"…Receptacle's ready. Your decision."
Kafka thumbed the display.
Male and female receptacles presented themselves. They both had a certain stylish charm, but only one belonged to her. Kafka selected the male variant, dubbed him Caelus. Very rugged. A bit plain – looked like the protagonists of all those interastralnet web novels Silver Wolf kept going on about.
At the end of the day, he's just a plant. A mark, patsy for future plots and plans. No need to fret about the details.
The rugged young man she'd selected appeared before her in an instant.
"How much will he remember?" Kafka leaned in close, stellaron in hand.
"Hmph, they'll remember you," Silver Wolf said.
Excellent.
"Time to get up," Kafka said, then embedded a stellaron - a whirling golden bauble, capable of rendering uninhabitable any planet in which it took root - deep within Caelus's heart.
"Listen..." Kafka began, then provided some warm, reassuring words.
Just a little something to remember her by. This was supposed to be destiny, her choosing him, "granting him life" if you want to be poetic. Couldn't send their mark out into the world with just a name and her own pretty face to go by, now, could she?
… But from Caelus's point of view, all he would remember was a mysterious, and quite beautiful, face offering him the first (and at the time, only) kindness he'd ever known.
The stellaron hunters left Herta Station and the Astral Express to their own devices, trusting that the efforts to activate Caelus and place him on the express would bear fruit. The next several weeks were spent prepping for the Luofu job. Blade should be on site already...
Kafka lounged about in her quarters, often in an ornate bathtub, mulling over how best to infiltrate the city-ship. Her thoughts turned to that vessel she'd summoned not too long ago.
"Hmm, wonder what our little mark is up to now?" she said to an empty room.
Meanwhile, on Jarilo-VI:
"So sorry I'm late," Caelus said, displaying the tell-tale eyebags of someone who'd been running about all night.
"There you are." March 7thfrowned, standing at the gates of Belobog. "Sampling the local cuisine?"
"I was simply helping Miss Natasha out with some errands at the clinic," Caelus said, averting his eyes.
"Errands. Uh-huh." March tapped her foot, impatient. "We thought you were kidnapped!"
Caelus's phone sprung to life.
"See? Texts from Natasha," he said.
[Dr. Nat, MD (personal account)] You're such a polite young man, Mister Caelus. And such a conversationalist. Hard to believe we stayed up all night just talking. I'd have loved to spend more time with you before you had to go. Hope the coffee warmed you up. FYI: If you're ever on Jarilo-VI again, come say hi. If I get word that the express in in the neighborhood, I'll even leave the lights on.
The doctor followed this up with an antiquated emoji that indicated a winky face.
Caelus sent off a reply with the cheekiest wink emoji he could find. When he was done, March was waiting there, frown of disappointment on her face. Dan Heng mostly just looked bored.
"Side quests are acceptable. Just so long as you don't miss departure time," Dan Heng said.
"I'll be more punctual in the future," Caelus promised with a polite little bow.
The trio returned to their away shuttle.
"Hmph, side quests. I'll get myself a side quest one of these days." March's kept her arms crossed as she walked. "Maybe even a side quest in every port."
There hadn't been much time for introspection in the short time since Caelus had been… Born? Created? Discovered? Summoned? Who knows.
During his travels, though, Caelus had learned two important things:
One: he had a knack for dumpster diving. Just loved finding things that had been disposed of and discovering a new use for them.
Two, and most pertinent:He had a soft spot forolderwomen.
Oh, he didn't do anything more than chat with the good doctor the previous night. He just had some sort of instinctual trust and loyalty towards strong, mature, motherly figures that he couldn't quite explain.
So, if Miss Himeko or the good doctor Natasha said jump, he would say "yes, ma'am!" then inquire into how high at a later date. Hence why he'd snuck out of the hotel on their final night to go help Natasha with additional errands. That had turned into an all-night talk about their deepest fears and insecurities. He'd talked about some early memories, however scant. She talked about the loneliness of running the clinic all by herself, and how cold it was in the underground's living quarters all alone.
Still, duty called. And Caelus had no time to stay around and help further.
Pity, that.
The minor drama resulting from Caelus's lady killer routine subsided by the time they returned to the Astral Express. Soon they would be off to exciting new planets with new, mature side quests.
That was, of course, when the train encountered an unexpected detour…
"Long time no see, Astral Express Crew." A suave, dusky voice accompanied the sudden appearance of an umbrella-wielding hologram.
Kafka! Caelus recognized her voice immediately. A matching, strangely familiar face revealed itself just as soon as the woman tilted her umbrella.
But how the hell did he know that name?
"It's Kafka."
Welt Yang and Himeko eyed this uninvited guest with trepidation. March mostly just appeared confused. Pom-pom, their adorable and requisite mascot character, cowered behind the nearest pair of feet. And Caelus, well, he caught himself eyeing the mystery woman from her mismatched black boots to form-fitting purple leggings up to her immaculately groomed hair. Some hidden danger sense flared – this Kafka was trouble. But even as he acknowledged this, Caelus found himself hanging onto her every word.
She knew them all. Knew Himeko's name for sure, though their red-headed boss only knew Kafka by reputation.
"We're not about to get in bed with a Stellaron Hunter," Himeko declared after a bit of tense negotiation.
Yeah, Caelus thought, inadvertently 'd be bad news.
Regardless, the mystery woman wanted them to detour to the Xianzhou Alliance's city ship, the Luofu. A new runaway stellaron endangered the ship (and the train's pathways through the stars) – and she offered this information for… charity? Nah, to frame the Astral Express or use them as pawns more likely.
"What's in it for us?" Caelus found himself asking, much to March's consternation.
"Why are we listening to her!?" March 7thasked, her frustrated scowl contrasted with her cotton candy hair and cheery aesthetic.
I… don't know…Caelus had to admit.
Something about that face. That smirk. How he recognized her but didn't know from where. That wink Kafka gave Caelus when the others were distracted...
What was this feeling?
Gah, she's wormed her way into his head somehow. And she wasn't even physically present.
After Kafka's hologram disappeared – with another wink from her right eye, that only Caelus was in any position to see - he knew she was toying with him! – March 7thand Caelus went to go find Dan Heng and explain the situation. The crew would all vote on whether to head to the Xianzhou.
The younger contingent all resolved to vote no. March wanted nothing to do with stellaron hunters, Dan Heng swore never to set foot on that ship again. As for Caelus, well… he felt that somewhere out there, Kafka really wanted him to volunteer to investigate the Luofu.
She says jump, etcetera.
… But following this lead could also help him find out exactly where he recognizes that stellaron hunter from.
But that face though. The know-it-all smirk, the immaculately tailored suit, the perfect magenta hair. The suave voice like honey to the ears. There were memories alongside that name and that face. She'd stood over him once, though all other details of the scene escaped him. Kafka'd told him that if he believed in himself and trusted his judgement, everything would be okay.
Caelus felt a lightness in his chest. His heart could grow wings and float out of the express.
What is this feeling?Longing? Nerves?
So caught up in trying to place that face and voice was Caelus that he forgot they were holding a vote. Uh, which way was he supposed to vote? To have answers slip through his fingers because he was distracted by a pretty face – actually, that was on-brand.
Still embarrassing though.
March raised her hand, solidifying a three-person majority and sending them Luofu-bound.
"I thought about it and calmed down," she explained, back to her cheery self.
People needed their help. That was true. There were motivations beyond pure self-interest.
Caelus resisted the urge to thank March for unknowingly bailing him out. She wouldn't understand, and he'd come off as obsessed anyway. Really, letting March be the deciding vote helped Caelus save face.
For once, an older woman had said 'jump', and he was too lost in thought to comply.