Author's Note:
Please pardon my delay in getting this up. A couple things in the real world happened to delay my being able to. Here it is at last. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think.
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Blue Drop: Angel's Home: Chapter 15
A Legacy
Mari'il took a skimmer from her apartment to Admiralty House early one morning. On the way there, she pondered why Loriel would have asked her here for a meeting. That had prompted her to come in early so she could still get the rest of her work done. She figured the meeting was something officially important as they were meeting in Loriel's office instead of at a restaurant. Or, perhaps, Loriel's schedule was just full and this place was the most convenient.
When the meeting time came, she headed over to Loriel's office, Mari'il was ushered straight in without any of the waiting she had when she first met her on arriving in Myrdal. Then again, she was no longer a suspicious, unknown newcomer who needed to be vetted first.
Mari'il's eyebrows rose in surprise when the door slid open to reveal Ariel also waiting in Loriel's office. The two were seated in the conversational group of overstuffed chairs rather than at Loriel's desk. Mari'il retained enough presence of mind to greet them. ``Good morning, Grand Admiral Loriel, Ariel.''
``Please have a seat and join us,'' said Loriel, gesturing to the empty chairs. Ariel also smiled and nodded in welcome. Mari'il came over and sat down in the empty chair opposite Loriel.
``Thank you for coming,'' began Loriel. I'm sorry I left the meeting agenda vague, but I'd like to discuss a matter of some delicacy and importance with you.''
Mari'il nodded for her to continue.
``You know that the reason we sent your expeditionary force to Forime was to help save our race. We've already lost the male Arume, and hoped to be able to restore them from what we found on Forime. But beyond that, our overall population has been shrinking for some decades. Ariel can confirm that our decreasing genetic diversity is both one cause and also an effect of this.''
Ariel nodded in agreement.
``She's also looked at your genome, and we agree that you have both some ancient Arume groupings unknown in our current population, and also new diversity from Forime.'' Loriel paused, glanced at Ariel for confirmation, then looked Mari'il straight in the eye. ``We'd like to ask if you'd be willing to contribute this diversity to the Arume gene pool. We feel this will help improve the odds for our race's survival. I wanted to ask your permission as we did too much to you without your permission when you first arrived. I also don't know if you can forgive us for what we did when invading your world and tearing your life apart.''
Mari'il looked in surprise from Loriel to Ariel and back. Both seemed fully sincere about this request, and the honesty of their need showed in their eyes. After a moment's private thought, she replied, ``Can I ask if you still have any of the eggs Commander Ekaril donated for Gosuta?''
[[ Mari-san! ]] exclaimed Ekaril in her mind. [[ Surely you don't mean... ]]
[[ Yes, my love, I do, ]] replied Mari. Ekaril's response made it obvious how much this meant to her as well.
``I want to help preserve this genetic diversity,'' continued Mari'il, ``but I also want to make sure Commander Ekaril's heritage is preserved. Please. Let me use these eggs for a child of commander Ekaril and myself to preserve these lines together. I really hope they are still around.'' She hesitated, looking over at Loriel. ``I'm also willing to contribute otherwise, but if I ...if we could...'' They all understood the words she left unspoken.
Ekaril was overcome by Mari's desire to have her child, and the feelings of love she sent back turned Mari'il's cheeks red.
Ariel and Loriel both paused in surprise and looked at each other. They had expected fear or questions, or maybe even a reluctant agreement to donate genetic material, but not this. Loriel looked over to her desk. ``Oriol,'' she ordered the Admiralty House computer, ``check the Gosuta Program records to see if we have any eggs remaining from Commander Ekaril.''
Ariel reached over and took Mari'il's hand. ``Thank you. I really hope we do find some.'' Her gentle eyes glistened as they filled in gratitude.
[[ I really wish we could follow more normal means to have a child, ]] Mari silently told her. She then continued out loud, ``The possibility of having a child to carry on Ekaril's legacy, as well as mine, is a gift beyond price. I'll do anything for that. And I want to help save `our race'—as that's how I've come to see Arume.''
``It would be so nice for the two of you to be able to have a child. If there's anything I can do to help, I'd like to.''
``Thank you, Ariel,'' said Mari'il, returning the squeeze on her hand. ``I hope we can too. And we'd love your help.'' She blushed. ``We would have wanted you to be part of this anyway.''
Loriel smiled at this exchange, then interjected. ``I don't know if you knew, but I've also been keeping my eyes open for a ship for you, however...''
An oddly peaceful smile grew on Mari'il's face. ``Thank you, but... Could you maybe put that on hold for a while? If this can work out... and I can keep my job at 'Ships...''
``Of course,'' Loriel replied with a laugh. ``That will be easy. And don't worry about keeping your job. I know Tadael will love to keep you and would be very sorry to lose you to commanding a ship, in spite of how good a ship commander you'll make.''
Mari'il blushed at the complement and nodded her head in response. While command had it's appeal, she hadn't realized until now how much she enjoyed the life she made here, or how appealing the thought of motherhood would be.
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``Query completed,'' responded Oriol, interrupting this conversation and displaying some of the data on the far wall.
Loriel indicated she should continue.
She reported, ``There is one donation from Commander Ekaril still pending in the Gosuta program. It is scheduled for next month's factory run if current Gosuta requirements continue. It has been placed at the lowest priority by Zephrael and she tagged it for potential research use or destruction due to instability demonstrated by Commander Ekaril during the Forime expedition, though all directives from her have been suspended for review after her contracts were canceled.''
``Oriol, have that donation removed from the Gosuta project and have it delivered to Ariel's lab,'' ordered Loriel. ``Use my authorization and direct any questions to me.'' She confirmed this by keying a rapid sequence into the touch pad on the table before them and then looked up at Mari'il. ``If any of Zephrael's sympathizers are still around and check, they'll find that these eggs are no longer in the Gosuta program, which should satisfy them if they know of Zephrael's directive. For that matter it's also good cover in case Zephrael could find another method to insert a query into the system, though I doubt that's possible. And if they try something more...''
Mari'il had no doubt about who would come out the winner should Zephrael or her sympathizers push Loriel into that possibility.
She continued holding Ariel's hand and reached across to take Loriel's as well. ``Thank you! Thank you so much, from both of us. This is something that I thought I could only dream of. And if I can help by contributing otherwise to the Arume gene pool...'' She trailed off, but her smile indicated willingness to help that way as well.
ooo OOO ooo
As part of her studies in genetics and the population problem, Ariel had looked into the various reproductive techniques Arume used now that they were an all female race, so she was quite able to advise Mari'il on the possibilities here. In fact, using Ekaril's donated eggs was almost exactly one of the standard methods, and she was able to do do all the procedures needed for that, too. Mari'il was happy to have someone as gentle, caring and trusted as Ariel for these intimate operations. At least this reduced her embarrassment.
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While waiting to see if their first attempt at a child would be successful, Mari'il pondered the future. [[ Ekaril, ]] asked Mari, [[ what do you want to call our daughter? ]]
[[ I was going to ask you that, dearest, but you asked first. ]] Ekaril laughed. [[ It would be nice to give her a name with special meaning for you. ]] When she realized the direction Mari's thoughts were headed, she explained, [[ Arume tend to never name a child after either of her parents as that gets confusing. ]]
[[ Oh, ]] replied Mari. [[ Well, I guess that means I shouldn't suggest Ekaril, Hagino or Senkouji. ]]
Ekaril laughed again. [[ Yes, I'm afraid so. But thank you. Also, Hagino and Senkouji would be considered a bit odd as names. They just don't sound like normal ones here. ]]
Mari thought for a bit, then asked, [[ What do you think of Micchi'il? Does that sound too odd? ]]
[[ No. It's not common, but it's neither unheard-of nor strange. Are you thinking of Kouzuki-san? I'll never forget her helping you or defending me. ]]
Mari'il agreed that yes, that's who she was thinking of, and that she was similarly grateful.
[[ That would be perfect, ]] answered Ekaril. [[ She was such a good friend. ]]
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They continued talking over other preparations they should make for their (hopefully) coming daughter, and all of the things they'd need to learn. [[ Remember caring for little Noriko when we visited Funatsumaru-san's home? ]]
Mari did, though some memories, such as changing her diaper, were less fond than others like her bath with Ekaril or falling asleep with Noriko between the two of them.
Ekaril had to laugh. [[ We'll have to take the good with the bad. And I'm sure that Ariel can find someone to teach us what we don't know. I'm also sure that Abdiel and Tachiel wouldn't mind if we asked them for advice about it either. ]]
[[ True. And I Guess Raphael wouldn't mind us asking her parents. Anyway since we'll always be together, that will definitely make it better. ]]
The two also agreed to share the same good experiences with their daughter.
ooo OOO ooo
Mari'il sat in her apartment, looking out over the bay, trying to stay calm. Ariel had promised to call her this afternoon, and the anticipation was killing her. Ekaril and Mari tried to calm each other, but they were both having a hard time as they shared the same excitement and worry. Mari'il had been in to visit Ariel for tests and they couldn't wait to find out the results. These would tell whether they had conceived a child this time. The past couple attempts had been full of hope, but tests had ended up indicating that Mari'il was still without child. Ariel had again made a few adjustments and all of them shared hope for this attempt. They were pragmatic enough to realize that there were no guarantees, yet they still hoped.
The communicator chimed and Mari'il leaped up off her chair. ``Hello,'' she answered in breathless anticipation.
``Mari'il, this is Ariel.'' The screen showed her sitting in her office. ``I just got the test results in.''
``And...'' prompted an anxious Mari'il.
``And... congratulations,'' said Ariel, breaking into a big smile. ``They show you're pregnant. And yes, I double checked. I wanted to make sure for you, since this is so important. You also seem perfectly healthy, so everything looks like it should go well.''
``Oh, Ariel! Thank you!'' said Mari'il, her hands curling protectively over her stomach. [[ Ekaril, Ekaril! We did it! You'll be a mother. ]]
[[ As will you, dearest, ]] replies Ekaril. [[ And I know you'll make a good one. ]]
Ariel waited, smiling, as she saw Mari'il pause with that special look on her face which then colored in a deep blush. When Mari'il's eyes focused back on her communicator, Ariel asked, ``I assume you both enjoyed the news?''
``Oh, yes,'' replied Mari'il. ``This is the best news you could have given us. Can you come over and celebrate?''
``I'd love to, but I do have to finish a couple things before I leave. I won't be able to get there for about an hour.''
``OK. I'll try to be patient. This is so wonderful! Thank you.''
``You're welcome. I'll see you then.''
Ariel closed the connection and Mari'il just stood there, staring at the blank screen for a while. Here cheeks were still rosy from the blush, and a smile of perfect happiness filled her entire face while she continued to tenderly enfold her midsection, and her new daughter, with her arms. Mari and Ekaril didn't say anything to each other. They didn't need to. Each could sense the other's overwhelming joy, and that only served to increase their own.
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After some happy moments like this—though neither of them could say how long—they returned, once more noticing the world around them.
[[ We ought to go tell Raphael, ]] commented Ekaril.
[[ Oh, yes, ]] agreed Mari as Mari'il floated through their apartment and out the door, born as much by waves of happiness as by the gravity control of her nanomachines.
Mari'il knocked on Raphael's door, hoping she was home.
Raphael soon answered to find her friend and neighbor floating there with a big smile on her face. ``Oh Mari'il,'' she began. ``Did Ariel call?''
Mari'il nodded.
``And she said you are...?''
Mari'il nodded again, to happy to speak.
``Oh Mari'il.'' She tenderly embraced her. ``Congratulations. I'm so happy for you. ...for both of you.''
Mari'il returned the hug. ``Thank you. We're so happy.'' She buried her head in Raphael's shoulder and just held her tight as tears of joy filled her eyes and dampened Raphael's hair.
After a bit, Mari'il loosened her grasp and looked Raphael in the face. ``Ariel is going to be coming over in a bit to celebrate. Would you like to join us?''
``Thank you,'' responded Raphael. ``Of course I'd love to. I'd be honored.''
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Ariel showed up right when she said she would, and the three decided that a celebratory meal at Sabrael's was in order—after all, Mari'il needed to make sure to eat properly now, and that restaurant had special meaning for her. It didn't take long for them to arrive by skimmer and for Sabrael to congratulate Mari'il and seat them at table.
``Have you thought of a name?'' asked Ariel once they had finished ordering.
Mari'il paused for a bit, once more thinking over her internal discussion about this, then answered, ``What do you think of Micchi'il? Do you think that's too strange?''
``Well,'' answered Ariel, ``that's certainly not a common name. But I like it ...I really do.''
``I do too,'' added Raphael. ``It sounds like the name of a beautiful girl, so that means it'll be just right.''
``Thank you,'' was all Mari'il could say in answer as she blushed at the implicit compliment.
At the end of the meal Sabrael herself brought over a special dessert. ``Here. A little something for your new little one,'' she explained setting it down in front of Mari'il.
Mari'il could only blush again as she bowed and thanked her.
She finished this dessert while the others enjoyed their drinks. It was exceptionally good—and it never appeared on any bill.
ooo OOO ooo
Mari'il headed to the city park this weekend day instead of her office in Admiralty House. A couple months ago, she told Tadael of her pregnancy, and not long after that the team arranged this picnic for her to celebrate. She hadn't meant to ask for a party, but everyone was so happy for her, she just couldn't say no.
She arrived to find most of her team had made it to the park before her and had everything set up. There were several blankets laid out on the ground to sit on, and a couple tables set up, each decorated with a bouquet of flowers from Anafiel's garden. One table was laid out with an impressive array of food and drink, both tasty and healthy—Ementaal had outdone herself here, though Mari'il recognized some dishes from other folks as well. The other table was covered with a pile of beautifully wrapped packages.
Mari'il was pleasantly surprised to find Tadael had invited her other friends as well as her team. Also seated around the blankets were Ariel and Raphael and Abdiel. Even Loriel and Phanuel had been able to come.
``Th... Thank you all,'' Mari'il said. ``You didn't have to do this.''
``Yes. We did,'' replied Tadael, and everyone else nodded enthusiastically in agreement. ``Congratulations! We're so happy for you. ...we're so glad to see you happy as well. You truly deserve it.''
``But... but...'' Mari'il stammered. ``All of you... why?''
``Because you're our friend,'' Ariel answered simply. ``We're all your friends, and this is what friends do.'' She smiled. ``We're doing this because we want to, and because you really do deserve to be happy, for good things to happen to you.'' She gestured to the place of honor left open for Mari'il. ``But anyway, come join us: have a seat.''
Mari'il complied, floating over and taking the seat Ariel indicated. She blushed. ``Thank you again.''
A plate of food appeared in front of Mari'il, and soon the party was in full swing. Everyone was talking and eating and laughing together. In spite of her initial protests, Mari'il very much enjoyed the party. The picnic hearkened back to those Ekaril and her mother shared, and she was touched that they remembered and arranged one for her party.
Perhaps Neniel explained it best, expanding on Ariel's words. ``This is what friends are for: to share pain to make it less, and to share joy to make it more.''
Mari'il smiled and had to agree.
Now that Mari'il was there, the picnic got into full swing. Some of the dishes were special and they wanted to show Mari'il before cutting into them.
As the meal wound down and everyone was starting to fill up with the tasty fare, Ementaal got up and opened another box. She took out a cake and set it in front of Mari'il. Amid the carefully piped decorations covering it, she had written ``Congratulations Mari'il — Welcome Micchi'il''.
``Oh my,'' said a startled Mari'il. ``Thank you. This looks too beautiful to eat.''
``But we made it for you,'' Ementaal countered, ``and it is meant to be eaten.'' She held out a serving knife to Mari'il. ``Would you please cut it for us?''
Mari'il agreed and took the server, but simply held it, looking at the cake for a while. She finally, reluctantly made the first cut.
``Here, let me give you a hand.'' Raphael floated over with a stack of plates. She held out the first one for Mari'il.
Mari'il took the first slice, put it on that plate, and looked up at Ementaal. ``And you even made a spice-cake. How did you know it was my favorite?''
Ementaal smiled back and answered simply, ``From a friend.''
Everyone enjoyed the cake and several, including Mari'il, came back for another piece.
Mari'il finally set down her plate, took a sip of her tea, and let out a contented sigh. ``Thank you all. This was delicious ...and a lot of fun.''
Tadael got up and headed to the other table. ``We also got a few things for you, and Micchi'il when she arrives.''
``Oh, you shouldn't have...''
``Ah, ah, ah,'' countered Loriel. ``We already went over this topic.''
``But...'' Mari'il equivocated. She blushed again and acquiesced with a bow. ``Thank you.''
``Good,'' said Tadael with a smile. ``Here, this one is from Loriel.'' She handed Mari'il the first package.
Mari'il took the box, thanked Loriel and proceeded to open it. It was a wonderfully soft, pale blue, blanket. It would keep Micchi'il warm, or provide a nice surface to learn to crawl on.
By the time Mari'il had opened all of the presents, Micchi'il's early days were well supplied. Mari'il ran her eyes and hands over them all. She came to Loriel's blanket that she'd opened first, picked it up and hugged it tight to her chest as tears welled up in her eyes and began to run down her cheeks.
``Thank you. Thank you so much.'' She sniffed and continued smiling. ``I don't know what I've done to deserve such good friends like you, but I'm really, really, really glad to have your friendship ...and support. I'm glad Micchi'il will be able to grow up knowing wonderful people like you.''
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Mari'il found the days of her pregnancy were filled with joy and expectation. She smiled and laughed as she prepared the nursery, and in fact her whole apartment, for Micchi'il. Her friends, especially Raphael and Ariel, quite enjoyed helping her, and when her pregnancy began to show, neighbors and even strangers would too. It seemed that everyone was aware of the problem of the dropping population, and because of that children had become very precious to all Arume.
As Mari'il grew larger, she grew more clumsy, though the gravity control from her nanomachines helped considerably. [[ It must have been terribly inconvenient for women before gravity control like this, ]] she commented to herself. Often, she would just sit, Mari and Ekaril enjoying their togetherness as they felt Micchi'il grow and move.
ooo OOO ooo
Mari'il had the apartment open the door for Loriel when she arrived so she didn't have to get up. ``Please come in,'' she said.
``Thank you. I wanted to come by and wish you congratulations.'' Loriel entered, then dropped her voice quieter when she saw Mari'il. She was sitting in a comfortable chair and had just turned from the window, but more importantly, she tenderly held the sleeping baby Micchi'il in her arms.
Loriel pulled up a small chair and sat down watching Micchi'il. ``She's so precious,'' she whispered.
``Yes,'' agreed Mari'il, ``very.''
After another loving gaze at her daughter, she looked up at Loriel. ``And thank you for finding Ekaril's eggs so she really could be our daughter.''
``You're welcome, replied Loriel, realizing exactly who Mari'il meant by ``our.'' In the time since Mari'il's return to Arume, she had come to know her, and see that her old friend Ekaril was truly made complete by this exceptional Mari she found on Forime. ``I'm also glad you two could have a daughter like her. And your happiness is worth more than any genetic diversity score we might find.''
She smiled as she realized that she fully meant this. In spite of all her years working to find genetic diversity and save their race, when finally faced with the facts, it was her friend's happiness that mattered more to her.
They continued talking in hushed tones about other happy topics until Micchi'il awakened and began to fuss. Knowing what she wanted, Mari'il opened her shirt and brought her to her breast, which she soon began to suckle.
Mari'il looked back up to Loriel, and a smile of deep contentment suffused her whole face. ``You know, I don't think I could have imagined this when I stood there that day on the pier, looking up at the fireball from Blue and Novaal. In fact, I don't think I'd ever imagined being this happy.''
She paused, then continued with that slightly different timbre that Loriel recognized. ``Nor did I ever imagine an outcome this good, not even in my wildest dreams.'' [[ Thank you, dearest. Thank you so much. ]] ``And thank you for your help, Loriel.'' Her smile turned to one of memory. ``Maybe someday this little one can join us and share another dinner of bluefish.''
Loriel laughed, saying that she looked forward to that day.
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After Loriel left, Mari'il once more looked down at Micchi'il asleep on her chest, soothed by the gentle lullaby of her mother's heartbeat. She bent over to plant a tender kiss on her head. ``Sleep safely, Micchi'il,'' she whispered, then silently wondered, [[ Ekaril, my love, is it just me or since Micchi'il's birth have the deaths on Forime bothered you less? ]]
[[ I think you're right. That grief seems to lie less heavily on me now. Maybe the hope that dear Micchi'il brings helps balance them out somehow. Or maybe it's just that I can't be unhappy around her. Either way, thank you, love. ]]
[[ I always wanted to help you with that. I guess it's fitting we actually did it together. ]]
ooo OOO ooo
When Raphael stepped in bit later to check on them and bring them dinner, she found mother and child together, contentedly asleep on the chair, warmed by the rays of the setting sun. She set the meal down and took up the seat Loriel had used. Watching this tender scene, she decided dinner could wait.
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Mari'il awoke from her nap to find Raphael seated across the room, happily waiting for her. ``I'm sorry, Raphael. I knew you were coming and didn't mean to fall asleep. Thank you for letting yourself in.''
``That's OK.'' Raphael smiled back. ``Sleep is as important for you as for little Micchi'il. Are you ready for dinner now?'' When Mari'il nodded, she continued, ``Then you just sit there, I'll take care of everything.''
``Thank you.'' Mari'il smiled down at her newborn who just woke up and was beginning to fidget and gave her another kiss. ``Yes, little one, we're awake now. We'll take care of that.'' Looking over to Raphael, she commented, ``We'll be back in just a minute,'' before floating off to the bathroom with Micchi'il.
She returned with a freshly changed Micchi'il to find Raphael had heated the dinner she brought and set the table for them. ``Is there anything else I can do?'' asked Raphael as Mari'il headed for her seat at the table.
``Yes,'' replied Mari'il. ``Could you hold Micchi'il for a little while I eat?''
``Of course,'' answered Raphael as her cheeks colored. ``Thank you for trusting me.''
Micchi'il didn't fuss at all when handed to Raphael. Perhaps the edges of Mari'il's telepathy touched on Micchi'il, letting her know just how loved and protected she was.
After marveling at the baby for a bit, Raphael looked up at Mari'il. ``I know why you named her Micchi'il, and I think that's a wonderful tribute to your friend, but looking at her, sometimes I think `Hope' and `Joy' would also fit.''
Mari'il smiled back. ``She's certainly brought me both of those.'' She reached over to stroke her daughter's cheek. ``And I hope Micchi would approve.''
``I'm sure she would.'' Raphael replied, her silver laugh filling the apartment. She looked back down at Micchi'il, blushing again. ``And this little one has brought hope and joy to more than just you.''
``That's all because I found such good friends here,'' replied Mari'il with a happy smile.