Blue Drop: Angel's Home: Chapter 6
A Revelation, A Proposal
Ariel took Mari'il out for another of their now-typical dinners. As the skimmer headed away from the hospital, Ariel explained this time they were going to Bayside Seafood, and that someone would be joining them.
Mari'il's eyebrows rose. ``Bayside Seafood, and someone... you don't mean?...''
Ariel smiled, ``Yes, I do. She'll explain more there.''
Sure enough, when they arrived at the restaurant, they were brought to a triangular table. Loriel was already sitting there and smiled, gesturing for them to join her; she had only recently returned from the Fleet Exercises. This restaurant was renowned not only for its seafood but also for it's discretion, and their table was one of those secluded in a private alcove where it would be nearly impossible for others to hear any of their conversation.
Though Mari'il was bursting with curiosity about the private location and Loriel's presence, the three kept their conversation to inconsequential topics until their food was served—Loriel and Mari'il both ordered the bluefish for old time's sake.
``First off,'' Loriel began, ``Mari'il, I owe you an apology for the way Zephrael has treated you. I didn't realize how xenophobic she was, nor how that would affect her work. She is the head of neuro-science at the fleet hospital, so you can see why she got involved. But we'll limit any further contact you might have with her as much as possible. Given her position in the hospital, I can't completely guarantee you'll never see her again, but I will do my best. We can move you under Ariel's care, nominally because of her studying your genetics now instead of telepathy. I figure you won't object to that, but we did want to ask you about this first.''
``Thank you,'' Mari'il answered quietly, bowing her head. ``I'd appreciate that.'' She had feared that Zephrael might have actually been following Loriel's policies and was very relieved to find that her old friend was still her old friend and also disapproved of Zephrael's attitude and methods.
``You're welcome,'' said Loriel. ``I should also apologize to you for neglecting my duty and allowing these troubles with Zephrael to happen while I was away. Though it really is Ariel that you should be thanking. No sooner was I back from the Fleet Exercise than she came to see me. She told me all about the humiliating treatment she found that Zephrael subjected you to and demanded, in no uncertain terms, that Zephrael be removed from your case and placed where she could no longer `threaten' you. You should have seen her, Mari'il. She has incredible strength behind that gentle smile of hers. She is like the rose: beautiful, with soft delicate petals, but having a strong heart behind that with sharp thorns to protect herself and those she cares for.''
Ariel blushed at this, bowing her head and shaking it in denial.
``No, Ariel,'' Loriel continued, ``You did the right thing. Don't apologize or try to deny it. Nobody should be treated the way Zephrael treated Mari'il.''
Mari'il took Ariel's hand, causing her to look up into her eyes. ``Thank you, Ariel. Those words are far too inadequate, but thank you for all you've done for me.''
Ariel blushed again, and Loriel smiled. ``I have a feeling you may not be done thanking her. And that comes to the second reason we are here.''
Mari'il's head came back up to look at Loriel once more.
``Ariel also told me of some of the discoveries she made, and she has an interesting idea we'd like to talk over with you. We thought that it might be more appropriate to do this somewhere slightly informal, and given what we were just talking about, somewhere you'd know Zephrael wasn't involved or listening. I believe Ariel hasn't told anyone else of this yet.'' When Ariel nodded in agreement, she concluded, ``So I'll let her explain.''
Mari'il turned her curious gaze to Ariel, who began. ``You know I've been studying your genetic samples?'' She waited for Mari'il to nod. ``Thankfully Zephrael just put them into the standard hospital lab and proceeded to ignore them. I wouldn't want to put you though the pain of that sampling twice for no real reason. The first thing I discovered was an astonishing degree of similarity between your genome and ours—way more than parallel worlds would indicate likely. You do have several genetic groupings which are rare, and a couple more which we have only historical knowledge of.'' She paused and shook her head. ``In short your genome, and thus you, are far closer to Arume than we might have guessed. I suppose this is the reason for your exceptional compatibility with Ekaril and Arume technology.''
Loriel smiled at Mari'il's look of surprise and confusion at this news. ``I think I can explain a bit here,'' she interjected. She took a quick look around, verifying their privacy, then continued, looking at them. ``What I'm about to tell you is still a tightly kept secret: Ekaril will understand its classification of Fleet Restricted 3. I feel you have the right to know, but please don't spread it further.'' When both Mari'il and Ariel agreed, she continued. ``This goes back a bit in our history. I don't know if you recall the history of the discovery of Leminov shift travel and the Emil Force drive, but those happened before the male Arume completely died out. It turns out that some of the early exploration missions included male crew, and one of those actually made it to Forime—I mean Earth. The mission stayed there for some time, investigating a world which seemed very similar to ours. ...That much we know. The stories also suggest that they stayed long enough for some of the males to have children by earth-women.''
Mari'il and Ariel's eyes grew wide in surprise.
``It was in hopes of finding descendants of these children that the expedition to Forime was instructed to especially investigate the archipelago where Blue was assigned, as that was where this ship spent most of its time. If we could find some of their male descendants, we might be able to directly restore the lost male Arume. Unfortunately, it was decided to keep this information secret and hidden from the expeditionary force, as we were unsure if it was true. Also some did not want this possibility to influence any opinions. Not even Master Commander Shivariel was told of it.'' She paused, smiling, ``I think we can now agree that these stories are true. I would say that Ariel's studies confirm that you, Mari'il, or should I say Mari, are one of the descendants of that ancient mission.''
Mari'il and Ariel just stared at Loriel for a bit, surprised, as neither had ever suspected that Mari might actually have some Arume blood, even though the genetic tests pointed that way. Mari'il was the first to react. ``Now I understand that cryptic comment you made at our dinner here before I left saying that I should be open to finding the Forime closer to us than might be expected. I thought you were talking about their hearts and minds, given we share a common sentience, but now I see you meant more. Thank you for telling me. I think that remark helped me value the Forime more than I would have otherwise. And learning this makes me realize how right that was.'' A private smile grew on her face. ``Though I also learned my interpretation about our hearts and minds was also true.''
``Thank you for remembering that comment and getting the message.''
``If only Master Commander Shivariel could have understood this too,'' mused Mari'il. She paused, thoughtful. ``Could this also be why Mari could see an image shift from Blue like Ekaril could, but unlike anyone else? And is this why we were able to share touch telepathy?''
``I wouldn't be surprised,'' replied Loriel. ``I don't know a lot about that field, but I do know that the image shift was tailored to be seen by Arume, so that fits. We'd need to talk to an expert in neuro-genetics. Unfortunately the leading one here is Zephrael.''
``That is unfortunate. Though it makes sense why she was the first scientist to look at me.'' Mari'il sighed. ``I guess the real details of why aren't as important to me right now, but I figure you would like to understand more eventually.''
``Yes, that's true. But I'm also willing to wait until we can find someone else to work with you on it, since you are.''
.
Ariel, who had been staring off into space thinking, brought her mind back to the conversation and looked straight at Mari'il and asked, ``Forime generations are about twenty-five years, right?''
Mari'il agreed that they were after a brief thought, confused as to why she asked the question.
``Then you're even more remarkable. You have far more Arume genetic groupings than is likely after this many generations, many times more. I guess we should thank your ancestors. I think you, or maybe all of us, are very lucky in this regard. Not only have you inherited the brain structures sensitive to image shift and telepathy, but your genome also looks like it has the groups important for nanomachine compatibility.''
Mari'il raised a quizzical eyebrow, not understanding the implications here.
``In short,'' Ariel concluded, ``if you'd like, I think we can give you the same nanomachine restoration treatments we sometimes use for those suffering from those deficiency conditions I told you about earlier.'' She trailed off, ``That is, of course, assuming that you would want this and were willing to suffer the transition sickness from the treatments.''
``Really?'' asked Mari'il, not quite believing her ears. Ariel nodded, and she looked over to Loriel.
``Yes, Really. Ariel is telling the truth here. I'll also authorize these treatments as part of `veterans benefits' if you would like them.''
Mari'il just sat there, speechless for a bit.
[[ Mari, dear, ]] Ekaril said silently, [[ I leave this decision up to you. It's your body. ]]
[[ Ekaril, it's your body too now! ]] Mari'il smiled and blushed at the feeling of love Ekaril gave her at this statement. [[ Besides, don't you want this? ]]
[[ I want to know what you would want. ...But yes, it might be nice. ]]
[[ Then let's do it! If this will let us do some of the things you did before, and also let us fit in better here. That'd be great. ]]
[[ Mari-san, remember the transition sickness Ariel mentioned. Let's find out more before we give our answer. ]]
Mari had to agree with this. She looked back at Ariel, who returned a gentle, knowing smile and said, ``Now that it looks like you've talked it over in your head, have you decided about the treatments or do you have more questions?''
Mari'il had to laugh, and Loriel soon joined in. ``You know us too well,'' she commented. ``This does sound tempting, but you're right, we would like to know more: specifically about the likelihood of success or of complications, as well as the transition sickness you mentioned.''
``I thought you might.'' Ariel smiled. ``After all, this is effectively a major organ transplant. I do think there's a very good chance of success with the treatments, otherwise I wouldn't have suggested them to you. I'll look into that in more detail for you, and of course, we'll do some compatibility tests to make extra sure.
``Typically there aren't any bad side effects beyond transition sickness, but I'll find out all I can about that for you. Transition sickness is usually several days of aches, fever, and lethargy while your body, especially your immune system, gets used to the nanomachines and while they replicate through your body and learn to recognize it as well. I'm not sure what diseases you have on Forime to compare this with, but the symptoms are similar to the bird-swine virus here. I'll send you the info I have now and let you know what else I turn up.''
``Thank you,'' responded Mari'il. ``I'd appreciate hearing of what you find.''
Ariel glanced at Loriel who nodded. She told Mari'il, ``I can also show you the full sources I find. I know that your experience with Zephrael didn't give you much reason to trust us or our medical system.'' Her face saddened as she thought of the harm and injustice done to Mari'il. ``But I want to be as open and trustworthy as possible with you.''
``Thank you Ariel,'' said Mari'il, kindly. ``You've been a friend, a very good friend, and you've already earned our trust. Thank you.''
The three turned to more mundane topics of conversation as they finished their meal. Mari'il was also a bit distracted as her mind swirled with all she had just learned, with the new possibilities it opened up for her yet also the risks that went with them.
ooo OOO ooo
Mari'il headed over to Admiralty house, this time for the meeting with Phanuel they arranged after the Board on Ekaril. As the skimmer took her there, she mused over how things had changed since her arrival. Her early days at the hospital were likely closely monitored. Although nobody called it anything like ``house arrest,'' Ekaril knew enough about sensor capabilities to realize they didn't have to place a guard at her door. So Mari'il cooperated with what she assumed the orders for her were: she never tried to leave her hospital wing without escort and mostly kept to her room. This made her especially grateful for her trips out to eat with Ariel.
She arrived at Phanuel's office and knocked on the door. Phanuel had said this was an informal meeting, but Mari'il still put on her uniform for it. It was certainly acceptable to wear, and she didn't have that large a wardrobe to pick from. Also Ekaril found it comfortable and familiar, and that helped put Mari more at ease.
Phanuel answered immediately, inviting her in. ``Thank you for coming by, Mari'il. ...Or should I say Ekaril ...or Mari?'' Phanuel smiled at her own confusion.
Mari'il laughed in return. ``Any of them is fine.'' When Phanuel cocked her head, prompting her to express a real preference, she continued, ``I guess Mari'il is the most appropriate, as both of us are in here.'' She pointed to her head. ``And that's the one which seems to best express that.''
``Anyway, Mari'il, the reason I wanted to talk with you more is that I'm looking deeper into the conduct of the Forime expedition. Your logs and testimony have given us a lot to go on, but there are times where nothing beats an actual conversation about personal observations.''
Mari'il couldn't help the shadow of fear that passed across her face. She quickly tried to suppress it, but Phanuel was observant enough to catch it.
``Don't worry,'' Phanuel replied to her unstated concern. ``Nothing in this investigation will affect you, though I am trying to see if we can get an official letter of thanks for your help into your file. What I'm really concerned about is what exactly Master Commander Shivariel was up to. Was she actually following the mission objectives, or did she have a different set of goals which she was just using the mission as a cover for.'' She paused, considering. ``You'll be interested to hear that we discovered that she did pull strings to arrange for the other command staff on the expedition. You, Ekaril, were the exception, and we wonder if she was trying to use you as a smoke-screen to hide her other manipulations. For that matter, we are also wondering if her actions might be part of something bigger, perhaps with parts still remaining here or on Forime?''
``I... I don't know anything for sure,'' answered Mari'il, carefully considering her memories. ``But if I can help, I'd like to.'' She smiled. ``After all, I have friends on two worlds that I'd like to protect, and I remember both Shivariel's actions and the Narame war. You asked about observations and impressions. Now that I think about it, Shivariel's attitude toward me felt awfully similar to Zephrael's. It felt like they were both just using me as a guinea pig for their experiments: Shivariel with Mari, the Thought-Condensing weapon—though I didn't know it at the time—and maybe more; and Zephrael with telepathy or the like.''
Phanuel nodded. ``Thanks. This was exactly the type of impression I was interested in hearing, and one you really only convey when talking directly to someone. And while this doesn't provide direct evidence about her, it helps put her actions in perspective and gives us more of an understanding of what her thought process might have been.''
Mari'il and Phanuel continued talking for quite some time. It turned out that Phanuel had actually started looking into some irregularities about the Forime expedition and invasion before Mari'il returned, so her arrival was an unexpected boon. Mari'il tried to help her as much as she could, and she regretted that she didn't know more.
She also found it interesting how her impression of Phanuel had changed from ``uncertain possible adversary'' to something more friendly—or at least neutral—during the Board and the course of this talk. It certainly wasn't what Ekaril expected from someone in the judicial branch.
Phanuel brought the meeting to an end, apologizing for having another on her agenda and thanking Mari'il again for her help. Mari'il agreed to talk over this further with her, as things were looking more complicated than either originally expected.
During the skimmer ride back to the Hospital, Mari'il pondered this meeting. It went far better than she had thought it would, and for that she was grateful. Though some of the possibilities it raised were definitely worrisome, especially for the fate of Earth.
It also made her wonder how her upcoming meeting with Tadael would go. Part of her wanted to take this meeting as a hopeful sign that it would go well, especially as she first thought Tadael's would be the easier of the two meetings. But another pessimistic, fearful part whispered that since this meeting went well, as did the one with Loriel and Ariel, that her meeting with Tadael would go terribly in order to maintain some bizarre cosmic balance. Oh well, she thought, two out of three aren't that bad.
.
In the end, Mari'il's fears proved unfounded, as she and Tadael had quite a congenial meeting. Tadael was very happy to hear everything Mari'il could tell her about how the various ships had performed during the journey to Forime and while there. Tadael had expected to talk about Blue's combat experience with the other ships, and how that reflected on their all their designs. She was surprised by the accuracy of Ekaril's impressions and insights into Blue's computer and remote sensors.
``I wish Tsubael were here to give you her first-hand impressions,'' Mari'il commented, ``as she actually has more hands-on time with Blue than I do.''
Author's Note:
As some of you have been interested in which facts I have pulled from the manga, compared to ones I have made up, I thought you might find this of interest. The following contains a spoiler for the Blue Drop: Tenshi no Bokura manga, so some may not wish to read the rest of this note, though I will still tread lightly.
The story of Arume men and their visit to Earth which I put in Loriel's mouth comes pretty much straight from there. In volume 2, chapter 11, Razael states: ``In the distant past, we Arume made it possible to travel brane-space. This is a tale from it time when there were still Arume men... Arume men landed on this world and had children with Forime women. Those genes have been passed down through generations among Forime... Even after our Arume men have perished, those genes alone remain among Forime.'' She goes on to add that this information was kept from the expeditionary force, and that the home planet's aim on Earth was the restoration of Arume men.
I figured it made sense for Mari to also have these genes, though I've tilted the home-planet Arume focus more toward preserving their population rather than ``Arume Needs Men.''
The keeping of this information from the expeditionary force is also straight from the manga, though Yoshitomi-sensei did not really state why it was kept from them.
On the other hand, the nanomachine deficiency diseases and the ability to treat them, and thus Mari'il, are my invention. Though I figure that such logically followed from the initial premise of Arume nanomachines.