern of psionic energy moving through it. The runes and elerium crystals in the walls were redirecting it and essentially capturing whatever was in the vicinity—something he knew by the trails of red and light blue mixed in the rest of the purple. Psionics were weird, so Mordenna didn't doubt that this was probably how Heidi was getting a majority of their fortune telling done.
Speaking of them, they were sitting down in front of some cushions. "Ref-Il Mordenna. I hardly thought the day would come that you would agree to be down here."
"For the last time, drop 'Ref-Il,'" he sighed, with just a bit of heat behind it. "First name's practically 'Hunter' now and honestly I think it's a better name. Or just, y'know, call me Mordenna like everyone else does."
"My apologies." Heidi gestured to the pillows in front of them. "We can begin whenever you are ready."
"Better now than never," Mordenna muttered. "How do you want me?"
"Lying on your back, head towards me."
He nodded. He was too tall for all of him to be on the cushions, but he'd fit in the room lengthways, at least. Not like he wasn't crouching a bit already. Mordenna settled down on the pillows. The ceiling... seemed to shift slightly, the glimmering stars almost looking like they were flowing. Mordenna formed more pillows from his nanos to support his legs as Heidi reached over and grabbed a slightly thick stick of incense. She broke it over his head, and Mordenna smelled... Volk? Cheap vodka and dusty coats, but... he didn't smell like that brand of vodka nowadays. More of whatever slop the Reapers were making. That brand of vodka was long out of running—not that it had been any good.
Heidi blinked a few times as they looked down at Mordenna. "—I had not taken you to have a past at all, Hunter."
As she lit the incense sticks, the smell faded. "Yeah. Had something before the Elders came and kidnapped me." Then, what they said occurred to him. "Hey, wait. Did you just smell the same thing I did, or?"
"Your psionics, however small, had a rather vivid reaction to the scent." Heidi placed the sticks in a tray nearby, the wisps of smoke beginning to fill the room. "This room lays psionics bare to me, allowing me to skim them easily, and for my powers to harmlessly peer into the minds of others."
Practical, he supposed. His psionics did feel a little more... out there, but it was hard to describe. Hard to notice, too. "Fair." Thinking about what he'd remembered... Volk was there in the past. Mordenna couldn't really pick a concrete memory out, but the thought of Volk was... a hopeful one. Hm. "What's next?"
In response, Heidi took what looked like some viewing glass tablet from their table. As they held it over Mordenna, he could see the psionics in the room pouring into it—and now that he knew Heidi was getting into his head, he could kind of feel someone that wasn't him in there. Well, he wasn't really invested in pushing them out, so he took a breath in and relaxed.
"Look into the glass as much as you can stand," they spoke as they turned the dial on the tablet, "but know there is no shame in turning away."
The psionics filtered through the crystal-like glass, twisting, gaining color and form. Purples and blues melded into new colors, something sharper. There was a flash of light blue and Mordenna could see the top of the Avenger like he was standing on it, could smell the grass on the breeze. In front of him was... himself. His vision lurched forwards like he'd broken out in a sprint—and the image of him tried to turn back and look at him. Of course, his foot didn't catch the Avenger properly, and he lurched backwards into a freefall. Eliza didn't break her pace and leapt over the side, meeting with Mordenna midair.
No, not like this, not like this, I have to do something—!
Mordenna squeezed his eye shut, even if he knew what was going to happen next. Hearing Eliza's own thoughts in his head... actually, if this was supposed to be sometime in the past, how was he seeing Eliza's perspective? When he opened his eye to ask, Heidi had set the tablet down, staring at him. "... so it goes that deep between the two of you."
"Hey, quick question," Mordenna said, trying to keep his mind off of it, "how was I seeing Eliza's perspective?" Something occurred to him. "Does that have something to do with her psionics still being in the room?"
Heidi nodded. "Normally, such a vision would have been from your own perspective—but the Commander's psionics linger. The world remembers, Hunter, as much as you or I do, and psionics remember. Thus, you and I see what she saw as it relates to you."
Psionics were weird. Jax would have a field day with this, he imagined. Mordenna blew out a breath, definitely not trying to think about that event. He'd been stupid then, and didn't know what he had until it was almost gone. Never again. "Makes enough sense to me. So, we have past and present. Curious about how you'll do the future."
They put the viewer on the table, looking back at Mordenna. "I would need to put my forehead on yours for the best result, if you're alright with that."
Pretty intimate, but whatever. The future was the future, and Mordenna was done not paying attention to oracles. He pulled his hood off, trying to relax. "Go right ahead—just don't get lost in there."
Heidi nodded, leaning down. Their forehead met his, and all Mordenna could think of was how cold humans were. At least, in relation to Chosen. Before he could linger on it for too long, his mind underwent a weird sensation. He'd melded enough with his siblings to know what that was like. This was something different...
"But why." Mordenna stared at the white wall of the cell, restraining every urge to scream. "All those times. All those times I got beat, did you just sit there and watch? Why? Did you think it didn't involve you?"
"Mordenna," they pleaded, "I would've stopped Odin if it wouldn't have endangered—"
Mordenna lost his temper. "Did you ever even try?!" He whirled around, looking the Avatar in the eye. "Did you even think about trying to save the kid getting whipped by his dad day in and day out?! Or were you too afraid to risk your own hide?!"
"Not my own." They met Mordenna's gaze. "Eliza's."
Nope. Too much information. Mordenna mentally slammed Heidi out of the connection, navigating around their head and sitting up. "That's enough," he muttered, already trying to commit what he saw in the vision to memory.
He couldn't see Heidi, but judging by the pause before they spoke, they were plenty dazed. "—I... I'm sorry, Hunter."
"Don't be." He hated the future. "Not like you had any control over what I'd see, I'd imagine." The Avatar. One of the cells. That voice...
It was another moment, but Heidi spoke up again. "... I have your telling, if you wish."
Mordenna recalled his nanos, taking a deep breath and sighing it out. "Alright. Hit me."
"Your past... so deeply stuffed beneath barriers and trauma." There was movement, like they were putting things away. "You were a different person—no. Two different people, one before the other. But only one was taken from you."
Mordenna usually didn't put any stock into things like horoscopes due to how vague they were, but that was precise enough to make him believe. Amazing that they got a reading like that without deep scrubbing his mind, though. "One of those personas I was happy to ditch, don't worry. But losing the other wasn't exactly my choice."
"Of course. Which leads me to your present. Your self changes once more, but I believe who you are now is a more permanent place of being than the others. A happier time... and it reminds me of your past. Changing from something that was forced upon you into something more of your own. Someone kinder, gentler. Stronger."
"Getting a kid will do that to you, I suppose." The reflection of his past onto his less-ancient past was... an interesting thing to think on. He had more culpability in some of the things he did under the Elders though, and probably less in what his actual parents were forcing him to be. Hard to tell as always, of course. "... did you see what I saw for the future?"
"I'm not inclined to say so." Heidi paused. "—I saw you, upon a pale horse. You rode alongside a river, and at the end of your path was an injured pheasant, chained to a tree. You raised your pistol in your left hand... and you ended my vision before I could see what your intent was."
Death. Mordenna's mind vaguely brought up that allusion. Astride a pale horse. "Never could escape Death, could I."
"Death as it appears in the Major Arcana isn't necessarily a bad thing." Mordenna stood up and looked back at Heidi, who was still sitting. "It is a card of changes. Endings, yes, but beginnings with it. In that vision... I would imagine you are deciding if it is the pheasant who meets their end, or their captivity."
The pheasant. The vision. His decision. Mordenna looked to the door. "... I'll get my sister in here. Don't go freaking her out."
Heidi nodded. "I will make the attempt."
Fal-Mai was unsure of how ready she was to have her fortune told.
Unlike her brothers, she'd never had the... fortune, perhaps, of having her future gleaned by Marlene. It had seemed to be rather confrontational in both cases, so she was mildly afraid of what it would be like to have hers revealed.
That fear only grew as Mordenna exited the back room, notably more quiet than he'd been going in. Fal-Mai's eyes raised to his own. "... Mordenna? Are you alright?"
"Mm, debatable, but I'm mulling over my fortune. I'm bound to be a little quiet." Mordenna came over and sat down next to Jax, leaning back on the couch. He looked at Eliza, now in her Seraph helmet once again and off of Jax's lap for the moment. "—you're up, Fals, I should say. Keep safe in there, alright?"
Fal-Mai stood up, Rosetta melding back into her arm. "I will make the attempt."
She walked forward, not quite paying attention to Mordenna's mumbling under his breath. Opening the door, she invited herself in.
The room inside had quite the background noise. A gentle humming, one she recognized from Eliza's psionics, although there were a few other noises mixed in under it. Wind, and also what she'd call smoke diffusing. Heidi was sitting on one pillow in front of many, nodding to Fal-Mai as she entered. "Fal-Mai Neylor. I've heard much of you."
"Probably all from my brother," she mused, coming to sit on her legs in front of Heidi. "I imagine he had many... gripes about me back when we all were with ADVENT."
Heidi gave a knowing smile. "That he did. His attitude towards you has certainly changed, even from my limited impression."
"That it has." It was almost staggering to think about nowadays. Just a year ago, meetings with Mordenna could often end in death, and he was always so hostile. Now? It was hard to picture him so cruelly, now with the experiences Fal-Mai had with him. Still, she was here today regarding something, and she somewhat wanted to go back out there and ask Mordenna what he had seen. "Still, may I ask how you will tell my fortune?"
"It's a process in three parts." Heidi gestured. "Lay on your back on the pillows, head towards me."
Fal-Mai did as instructed. She tried to clear her mind as Heidi reached for something on the table. They cracked the resulting stick of incense over her head... and Fal-Mai smelled grass and water. Specifically, that lake at midnight she'd passed and stopped at during one of her outings. It had been warm then, with fireflies dancing in the air and leaving reflections on the water. It had been the first time that Fal-Mai had simply stopped to admire the world she'd been created in, and had then steeled her resolve to rule it fairly once she won the competition.
But there was something more under the scent. There was the curious scent of psionics that only came about when they heavily saturated an area—essentially, whenever she was around Jax. It was coming from the broken stick of incense, so perhaps Heidi had infused the stick? She'd have to ask Jax if smell-based psionics were even viable.
"Hm." Heidi set the incense aside, lighting it. "So you recognize my incense for what it is?"
She blinked. "—partially. I cannot say I've pinpointed it, but I did not know you could infuse psionics into incense."
"It was something I learned of my own accord. Psionics are rather malleable once you are used to them."
Perhaps Fal-Mai needed to train her own psionics at some point. They had the Psi Lab and they had Jax. She really needed to be making use of the resources she had. "Curious. And the next step?"
Heidi reached over, grabbing some glass viewing tablet. "Look into the glass," they instructed, "but look away when you must. Discretion can be strength."
Fal-Mai nodded, staring up at the glass. Heidi turned a dial, and Fal-Mai could hear the psionics in the room start to coalesce above her. The glass shifted, and a blurry image manifested. Even though it was unclear, Fal-Mai could recognize what it was portraying. In front of her was Mordenna, and behind him, the soldiers he had come with. The smell of spent mag and plasma rounds was in the air, and Mordenna was glaring at her.
They were just angry and wanted to take it out on someone, you gullible fuck!
She couldn't accept that, at the time. But Mordenna had said something important there, if vulgar. She hadn't thought the Elders could just act mindlessly in anger—but the more she had thought about it, the more sense it had made. Thus came her hesitation, then her doubts, then her resolution...
Fal-Mai hadn't realized it, but she'd closed her eyes. Not forcefully, more in a meditative state of thought. She opened them again, and Heidi had taken the glass viewer away. "He was the one to first sway you to XCOM?"
Looked like Heidi had seen or experienced the same thing she had. "In a sense. He planted the seed of doubt—something I'm not entirely sure he intended." Fal-Mai clasped her hands on her stomach. "I think he, too, had just wanted to lash out, but his words came from a genuine place that not even he knew he had at the time. In the end, I suppose I'm thankful I was called such words."
"Blessings arrive on strange winds," Heidi agreed. "Are you ready to move to the next step? I'll need to touch my forehead to yours in order to get the best reading."
Hm. Fal-Mai didn't know how she felt about someone she hardly knew touching her face. But, Fal-Mai was truly curious to know her future at this point. "I'm ready."
Heidi leaned down, and as they did, Fal-Mai closed her eyes. She almost winced at the contact, unused to Heidi's presence. But other things concerned her more as her thoughts rolled and shifted.
"Please, Assassin!" The scientist pushed herself back, hitting one of her monitors and stopping. "Can you honestly have expected me to think there was any other way? We are at war!"
"War is no cause to make suffering worse!" Fal-Mai had to hold back every urge to pick Vahlen up by her throat and dangle her there. "You had every opportunity to turn back at any time! The rulers were—are people! Can you honestly expect me to believe they hadn't pleaded for their lives, not once?!"
"Do you suggest that I would have risked my life to find out, when every other experience I had said they would kill me without a second thought?"
"The fact of the matter is that you didn't try!" Fal-Mai jerked a thumb at herself. "I will not stand here and listen to such blind self-defense when I am here, living proof of the virtue of second chances! Do you think they chose to be in captivity as they were? Were you ignorant of every distressed cry and scream? I cannot imagine which is worse—either you were ignorant of their suffering when it was so obvious, or you knew and perpetuated it!"
The woman in front of her spoke again, but Fal-Mai couldn't make out the words. The vision was fading fast, and she grasped for it, but it fell from her fingers. She sucked in a breath, unaware she'd stopped for a few moments.
Heidi lifted their forehead from hers. "... that is as much as I can get. The future flees from me. I have the rest of your telling, however." Somewhat stunned, Fal-Mai nodded. Heidi continued. "You haven't had much of a past, it seems. A life up until now spent in happy servitude, certain you had been blessed by the gods." That was very true, as much as Fal-Mai detested it. "As I saw with your brother, an inciting incident left you practically fleeing from what you had known. At first you could not glean quite why, consciously at least. But you learned, one way or another. As for your future..."
Fal-Mai sat up, staring blankly ahead. That woman, was she...? "What did you see?"
She looked back, and Heidi met her gaze. "I saw you, Assassin, in red robes. Your sword was clutched in your hand, and even though you were blindfolded, your gaze was trained on a woman in front of you. You moved to strike her, and your blade stopped a mere inch from her throat. You looked behind you, to the jury... then picked the woman up. The vision fades from there, but it seemed as if you were ready to 'throw her to the wolves,' as it were."
Well... if that had been Vahlen... Fal-Mai would want to kill her herself, yes. But there were others that needed justice delivered to them. She couldn't be the sole arbiter in the situation. Fal-Mai nodded. "I can see that future coming to pass. What do you suggest I do?"
"My tellings tend to occur whether you want them to or not." Heidi picked up the incense tray, filled with ash. "But in your case, I do not think this is such a bad outcome. It will at least help prepare you for what's coming, and know how to respond after. So, in this case... know who deserves justice the most. But don't forget your own anger and righteousness."
That was soothing to hear. Satisfied, Fal-Mai stood up. "Thank you, Heidi. This has been an enlightening experience. Shall I send in Jax?"
"Of course." Heidi smiled gently. "There is much to be learned, I'm sure."
Time to see just how this fortune teller was achieving their readings.
Jax looked up as Fal-Mai exited the back room. Contrary to what he'd seen with Eliza and Mordenna, she seemed rather satisfied with the experience. Perhaps someone had something better in their future than Eliza and Mordenna did, which worried Jax, naturally. Still, good that not all of them had grim events in store.
Fal-Mai came over to the couch, sitting down. "—I believe I may have something to share with all of you, once Jax's reading is done. I would prefer we all be here for it."
Jax nodded. "Was Heidi good to you?"
"They were." Fal-Mai sat back. Mordenna waved a mug of coffee at her in offering, and she scrunched up her nose before addressing Jax again. "I think you will be interested in Heidi's methods, brother."
"Indeed." Jax stood, stretching as much as he could in the space, walking towards the back door. "There is much to be learned, I'm sure."
Fal-Mai made some noise of mild bewilderment that Jax didn't catch as he entered the back room. The presence of psionics was thick in the air—Fal-Mai, Mordenna, Eliza, even Heidi's were pooling in the room, reluctant to leave. He chalked that up to the emplacements and lines of Elerium on the walls, likely shielding the room and causing the psionics to bounce and float around inside instead of dissipating. He could feel Lucifer taking a keen interest in the room as well—though he wasn't out. Jax was fine keeping Lucifer in his head, both because it was hard to say how people around here would react to him, and he could keep him closer to his conscious thoughts so that he wasn't essentially caged like he had been.
Heidi was sitting down on a cushion near a table filled with implements. "Jax-Rai Tessura. Why do I feel as if my methods are about to come under scrutiny?"
"The Mindbutcher of old would scrutinize," Jax countered. "I'd like to think I'm simply going to ask some questions regarding how you divine such fortunes." He gestured to the Elerium crystals. "The heavy concentration of psionics in this room must allow you to slip into other people's minds undetected, so past and relative present must come out of that. But I wonder how you glean the future?"
"You shall see, if you allow me to show you." They splayed a hand out in the direction of the bed of pillows. "Lie on your back, face up. And if your gauntlets are anything like the Templars', take them off. Restricting your psionic signature will interfere with my reading."
Jax could understand the logic in that—he just hoped his inflated power wouldn't similarly mess anything up. Thinking on that, he began to take off his gauntlets and set them on the table as he sat down. "Should I also take off my amplifiers?"
"Don't. If anything, your signature being more pronounced will make things easier to read."
He nodded, his other gauntlet joining its twin on the table. He laid down, making sure to sweep his hair out of the way as he did. Heidi reached for a stick of incense and Jax could see the minor amount of psionics suffusing off of it. "—hm. I did not think I would see psionically infused incense outside of my own congregation."
Heidi raised their eyebrows. As they did, he could feel them slipping into his mind. Lucifer retreated further down and Jax allowed them access. "There are others who would practice this? I thought I was the only one."
"One of my Mystics practices, yes. She infuses the sticks and one of the most common scents she makes is one that draws upon your favorite smell."
"Perhaps this will be familiar, then." Heidi broke the stick over his head, and Jax could smell... psionics. Hm. It took a moment, but a proper smell finally kicked in—rosin. Maybe not the most pleasant smell, but it made him feel nostalgic. All those hours spent warming up his violin for playing, all that tuning... and by the Void, how many times had he made his hands sticky? It had always been worth it, though, for both the warm tone of the violin and the praise from his then-Priests at his learned ability.
Jax smiled gently. "A stick that brings back pleasant nostalgia?"
"A rather rose-tinted view of the past, yes, but best to lead with something I can guarantee will be pleasant." Heidi inserted the sticks into a nearby incense tray, lighting them. The form of the psionics changed from there—still hovering around Jax's head, but not calling upon his memories for the moment. They then reached for something made from glass on the table—and as they picked it up, the psionics around the room began to lazily float towards it. They held it above his head, and he could feel the gentlest tug of his own psionics up. "Look into the glass as long as you can, but know there is strength in reservation."
A looking glass? By the way psionics clung to the crystal-like surface, he imagined it'd been imbued with Elerium. Heidi turned a dial and that guess became correct as the glass shifted and shone, the psionics now rushing towards it. His own psionics joining it and being guided by Heidi's caused an image to manifest in the glass—a familiar one. Jax saw himself as if he was hovering slightly above his head, sitting with his knees drawn in on a storage crate in a cramped room full of them. His horns were off and his gauntlets were lit up, trying to contain the force of his sorrow. The door to the room opened, and in stepped his sister. She hesitated only for a moment before sitting down next to him, throwing a supporting arm over him. He looked to her, his eyes soaked in sorrow.
Brother... I'm here. I want to help.
Jax closed his eyes. He knew what happened next, and if Heidi was seeing the same thing as him... they had already seen enough of his weakness. When he opened them again, Heidi had put down the looking glass, gazing at him thoughtfully. "The three of you really have mended the bridges between you all."
"I would like to think we have," he replied. "I don't think we would have survived, otherwise." Without that love, Mordenna wouldn't have found where Fal-Mai was, outside of that cave. Without that love, Jax wouldn't have been able to muster the strength to get Odin off of Mordenna. "—and the future?"
"I won't be able to look for long," Heidi explained. "I need to touch my forehead to yours to get the best access to your psionics and mind."
Jax nodded, closing his eyes. "Do as you must." He could feel Lucifer retreating deeper, as well. Don't lose yourself down there, he cautioned him. I would rather have her find out than have to force you down.
"I only had problems with being in there against my own will," Lucifer replied. "Your subconscious isn't a bad place to be lost in. I'd rather just not be confined to one area for my entire life."
That, Jax could understand, and it made him feel better. Heidi's head met his, and his psionics seemed to grow restless... and he got the feeling he had standing in front of That Which Sleeps Beneath...
That roll of power, that orchestra was hounding their feet. Jax's head was pounding in mental exhaustion and it was taking all that he had to keep pushing his siblings forward, maintaining the shield behind them. The Avenger was so close, once they rounded this corner, the soldiers could start firing at him.
Mordenna's foot hit the ground at a strange angle and he cried out, his injury no doubt making the fall worse. Jax's shield took another hit and he knew that even with Lucifer's help, he wouldn't be able to maintain it long enough to pick Mordenna back up and keep moving. Fal-Mai was already reaching for Mordenna, blood seeping from her own wounds.
Only two of them could make it out. Only—
The future is not yours to show, Teller.
With the thunderous voice of That Which Sleeps Beneath, Jax was hurled out of the vision. He shot up, head nearly colliding with Heidi's. He twisted back to see Heidi cradling their head, face twisted. Jax fully turned around. "Heidi—?"
"Out."
He blinked. "Is there something—?"
"No. It is no fault of your own." Heidi's eyes opened, and they looked... heavily conflicted. "—the only thing I was able to see of your future was yourself, suspended by one leg from a tree. I could not get much context, but you seemed accepting of your position." Heidi closed their eyes again. "That is all. I... I need to think about what just happened."
Jax stood up, Lucifer having returned to his consciousness. "That was Mother just now," he said as Jax gathered his gauntlets. "Heidi likely found some way to tap into Her energy to catch glimpses of the future. I can understand why She wasn't happy when She found out."
The future is a dangerous thing to know, Jax agreed, exiting the room. If they had been doing that up until now, what was the catalyst?
"My presence, perhaps. Mother likely keeps an eye on me now that I'm not so hidden."
Made enough sense to Jax. His eyes landed on his siblings, still sitting around Eliza, and Bradford near the door. Jax adjusted his gauntlets. "Through no fault of my own—and you may quote Heidi on that—I believe Heidi won't be seeing anyone else today," he said, voice lowered.
"Christ, bro," Mordenna muttered, picking up that they were going to speak in lower tones. "Scare the daylights outta them, or what?"
"In a sense," Jax replied, sitting on the couch, "but assuredly not of my own volition. Regardless, Fal-Mai? I believe you had something to share?"
Fal-Mai looked to Eliza, then at her hands in her lap. "—it was the vision of the future that Heidi granted me. Eliza, I am unsure how to say this, but... Heidi showed me confronting Vahlen, in some sort of lab."
Eliza, her expression hidden by her helmet, seemed to stare at Fal-Mai for a bit. "She's alive." It was more of a matter-of-fact statement than a question. When Fal-Mai nodded, Eliza put a hand on her helmet. "Mm. Fantastic. Add her to the list of growing difficulties that are coming up."
Fal-Mai looked away. "I'm sorry..."
The Commander's body language switched immediately, scooting over to Fal-Mai and rubbing her shoulder. "Hey. It's alright, it would've happened whether I knew about it or not—seems this future telling stuff works out that way. I'm a little stressed right now, but I shouldn't be taking it out on you guys. It's me who should be sorry."
Fal-Mai looked consoled at that, which Jax was relieved about. He knew why her first instinct was to apologize—if he was in the same situation, he would've apologized too. "Please, Eliza, I could never blame you..."
"Sometimes I'm deserving of blame. I'm only... well, mostly human, as far as I'm concerned." Mordenna nervously rubbed the back of his neck at that, but Eliza didn't seem to notice. "I need to take accountability when it happens. Still, thank you for telling me, Fal-Mai. Means I'm at least mentally prepared. Any other details on how we found her?"
She shook her head. "None. I... had been too busy shouting at her to take stock, apparently."
"Mood," Mordenna mumbled. "My future was more... personal. Would rather not share, if that's alright."
Eliza nodded, then looked to Jax. In turn, his siblings did as well—along with Bradford, who had been quietly listening in. Jax... Jax knew the tarot. The Hanged Man was a card of new perspectives, of letting go, of martyrdom. Sacrifice. He recognized the orchestra behind him, there. He didn't want to tell his siblings, because what if Heidi was grabbing absolute truth visions? Did he subject them to that?
Lucifer emerged, hanging off of Jax's shoulder as he was wont to do. "My presence disturbed the future telling. Even as I was hiding in Jax's head, I guess they tried to tell my future too and it messed up the process."
Jax wasn't expecting Lucifer to cover and lie for him, but Jax was thankful for it nonetheless. Eliza tilted her head at him, and looked like she was going to ask a question, but never did. Bradford picked up the slack. "Good thing I didn't want my fortune told, then. Seems like everyone got something heavy to think on or nothing at all. We all ready to head back out, Convoy?"
Everybody nodded and got up, with Bradford getting the door. As they walked out of Heidi's shop and Lucifer ducked back into his mind, it left Jax time to think on what all had happened. Heidi had given him the prediction of the Hanged Man, and in his own sight of the future, he'd heard Cronus, seen the outside of the Avenger as he and his siblings ran to it in various states of injury. Was Cronus going to appear in the defense, and was it a guarantee? If not, what could he do to prevent it?
"... Marlene's advice has changed the future she saw in the past before, right? Maybe there's something we can do." Even as Lucifer said that, there was a definite note of uncertainty to his voice. Still, Jax wanted to believe that—the question was just where they would even start. It was taking all that he had to maintain that shield, perhaps he needed to further refine his psionics? Maybe a trip to the Psi Lab was in order, if he could somehow add to his psionics. He knew his main focus was constructs, but his second... well, he hadn't meddled in the affairs of the dead for a long time. Hardly had reason to. But if he could avoid that scenario...
Jax was only brought back out of his thoughts when they were out of the Black Market proper once more, heading back into the warehouse. Mordenna looked to Bradford. "How soon can we expect everyone to be ready for the supply raid?"
"Tomorrow, if everything shapes up and we get a good load of supplies from this trade."
"Fantastic. There's still a few details I wanna iron out, but not near prying ears and eyes, yeah?"
Bradford nodded and Jax had to wonder what the additional details were. He still remembered the Mother advising him to get the Skulljack project done as fast as possible, and he'd figured it was done by now. All that was left was to use it.
They entered the top area of the Black Market again, where Ray waved to them as they entered the Baroness's office again. The crates were still there, although one of them had been opened. There was a half-eaten apple on her desk, and she looked up as they entered. "Took long enough. The produce you guys are bringing is way too good. There something I should know? Are these ADVENT Burgers all over again?"
Eliza shook her head, taking off her helmet again. "No, we've just got a pair of very good gardeners. A breakthrough in our greenhouse means we've got plenty to share, as I've said before."
The Baroness looked at Eliza for a moment, going "hm." "Tell you what, Rosie. One piece of intel for another, nothing too big. Tell me how you're actually getting these and I'll let slip some info I know about."
"If you're worried about these being poisonous," Eliza assured, "don't worry. Worst 'poison' in them is them being GMOs. But, to answer your question? We've got a new guest on the ship, and her forte is plants. Very much plants. She's helping Tygan grow them."
The Baroness nodded, reaching over and bringing a screen towards her. "Alright, alright. I'll assume freaky alien, but I'll take your word on the fact that there's nothing much up with them. As for what I've got..."
She typed some things in on her keyboard, then flipped the screen around. It was a blurry picture of the outside of a Forge-like facility... and what looked like hundreds of message logs off to the side. "May not look like much, but one of the Reaper wannabes in this area decided to set up shop with his weird info rig, and turns out he'd hit gold."
"Wait, wait, hang on a second." Mordenna crouched down to read the monitor, eyes flickering across the screen at an impressive rate. He suddenly grabbed the Baroness's keyboard, making the logs scroll. He seemed to be just blankly looking at the screen—but Jax could see the small hints of dawning horror.
"Manners!" The Baroness crossed her arms. "Judging by the look on your face, though..."
Mordenna muttered a stream of expletives, rubbing at his mouth. "I. I dearly hope I've got this wrong right now. I'd pay good money to turn out to just be a goddamn idiot."
The Baroness grumbled something along the lines of "should've charged more" as Bradford leaned over. "What is it, Mordenna?"
"This is a Forge facility. In itself, not that unusual, we can sack those things. But... these logs..." Mordenna went silent for a second. "The Avatar Project is nearly done."
That—that was right. There had been something about the vision that had Jax questioning. How had Cronus been chasing after him if they were all essentially on life support? Eliza almost shoved Mordenna out of the way as she read over the ADVENT-written logs, though slower than he had been doing. "—of course. Of course, while we're cowering from the UFO—"
"But I don't get this." Mordenna was still looking at the screen. "This is leaps and bounds, more progress than they've made in twenty years. How...?"
The Baroness, usually someone Jax would consider unflappable in the short time he'd known her, was biting her knuckle and leaning in. "... wish I'd taken that ADVENT course. You two ain't shitting me?"
"I wish I was." Mordenna stood up. "We don't have any time. Baroness, I'm gonna ask for some materials in exchange for what we have here and we don't have time for any barter."
She sat back in her seat, still with her knuckle against her mouth. "... name what you need. As long as it ain't too much. I may know the worth of what I've got but it ain't worth shit if ADVENT comes in here and razes the place with that mini-god."
"Glad to hear it," Mordenna muttered. He looked to Jax. "Fal-Mai, Jax, get ready to go down and haul what I'm about to secure. One of you tell Firebrand to get ready to go back in. We've got things to do yesterday."
Jax quickly nodded, getting back up in time with Fal-Mai. The clock was running out fast. He hoped they could manage everything in time...
