Valiant: Tales From The Drift

[Tails #24: Explanation Vacation]

Log Date: 10/2/12764

Data Sources: Jazel Jaskolka, Lysanne Arrignis

Event Log: Lysanne Arrignis

Goldenbirch Starport: Arrivals Terminal

9:56am SGT

“Ugh. Maugrimm have mercy, starports have become a nightmare ever since Mokasha.” I grumble as I pull my shoes back on. We’re just past the security check for inbound travelers, waiting for Jazel and Kayenta to come through the checkpoint. Dandy is busy packing all of our electronics back into our carry-on luggage, and I’m busy putting on everything I had to run through the scanner. “I don’t know why we can’t just walk through the spore scanner and call it a day.”

“New Aurescura’s security and quarantine protocols are particularly stringent because this is the Aurescuran homeworld, and the Aurescuran Republic currently owns less than half a dozen habitable worlds.” Dandy answers, zipping up the last carry-on. “Over half of the Republic’s population resides here. The colony worlds have sizable populations, but they are still growing. Loss of the homeworld would be a grievous and existential blow to a nation that is still as young as this one.”

I finish getting my belt back on and latching it into place. “Fine, I suppose that makes sense.” I say, glancing back to the security check. Jazel’s currently trying to keep Kayenta under control; her silver ears are laid back and I can see the beginnings of a snarl twitching at the corners of her mouth as the security agent waves a wand around her tails to make sure she’s not smuggling anything. “Gods, I hope she can behave long enough to make it through the checkpoint. Last thing we need is for her to be detained for an extended check.” Standing up off the bench, I look around. “Where is Milor? Did he go ahead without us?”

“Yes, I saw him making his way into the main lobby. Possibly searching for some alcohol, if I were to hazard a guess.” Dandy says as she finishes organizing the rest of our luggage.

“Unbelievable. He couldn’t even wait for us?” I say, hitching my hands on my hips. “And how does he afford all that booze? CURSE doesn’t have him on payroll and yet he always seems to be able to fork over credits for whiskey.”

“I suspect he has bank and savings accounts left over from his employment on Vissengard, and possibly from his Challenger years.” Dandy says, pulling her jacket back on. “Still, you bring up a good point. We should see about getting him on payroll since he has been providing measurable service and labor over the last year.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You want to get him on payroll? I mean, don’t get me wrong, having an extra hand to do the dailies and provide security on assignments is nice, but…”

Dandy shrugs. “He is providing labor and service. Even if his manners leave something to be desired sometimes, it is still a basic right that workers should be paid for their labor. Come to think of it, we should probably do the same for Ozzy. He has proven his use in the lab, even if his company sometimes also leaves something to be desired.”

“Do we want to do that, though? I mean, Ozzy worked for one of the Four Ravens.” I point out. “If the administration finds out when they go to do background checks, they might have… questions. Come to think of it, they’d probably also have even more questions if they do a background check on Milor, since he’s a former Challenger…”

Dandy’s brow furrows. “Yes, I suppose that does raise a few issues.” she concedes. “Perhaps we could pitch it to the administration as a… reform program. Keeping both of them gainfully employed and out of trouble, so to speak.”

“Okay, we’re here. Sorry about that.” Jazel says as he finally leaves the security check area, steering Kayenta ahead of him. “Let’s not do that again for another month.”

“Why did they need to touch my tails?” Kayenta demands, looking very frowny and disgruntled as she fights her way back into her hoodie. “And what were those big glass cages with the spinny bars? I do not like those, I could sense them giving off some sort of weird magic!”

“Those are scanners. They allow the starport security to see if someone is trying to bring something dangerous to the planet, like a bomb or Collective spores.” Jazel explains patiently as he grabs his luggage. “Everyone has to go through the scanners. They weren’t targeting you specifically.”

“Why did they have to touch my tails? They weren’t touching anyone else’s tails!” Kayenta complains as she finishes pulling her hoodie on.

I give her a look. “Kaya, you were the only one in the security checkpoint that had tails. Of course they didn’t check other people’s tails because no one else has tails to check.”

Kayenta folds her arms and pouts. “They shouldn’t be allowed to touch my tails.” she mutters.

“Well, it’s over now, and we won’t have to do that again until we leave.” I say as I hold out her backpack for her to take. “And you know what to expect next time, so you won’t have to give security a hard time.”

“Why do we have to do this now? We never had to do this with any of the other worlds we went to.” Kayenta grumbles, snatching her backpack and pulling it on as Ozzy finishes filtering through the checkpoint.

“On other worlds, our security checks were expedited or waived altogether because we were there on official business from CURSE. Our group has clearance that exempts us from the security checks that most other travelers have to pass through in starports within Colloquium member nations.” Dandy explains. “However, this visit is not CURSE business. It is vacation, so we cannot use our CURSE security clearance to bypass the security checks. We are here as civilians, not contractors.”

“S’a damn shame, because everyone knows that security checks are used to gather information about travelers so governments can track population demographics.” Ozzy says, grabbing his suitcase. “It’s why I always put on organic sunscreen before I go through the security check. The trihydrenase proteins confuse the hell out of the scanners, so they’re not able to collect your biological profile.”

“If you say so, Ozzy.” I say, starting to walk down the wide hall leading to the starport’s central foyer. “We’ll need to figure out where Milor’s wandered off to, and once we’ve got him, we can find Jazel’s mom and leave. Ozzy, you and Milor will be renting a car because Jazel’s mom only owns a sedan, so it’ll only have four seats available.”

“Oh, a car, now that’s quaint.” Ozzy rambles. “It’s been a while since I’ve driven. Pretty much only used the bus during my college days, both as a student and a professor. And mostly used the public transit system while I was on Talingrad. You don’t really see many people that own cars in places like that; metropolitan places, that is. A personal vehicle is a luxury most of the lower class can’t afford, at least not without going into debt. Or having to buy used or owned. Not that it’s a bad thing; in terms of environment and sustainability, public transit does wonders for cutting down on emissions, and personally I think it should be a standard everywhere. But there are other factors to take into account; areas with lower population density are less likely to have funding for public transportation, and in truth, public transportation for small towns and rural areas is often inefficient — the benefits, after all, come from cramming a lot of people into a single vehicle, and lower population density makes it harder to fill that vehicle within a shorter span of distance traveled—”

“Little witch! I smell something sweet.” Kayenta says, bouncing up beside Jazel with her nose tilted to the air as we step into the foyer. Various restaurants, coffee shops, convenience kiosks, and benches line the walls, while travelers check in with the starline agencies further to the front, near the starport’s grand entrance. “I am hungry. Can we?”

“Well, it’s going to be about a three-hour drive from here to Falcon’s Crossing.” Jazel says, checking his phone, then looking at me. “That’s gonna take us straight through lunch.”

“I don’t really want to stop to find something to eat on the drive up there.” I say, sizing up the restaurants in the courtyard. “Why don’t you two run and grab something small for yourselves and the rest of us, and that can hold us over until we get to Falcon’s Crossing.”

“Alright. I’ll leave my suitcase with you guys, since I’ll probably need both arms to carry the food.” Jazel says, parking his suitcase next to me and waving to Kayenta. “C’mon, Kaya. Do you know where the sweet smell is coming from?”

“This way! It’s coming from over here!” she says, striding off towards one of the corners of the courtyard. Jazel follows her, the pair of them weaving around others in the courtyard.

“In the meantime, we can track down Milor.” Dandy says, assuming control of Jazel’s suitcase as she studies around the courtyard. “My assessment is that he will likely be near an establishment that serves alcohol.”

“You figure it wouldn’t be that hard to find him, with that silly hat he wears.” I mutter, skimming the crowd as I look around. But there’s a fair few hats in here, many of them traditional witch hats with the pointed tips slumping down towards the back. Since it’s winter, there’s a good number of cloaks and mantles, too. “Can you narrow down which of these restaurants sell alcohol, Dandy?”

“It will take a few minutes of research and comparative analysis, but yes.” she replies, her pupils widening as she begins to take in the names of the establishments and look them up on the net, doubtless skimming their online menus in her head.

“Well, I knew Aurescura had witches, but this is really something else.” Ozzy remarks, staring at the cloaks and pointed hats in the courtyard. “I was expecting one or two here or there, but there’s at least a dozen in here. I thought that modern witches eschewed traditional attire in favor of modern clothes.”

“In the summer and spring, yes. Most Aurescuran witches opt for normal clothes.” I explain. “In the fall and winter, though, the temperature drop lends itself to the cloaks and hats, since it keeps you warm. You’ll see more witches in witch attire once the leaves start falling off the trees.”

“Fascinating.” Ozzy says, pulling out his phone and starting to type out notes on it. “Most of the cloaks are black, but I do see some in other colors. Is that normal?”

“Black is the traditional, formal color, and a lot of witches still wear it. But it’s not enforced like it used to be. Witches nowadays will wear cloaks of different colors if they feel like it.”

“Makes sense. The march of progress in society usually results in the dissolution of dogmatic rules governing attire and other social customs.” Ozzy says, tucking away his phone. “You know quite a bit about Aurescuran witches. Are you a witch yourself?”

“I am not. I grew up here, though, near the coven that Jazel was part of.” I answer. “Since we were friends, I had a lot of exposure to witches and witch culture. I picked up a lot of stuff. Just little factoids and tidbits, though; I can’t learn Aurescuran magic, since I’m not Aurescuran by birth or biology.”

“I have located Deputy Milor.” Dandy announces. “I saw the outline of his hat while I was scanning past the signage for one of the restaurants. He is socializing over there.” Lifting her hand, she points across the courtyard to single out Milor’s wide-brimmed hat near one of the decorative fountains.

“How much you wanna bet he found a hamburger and a beer?” I ask, starting in that direction. “We’re gonna have to remind him to limit the drinking, since he’s supposed to be one of the drivers.”

“If needed, I can drive.” Dandy says, pulling the luggage along behind us. “I have access to New Aurescura’s worldnet through this starport; I can quickly review and internalize the rules of the road for this province.”

“Tempting, but this is your vacation too, Dandy. You should have the chance to relax as well.” I say, starting to slow near the fountain. Milor’s got his back to us, but I can see that he’s busy talking to a witch. “Wait guys, hold up. Let’s stop here.”

“Is something wrong?” Ozzy asks, perplexed.

“No, I just want to give him a little more time to dig his grave.” I say with a smile. “Let’s settle at this bench; I can hear them from here.”

“Based on your wording, I assume you believe Milor is about to get himself into trouble?” Dandy asks me as she parks our suitcases by the bench. “Isn’t that something we should be trying to avoid on our first day of vacation?”

“It’s not the serious kind of trouble. It’s the sort that we’ll get to snicker at later.” I say, putting a finger to my lips before pointing at Milor and the witch, encouraging them to listen in.

“…so the work can be a little dangerous sometimes, I’ll admit.” Milor says, sipping from his beer before reaching up to tap at the marks on his neck where the cannibunnies had gotten their teeth into him. “During our last assignments we had to exterminate some nasty hybrids cooked up by a genetic designer company contracted by the Marshy military. One of the little buggers about ripped my throat out when I let my guard down.”

“Oh my, sounds very dangerous.” the witch remarks. “Have you ever thought about finding a different line of work?”

“Nah.” Milor says, waving off the suggestion. “Someone needs to do the hard jobs, y’know? ‘Sides, I’m good at it, and it feels nice, defending the public, you know?”

“I have noticed that he has opted not to provide further details as to the shape and size of the genetic hybrids in question.” Dandy murmurs.

I smirk. “Well, defending the public doesn’t sound as impressive when you’re defending the public from bunnies.”

“So your son works with wildlife?” Milor says, apparently in response to the witch’s reply. “Well, no offense, but these vicious little buggers were not the kind of critters you could rehabilitate. Murder machines, down to the last. No option but to put them down to protect the ecosystem. Wasn’t an easy choice to make, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.”

“Oh, that is sad.” the witch says softly. “Well, perhaps he could give you some tips on wildlife handling if he arrives soon. He’s very good with animals. I think he prefers them to people.”

“Well, I can’t blame him.” Milor says, nodding judiciously before staring off into the middle distance. “There’s just something… honest about animals, y’know? They’re not complicated. They’re straightforward and pure— what you see is what you get. And they never lie to you — that’s a major upside.”

Ozzy raises an eyebrow. “I never thought I’d see the Deputy waxing sentimental over anything besides his whiskey and his pistol.”

Dandy tilts her head to the side. “He is trying to establish a rapport with her, I assume in the pursuit of further interaction. And we are only fifty-six minutes into our vacation.”

“Yeah, he’s looking for somewhere to get his foot in the door.” I chuckle.

“…a very interesting way of seeing animals.” the witch observes, adjusting her cloak. “Very romanticized.”

“I mean, personally, I don’t really consider myself a romantic.” Milor admits, planting a hand on his chest. “I’m a fairly simple fellow; grew up on a frontier farm and did my time out in the fields and the barn. But when it comes to animals, I’ll admit I let a little bit of sentiment bleed through. I feel like they know, you know? They can tell the good people from the bad.”

“I suppose so, though we witches are a bit more practical about nature.” the witch replies, looking somewhat bemused. “Nature and wild things not inherently good or evil. Just because a wolf can discern a good person from a bad person does not make either of them less edible than the other. Nature demands that needs be met, regardless of moral inclination. And we ourselves are animals — intelligent ones, but still part of the cycle.”

“Well, I cannot argue with that. It’s a bit cynical, but it’s not wrong.” Milor drawls, giving her a quirked smile as he tilts his glass towards her. “And what about you? Are your needs being met?”

“Aaaaaand here comes the punchline.” I murmur as I see Jazel making his way back across the courtyard on a beeline for Milor, with Kayenta trailing behind him. Arriving behind the deputy, Jazel clears his throat rather loudly.

Milor glances around. “Oh hey kid, took you long enough. Would you mind giving me a moment—”

“I got you a drink.” Jazel says, holding out a cup to him. “Spiced cider.”

“Hey, I appreciate the thought, but I already got a drink.” Milor says, pointing to his beer before going on in a lower tone out of the corner of his mouth. “And if you could give me a moment, like, I’m kinda busy right now—”

“I think you should take the drink.” Jazel repeats firmly as Kayenta peers around him.

Milor glances back at the witch. “Sorry, jussa mo. This is one of the kids I escort.” He then turns back to Jazel. “Look kid, that’s cute, I appreciate it, but I’m busy right now. Why don’t you go see if you can find our ride or something and text me once we’re ready to go, okay?”

Milor’s already starting to turn back to the witch as Jazel replies through gritted teeth. “I can’t. You’re flirting with her.”

Milor, who had just been about to pick up his conversation with the witch, wheels back around again. “Yes kid, I’m flirting with someone right now. Excellent observation.” he says patiently. “Now why don’t you and your fox go find our ride—”

“NO.” Jazel repeats again, with more force and enunciating every word. “I have found our ride. You are flirting with her.”

Milor raises his eyebrows, pointing back at the witch. “Oh, she’s our ride? Well imagine tha— wait. Wasn’t our ride supposed to be your—”

Jazel glares at Milor, daring him to finish the sentence.

The color drains out of Milor’s face. You can’t hear his voice, but you can see his lips forming the oh shit shapes. He turns back around with an awkward smile, although it almost looks like a grimace with how pained it is. “Ma’am, I am so sorry, I did not realize—”

“Take your cider, horndog.” Jazel sighs, shoving the covered cup of hot cider at Milor as he moves around to the witch. “Sorry, Mom. This is the ship guard. Sometimes he wanders off and gets in trouble. He got ahead of us at the security checkpoint.”

Katya Jaskolka smiles, moving forward to give Jazel a hug. “It’s so good to see you. How was the trip down to the surface?”

Milor turns and starts to quickly walk away, double-fisting a beer and a cider in each hand, and his face looking red as a beet. I stand up, reaching out and catching the collar of his duster as he passes the bench. “And where do you think you’re going, buster?” I chuckle.

“Off to find the nearest ditch so I can lay down in it and get buried alive.” he grumbles under his breath as he sees the three of us sitting at the bench. “Are you kidding me? Were you three there the whole time? Why didn’t any of you say anything?!”

Ozzy immediately puts his hands up and points at me. “It was her idea. Also I don’t know what Jazel’s mom looks like, so I had no idea who it was.”

“I also have never seen Jazel’s mother before, outside of the occasional video call.” Dandy adds. “Her facial pattern has not been stored in my long-term memory until now, so I didn’t recognize her.”

“There is no way that’s his mum!” Milor hisses in a stage whisper. “She looks like she’s, she’s, what, mid-forties?”

“About mid-forties, yeah.” I nod.

Milor’s eyes widen. “But you and Jazel— you’re both— that would mean— she would’ve had to—”

“Yeah, she was young when she got Jazel.” I say, smirking at him.

Milor just stares at me for a moment, then turns and bites the sleeve of his duster, rasping “Son of a bitch!” as quietly as he can.

Dandy raises an eyebrow. “Are you talking about Jazel, or his mother, or both of them…?”

“Hell of a time to practice your sense of humor, strawberry soda.” Milor growls at her. “Look, I need to go to the bathroom, I’ll… I’ll be back in a few.” He shrugs free of my hand and starts fast-walking across the courtyard like he’s got spiders up his pants.

“Poor lad.” Ozzy says, shaking his head. “Biffed it on the first day of vacation. What a way to start, eh? ‘Course, I don’t really blame him. I remember the days when I was young as Jazel’s mum. Now, my hair wasn’t as long and luscious as hers, but at least I still had all of it. It hadn’t started to thin out yet.” He nods judiciously to himself as he glances back to Katya and Jazel, and I follow his gaze to see that Jazel’s introducing Kayenta to Katya.

“So, Mom, this is Kayenta.” Jazel says. Kayenta is crowded up against Jazel’s back, peering curiously over his shoulder at Katya. “The one that’s been traveling with us for the past year. Kaya, this is my mom, Katya Jaskolka.”

“Oh, this is the girl you’ve been dating?” Katya says, leaning to the side a little to look at Kayenta. “It’s nice to meet you!”

“Your mom is a witch?” Kayenta murmurs to Jazel.

“Well, yeah. I’m a witchling, from a coven of witches, so my mom would be a witch.” Jazel explains.

Kayenta flicks one of her silver ears. “I guess that makes sense.” she says, slinking around Jazel and sniffing at Katya. “She doesn’t smell like you, though.”

Katya leans back a little. “No, I suppose I don’t.” she says, giving Jazel a questioning look.

“Well— I mean, yeah, I’ve been away from home for a few years, so that’s to be expected.” Jazel says hastily, gently tugging on the back of Kayenta’s hoodie. “Mom, Kayenta’s a Rantecevangian morphox, so her people and her cultural customs are a little… different from the norm.”

“Yes, I can see.” Katya says as she sizes up Kayenta. “I’ve heard about Ranter colonies, but I’ve never been to one in person. I hear they’re interesting places.”

“We might visit one eventually.” Kayenta says, offering Katya a spiced cider from the loaded cup carrier she’s holding. “Do you want a spiced cider?”

“Oh, thank you.” Katya says, reaching out to take the cider. “You have quite a lot of tails. I’ve seen a few on others before, but never this many before.”

“Yes, nine of them.” Kayenta says, twisting her hips a little to show off her voluminous tails. “One of them was cut off earlier this year, but I was able to drink enough soul to regenerate it.”

“Drink enough what?” Katya asks, her brow furrowing.

“That’s something we can talk about later.” Jazel interjects quickly. “You’ve probably been waiting here a while, so why don’t we see about getting out of here and heading home? We can catch up once we’re all settled in.”

“That’s our cue.” I say, snagging my suitcase and walking around the bench towards the fountain so I can join them, while Dandy and Ozzy hurry to follow. “Hey, Ms. Jaskolka! It’s good to see you again!”

“Lysanne! It’s good to see you again.” Katya says, turning to me and holding her arms out for a hug. Letting go of my luggage, I step in for a quick hug as Dandy and Ozzy arrive. “You’re looking well. Is this the rest of the Drift’s crew?”

“It is.” I say as she releases me, and I turn to each side to introduce the others. “Dandy, Ozzy, this is Katya Jaskolka. She was like a mother to me when was a teenager. Ms. Jaskolka, this is Dandy, the Drift’s adjutant, and Ozzy, another arcane researcher we picked up in the last year.”

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet both of you.” Katya says, reaching out and shaking hands with Dandy, and then Ozzy. “We don’t have room for all of you in the house, but you’re welcome to come over for mealtimes and day activities.”

“Oh don’t worry, ma’am, we wouldn’t think of infringing on your house.” Ozzy says, still shaking Katya’s hand. “Milor and I have already made arrangements to stay at a hotel in the area. Vacation stipend from CURSE is really quite generous, and since the others wouldn’t be using theirs, they decided to let us use it. We’ll be plenty comfortable, don’t you worry. It’s just an honor to be meeting an Aurescuran witch! One doesn’t see a lot of those out in the galaxy, you know?”

“Oh. Well, I couldn’t really say, I don’t really know how many of us there are offworld…” Katya says, finally extracting her hand from Ozzy’s enthusiastic handshake. “I am looking forward to getting know all of you better. For now, though, are you all ready to leave?”

“Once Deputy Milor has concluded his visit to the restrooms, we will be ready to go.” Dandy says, taking one of the cups of spiced cider that Kayenta is handing out. “Milor and Ozzy will be renting a vehicle and driving separate due to occupancy constraints.”

“Honestly, we should probably all hit the bathroom before we pack it in.” I suggest, sipping from the hot cider that Kayenta’s given me. “It’s a three-hour drive to Falcon’s Crossing.”

“That’s a good idea, actually.” Jazel agrees. “Lysanne, can you show Kaya where the women’s bathroom is?”

“Yeah. Dandy, can you watch our luggage until we’re back?” I ask.

“Gladly.”

“Perfect.” I say, motioning Kayenta to join me. “Kaya, you’re with me. We’re going to hit the bathroom before we hop in the car.”

“Ozzy, you’re with me.” Jazel says as he start to head our separate ways. “We’ll find Milor once we’re done and drag him out of whatever stall he locked himself in to hide his embarrassment…”

Encyclopedia Galactica

ORV (Orbital and Rotational Variance)

While the Myrrdicato Galaxy uses Standard Galactic Time (SGT) for a broad array of practical reasons (such as coordination and standardized measurement of time), it is nonetheless a construct derived from ancient Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy — there is no world within Myrrdicato which has a perfect 24-hour day/night cycle, nor are there any planets which have a perfect 360-day orbital period. This discrepancy between the measurement standard and the reality of time on a given world is what’s called ORV, or orbital and rotational variance.

ORV can be handled in a number of ways, depending on the ORV itself and the society which resides on the planet. On worlds where the rotational period is close to the 24-hour standard, planetary authorities sometimes extend or shorten the length of a second, and therefore the length of minutes and hours, to accommodate galactic time measurement formats and provide some consistency in the interpretation of time.

As an example, a planet may have a rotational period of 26 hours and 33 minutes, as measured by SGT. However, 26 hours and 33 minutes does not divide neatly onto a timeclock and becomes a nightmare for logistics, reporting, scheduling, and even basic communication for the civilian, military, and business spheres. To adapt to this, planetary authorities, along with the help of time scientists, extend the length of a timed second by the fraction required to ‘turn’ 26 hours and 33 minutes into a clean 24 hours. This allows society to continue functioning on the 24-hour standard, even if 24 hours on this planet is 26 and a half hours as measured by SGT.

This is the case for many planets with rotational variance in the 18-30 hour range, and is the root cause of ‘chrono dissonance’, or the sense of temporal lag or compression which often occurs when an individual moves from one planet to another and find that hours and minutes seem shorter or longer than they were on the previous planet (because they are, in fact, longer or shorter). The healthcare industry has an entire field dedicated to helping individuals alleviate and adapt to chrono dissonance, and there are many therapies and routes of treatment for individuals dealing with the effects from both short-term and long-term stays on a planet with a dilated or compressed 24-hour cycle.

The other half of ORV is orbital variance, and unlike rotational variance, orbital variance is harder to adapt to the galactic standard. While one can change the measurement of seconds to create a 24-hour standard, they cannot do the same with the number of days a planet experiences. This is largely because a timed second is a artificial construct that can be adjusted as needed, while a day/night cycle is a very real and objective measurement. One can change the measurement of time so that a day always has twenty-four hours; but one cannot the number of rotations a planet experiences during a single orbital period. If a planet spins 238 times in the course of a single orbital period, there is nothing you can do to make it conform to the 360 rotations that is the galactic measurement of a single year. It will continue spinning 238 times per orbital period, cycle after cycle, regardless of what the galactic calendar says.

To this end, planetary governments typically approach orbital variance in two ways. The first is to mark years and months in accordance with the galactic calendar, and then track days according to the local planetary rotation (assuming the planetary rotation is not longer than a month itself). This will often result in oddities such as months having more days or less days than the standard 30-day month on the galactic calendar, but otherwise allows society to stay synchronized with the rest of the galaxy while also observing the day-to-day reality of their planet’s rotational period. This avenue typically results in ‘holiday drift’, where holidays on the galactic calendar tend to occur on different seasons year after year, as the calendar year likely does not match the orbital period of most planets.

The other avenue is to use the galactic calendar for interstellar matters, and to use a planetary calendar for local matters. Many planets opt for this alternative and keep two calendars, with the galactic calendar typically referred to as the ‘business’ calendar, since many businesses and banking institutions rely on the galactic calendar for synchronization and coordination across industries. The planetary calendar is considered the ‘local’ calendar, typically has its own months and year structure, and tracks seasons and holidays specific to the ORV of the planet is represents.

Event Log: Lysanne Arrignis

Falcon’s Crossing: The Jaskolka House

5:01pm SGT

“If there’s anything that you’d like to stock the pantry with while we’re here, just let me know.” I say as I start dicing the peppers to go into the curry I’m preparing. “I know six mouths is a lot to feed, and Ozzy was right about CURSE providing a generous vacation stipend. There’s plenty of company money for us to spend while we’re here.”

“Only six mouths? Aren’t there seven of us?” Katya says, looking up from the pot of chicken noodle soup she’s got in boil. We’re currently in the kitchen of the Jaskolka house, preparing dinner while the others relax. Milor and Ozzy are zonked out in the living room with the holoarray on, the chrono dissonance caught up to them, while Jazel is showing Kayenta around the woods behind the house. Dandy is upstairs in the room she’ll be sharing with me, handling her daily synchronization uplink to the Drift.

“Only six. Dandy’s a Cyber; she runs off a Crystallizer quadcore. She can eat, but doesn’t need to.” I explain. “Typically she only does deserts or the occasional liquid. Most other times she just runs off the energy generated by her quadcore.”

“Will she need to plug in to recharge?” Katya asks, leaning down to check the biscuits in the oven. “I’m not sure any of the outlets in the house would work for that, but…”

“No no, it’s fine. She’s the Synthetic kind of Cyber.” I say quickly. “The quadcore is self-contained, generates its own power. She doesn’t need to plug into an external source.”

“That’s convenient.” Katya says as she opens one of the cabinets and pulls out the bowls. “You seem to know a lot about her.”

I shrug as I finish dicing the peppers and scoop them into the pan on the stove. “I mean, we’ve been coworkers for the last several years. You spend that long working with something, you get to know them pretty well.”

“I suppose so. You two seem to know each other pretty well.” Katya remarks with a gleam in her brown eyes.

I give a bashful grin at that as I stir the curry around, mixing in some of the other spices I’ve thrown in. “…yeah, so I guess you noticed.”

“You two had a very peculiar way of looking at each other.” Katya says as she starts setting the table. “It’s interesting. You didn’t strike me as the sort to date a Cyber.”

“Honestly, I didn’t really expect it, but she’s Synthetic, so… it’s almost like she’s organic.” I reply. “A lot of the internal machinery is… well, machinery, from what I understand, but the exterior and a lot of the stuff between the machinery is organic. Silicon-based biochemistry. A best-of-both-worlds kind of deal. It’s also why Synthetic frames are so damn expensive…”

“Well, I’m glad for you. She seems like a nice girl.” Katya says as she returns to open the cutlery drawer and start pulling out silverware. “A little stiff, but very polite and helpful.”

“Yeah, the restrictions on her social programming were lifted in just the last year, so she’s still… working on being social. Developing a personality.” I say, checking the rice cooker. “She might seem like a bit of a blank slate if you don’t know her, but that’s just because she keeps a lot of stuff close to the chest. She’s got things she’s never done that she’d like to try, and I figured I’d see if we could do some of those things while we were here.”

“Sounds like you’re the leading partner in that relationship.” Katya remarks as she starts to fold napkins and set them out.

“Yeah… I suppose so. She’s got a lot to learn, but… I don’t mind it, really.” I say thoughtfully. “It’s nice to be dating someone that hasn’t formed and hardened their notions about what dating and relationships are like. It means we’re flexible and get to try new things. Dating Dandy has allowed me to change the way I see relationships and how they’re supposed to evolve and grow.”

“On that note, would you like to tell me how that evolved?” Katya says, nodding towards the window that looks out into the backyard, where Jazel and Kayenta are still meandering out in the woods. Kayenta’s currently chewing on an icicle while Jazel points out different things in the snow-covered woods. “On the ride back, Jazel was very evasive whenever the conversation came around to Kaya.”

I puff out a breath at that. “Yeah, that. He’s probably dodgy about it because you might not like some parts of it. Honestly, I don’t blame him, but it’ll have to be talked about eventually, so…”

“Well, before you go on, how bad is it?” Katya asks as she sets out the glasses.

“I mean… eh.” I say as I rummage through the cabinets for a serving bowl to put the curry in. “I mean, now it doesn’t seem too bad, since we’re past the worst of it and we’re actually getting along with her now, but some of it’s still a bit… it’s an unusual relationship, let’s put it that way.”

“I… will stand by… that relationship.” The yawn comes from the living room, where a lethargic Milor, still flopped on the couch, has pointed a hand into the air. “I went through too much shit to keep those two alive to be ashamed of them and what they’ve got going on.”

I roll my eyes. “Go back to sleep, Milor. You’re not part of this conversation.”

“Well. I am now. ‘Cause you woke me up.” he grunts, slowly working himself upright into a sitting position. Flopping an arm over the back of the couch, he uses the other to massage his forehead before addressing Katya. “Ma’am, I promise you on my honor as a former Challenger that your son deserves every moment of happiness he can get with Fluffy McFoxtails. He risked his life for it multiple times, and by jove, he has earned the right to romance an ancient soulstealer if that’s what he wants to do.”

Katya stares at Milor for a moment, before her gaze swivels to me.

“Yes, our ship guard is a washed-up former Challenger. It’s a long story.” I sigh. “And the other part is… I mean, ancient is relative—”

“Four centuries, baby!” Milor crows sleepily. “I mean, let’s be honest, there are wider age gaps, so it’s not that bad. I once had a fling with a wereckanan that was six centuries older than me, and tha—ACK!”

Milor reels back as a wet dishtowel plasters across his face. As he struggles to get it off his face, I dry my hands off and turn back to Katya. “Yes, she’s four centuries older than him, give or take a few years. I’ve had… talks with him about the age disparity and the aging question. It hasn’t deterred him, though.”

“Hmm.” Katya says, now staring out the window at Jazel and Kayenta out in the woods. “And I suppose I’m not supposed to be worried about the soulstealing part either?”

“That part’s complicated, but what it boils down to is that she’s not sucking soul from him right now, and we’ve got a backlog that should last her the better part of a decade, and Jazel’s crusade is to find an alternative that will allow her survive without having to feed on souls.” I explain. “And I haven’t been able to change his mind about that. It hasn’t been for lack of trying, either.”

“Huh.” Katya says, starting to roll down the sleeves of her turtleneck. “And what happens if she doesn’t feed on souls.”

I start pouring the curry into the serving dish. “I assume she dies, since she’s two hundred years past the natural lifespan of her species. She’s made it very clear that it’s a matter of survival for her.” I set the curry dish aside as the rice cooker dings, and put on one of the oven mitts before tugging the lid off to let the steam out. “But aside from all that other stuff, she’s pleasant, and curious, and mostly enjoyable to be around. Since she’s spent the last four hundred years in the wilds on a frontier world, she doesn’t know a lot about the modern galaxy, so Jazel has been teaching her how to read so she’ll have the tools to navigate the modern age.”

Katya folds her arms, still staring out the window. “So my son is dating an ancient soulstealer.”

“Yup.” I say, shoveling the rice out into a serving bowl.

“But she can’t read and doesn’t know how modern society works.”

“She’s getting there. She can read comics. Understanding how society works… that’s an ongoing project.”

Katya’s quiet for a moment. “You know, for a second, I was worried, but then I realized: she’s completely helpless without him, isn’t she?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say completely helpless.” I say, bringing the curry and rice over to the table. “She’s extremely powerful with magic. Probably because of that diet of souls. But she has no concept of money. Or nations, or government, or politics, or history, or economy, or anything. She can survive out in the wild, but couldn’t hold down a job in the city. Can’t drive a car or balance a budget. I’m not even sure she could navigate the menu at a fast-food drive-thru.”

“We have been trying to teach her those skills, though.” Milor says, coming over to the kitchen and tossing the wet dishtowel in the sink. “Like blondie said, it’s an ongoing project.”

Katya taps a finger against her lips. “The matriarch said it would not be easy, raising a witchling. But this was not exactly what I had in mind when she told me that.”

“It hasn’t been easy to adjust to, that’s for sure.” I agree, pulling out a drawer to retrieve a trivet that we can set the pot of soup on. “Definitely got off to a rocky start, and it took a while to get everyone on the same page.”

“Is he happy, though?” Katya asks.

I take a moment to measure the question, staring through the window out at the snowy woods where Jazel and Kayenta are. “Yeah.” I say eventually. “He’s happy. And he should be; he worked hard for this. He earned it.”

Katya nods. “Then that’s all that really matters.” Turning about, she waves to Milor. “Mr. Milor? Would you go out there and tell them to come in? We’re almost ready for dinner.”

“Yes ma’am, it’d be my pleasure.” Milor says quickly, grabbing his duster and heading for the back door.

“Well, that’s the first time I’ve seen him get up and go without any backtalk.” I say once the door’s closed behind him. “It’s a minor miracle, although I’m sure he’s trying to behave after that faux pas earlier today. Watching Jazel give him a death glare while Milor was trying to flirt with you was comedy gold.”

“I’m sure he’s a a very nice fellow. Not my type though, and I doubt he’d be comfortable in the coven hierarchy.” Katya says, grabbing some hotpads to lift the soup pot and bring it over to the trivet on the table.

I smirk at that. “At the bottom, right? Just wait until he hears that Aurescuran covens are matriarchies…”

Katya grins. “I’m sure that if he’d like to adapt to our traditions, a strapping specimen like him would make an excellent trophy husband. Heaven help him if he’s useless in the kitchen, though. Could you pass me that ladle? Yes, the deep one, for the soup…”

Event Log: Jazel Jaskolka

Falcon’s Crossing: The Jaskolka House

10:33pm SGT

It sounded terrible, but most of it was… junk.

I’m going through the boxes of belongings that my mother’s kept in storage ever since I went off to the Preserver Academy. There’s not many; one’s full of my old Click Bricks, while others hold books, journals, rocks and detritus I’d picked up in the woods for reasons I can no longer remember. Most of it is stuff that is functionally useless and would probably be better off thrown away.

And I would throw it away, if it weren’t for the fact this junk was the entire reason I’d come back to New Aurescura in the first place. There were memories attached to a lot of it — memories that helped anchor and ground my sense of self. They were all mementos from my life, not the thousands of other lives I’d lived before this. Sorting through all this junk, it felt like I was tying extra ropes to the moorings that kept my boat anchored to the dock on a sea of memories. Rediscovering connections to my current life that would keep me from drifting away into my past lives.

“You are not sleepy?”

I look over my shoulder to see that Kayenta’s slipped back into my room, her hair still damp from a shower. It’s well on its way to drying, though, and her tails are glowing a soft golden, almost completely dried out already. She’s already in her pajamas… which is just a set of my boxers and one of my old shirts.

“No, I am.” I say, rubbing an eye. “Just… going through my things. From when I was younger. It helps me remember which memories are the right ones.”

“That is why we came here, is it not?” she says, sitting on the floor behind me.

“Yeah. It’s just a weird feeling, though.” I say, starting to pack my old belongings back into the box that’s open. “You don’t realize how much you’ve forgotten until you start going through your old things and start remembering things you haven’t thought about in years.”

Her arms slide around me as she leans against my back, resting her chin on my shoulder. One of her arms slinks forward to pick up a little chunk of purple rock the size of my thumbnail, rough and unhewn. “What is this?” she asks, holding it up.

“That’s an uncut amethyst.” I answer as I finish packing the rest of the memoribilia away. “I found it on a school visit to one of caves in the mountains near Redleaf. There was a gemstone mine nearby, and they let us sift buckets of sand to see if we could find any gemstones inside. That’s what I found.”

“It’s pretty.” she says, holding it close to her face so she can study it. Unlike a lot of amethysts sold in stores, where the hue gradates from purple at the tip to white at the bottom, this one is a rich, dark purple through and through — it’s semitranslucent, the light glowing through it faint but visible. “It reminds me of an Apotheostone.”

“Apo… a what?” I ask hesitantly as I finish packing the box and push it away.

“Apotheostone. They’re the ingots of quintessence that are dropped whenever a god from the Rantheon is killed.” Kayenta explains, letting the amethyst roll down into the palm of her hand. “Apotheostones contain the quintessence of an element or force — fire, water, sky, sun, earth, storm, light, darkness, and on and on — along with echoes of the individuals which have been gods over those forces. They grant vast power over the element or force they represent, and with the right steps, can be used to achieve apotheosis, and ascension to godhood. That’s what my parents, Radiance and Maelstrom, did.”

“Right. Your parents. The deities.” I say slowly.

“Mhmm.”

“And they the… gods of day and night?”

“Sun, storm, and shadow.”

“Right, right.”

“This little jewel just reminded me of them.” Kayenta says, rolling the amethyst back to the tips of her fingers and holding it up. “I have their memories of what Apotheostones looked like, and they looked kinda like this. So much power, all contained within something so very… small. They weren’t pretty jewels, like the ones you see in crowns and rings. They were rough gems, like this. Bumpy around the edges, uneven. Raw and natural, little inclusions of rock and flint on the margins here and there. And inside, you could see the element twisting and roiling. The fire roiling within the stone, the storm caged within the gem, the ocean swirling within the crystal. Pretty things, even though they were rough and unpolished.” Taking my hand, she plants the amethyst back in it. “This is not an Apotheostone. But it is a pretty gem.”

“Well, it’s good to know I wasn’t accidentally keeping a god stone in a storage box in the attic.” I say, reaching up and setting it on my bedside table. “Are you ready for bed?”

Kayenta’s arms tighten around my midsection. “I don’t think your mother likes me.”

I blink. The sudden turn of conversation doesn’t surprise me; Kayenta’s prone to switching topics abruptly when she gains or loses focus on a subject. But the admitted concern about being liked is not something I expected. “What makes you think that?”

“I don’t know. I just… sense it.” she mumbles into my shoulder. “She’s nice, but I don’t think she likes me. Maybe she thinks I am not a good mate for you.”

I wriggle a bit in her embrace so I can turn about, brushing our noses together before leaning my forehead against hers. “You are okay. No one is a perfect mate. It takes practice.”

“Maybe I am not good at it. You are the only mate I have kept for this long.” she murmurs, her august eyes averted.

“You are the only mate I have had at all.” I point out. “So I’m probably not great at it either. But I’m learning, and so are you. I think you’re a good mate, even if all of my clothes are covered in your tail fur.”

“That is not my fault.” she grumbles. “Your magic cleaning machines are supposed to take care of that.”

“Living with a nine-tailed morphox is like living with nine cats. There’s no vacuum in the galaxy that can handle that much fur.” I chuckle, then nuzzle her cheek. “But I love you, shedding and all. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a good mate. I think Mom will see that eventually, just like Lysanne did.”

“You are sure?” Kayenta asks doubtfully, her tails fitfully sweeping the floor behind her.

“I’m never entirely sure. But I didn’t think Lysanne would ever come around to you, and she has.” I point out. “So I think if we just give it some time, and give my mom time to get to know you better, she’ll come around too. I think we’re going to be here for at least a month, so there should be plenty of time to get to know her better.”

“Okay. If you say so.” Kayenta says, her silver tails curling around her legs now that they’ve lost their golden glow. “Your room is cold. I thought it would be warm, like your room on the ship.”

“I wish. This is an old family house; it’s had bad temperature control since I was kid.” I say, looking around. “It was never as cold as I wanted it to be in the summer, and it was always a little cool and drafty in the winter. We never had the money to have it renovated, so we just compensated by drinking a lot of iced water in the summer and throwing extra blankets on the bed in winter. Hence why my bed has three layers of blankets.” I nod to my bed, which has a quilt under a downy fuzz blanket underneath a knitted yarn blanket.

“Hmm. It will be warmer if we are sharing a bed.” Kayenta says, standing up. She waves a hand at the door, a faint echo of blue light pushing it closed as she peels back the multiple blankets on the bed. “It is smaller than your bed on the ship but it will still fit both of us.”

“Yeah. I don’t think Mom ever replaced the bedframe or mattress, just kept it as a guest room.” I say, standing up as well. “Money was always tight in a single-parent family. The coven helped out, always made sure we had all our basic needs met and had a roof over our head. But we didn’t often have the money to buy things brand new, or replace or upgrade the things we did have.”

“It’s good enough. Better than my den back in the woods.” Kayenta says, tugging me towards the bed. “C’mere. I wanna snuggle my cinnamon witch.” With that, she pushes me onto the bed, then clambers in after me.

“Alright.” I chuckle, making room for her and getting comfortable as she pulls the covers over both of us. “Just no wrasslin’, okay? It’s an old house and the walls don’t have active sound damping like our suites on the ship do.”

She scrunches her nose up. “…we have to go an entire month without a wrassle?”

“Maybe. If we get a chance to play without bothering the others, we’ll take it.”

“Good. I’d get fidgety going that long without a wrassle.” she says, spending several seconds positioning her pillow where she wants it, then abandoning it altogether in favor of shoving her head up underneath my chin, using me as a pillow instead. “Snugs now.”

“Snugs now.” I agree, curling my arm around her shoulders. Closing my eyes, I slow down my breathing and work on falling asleep. The occasional sensation of one of her soft silver ears brushing over my throat keeps me awake for a little while more, but the comfortable warmth we’re generating soon has me drifting off.

I think I’ll enjoy this vacation.