The restaurant was on the fifth floor of one of the towering buildings overlooking The Rectangle, and unsurprisingly catered to a mostly military clientele. In this sense, it was not unlike Bromthen Heaven on Rephidim, except that it had a better view, more humans and weaker beer. The air was thick with cigar smoke, laughter and the smell of grilled meat. The Lapis excused themselves, and their escort took them to a nearby restaurant that specialized in salads and pasta.

The light comes from glowing yellow tubes of neon snaking around the edges of the ceiling and support beams, and nobody pinches, pats or even flirts with the mostly-human wait staff, despite the amount of drinking going on. Occasionally Tasha catches a waitress giving her a sympathetic 'you poor thing' sort of look as well. The officers that are hosting them are all combat oriented, and so most of the conversation centers on that, leaving Zerachiel and Caravelli on the sidelines despite Gabriel's attempts to draw them in.

Most of the questions are aimed at Akkers, and deal with what it was like to fight in space, what his status was as an 'early generation' Karnor, his home life and other trivia about Terra. When the topic of titans comes up, Tasha is able to finally say something about her experience in the Themis-Skoll simulator, but the Karnors just nod along as if humoring her (or else don't want to show how little they know about titan combat).

Time flies and beer flows, until finally the dinner has to break up so people can be on duty on time in the morning. Tasha and her pack are escorted to there lodgings, which apparently take up an entire floor of the same building the restaurant is in, separated by several floors. Their escort explains that the government has a lease on the entire floor, and uses it for visiting dignitaries. It has a conference room, meeting hall and lounge along with several bedroom suites.

The lounge has floor-to-ceiling glass windows that look out over the city of New Zion (although neighboring towers take up most of the view). It's lit up more than any city Tasha has ever seen, so that even though it's night the avenues and buildings are clearly seen, along with flashing beacons to signal aircraft. The roof of The Rectangle can be seen below, with its airstrip dotted with small craft. The lounge sports a bar and entertainment center dominated by some sort of dial-covered box with a dark circular grill on the front.

The two doctors bid Gabriel and Tasha goodnight, and go off to find rooms no already occupied by the Lapi.

A evening's worth of small talk floats through the head of the Vartan woman along with alcohol and road-weariness. She shrugs off her heavy-leather coat and hangs it on a provided coat rack as Gabriel does the same, then walks for the large window. She isn't anywhere near inebriated to be drunk, or even tipsy, but she does feel that slight tug on her mind to speak freely – and with a Vartan, not much of a tug is needed for them to speak their mind.

"That was uncomfortable, Gabriel." She's tried very hard to blunt her accent and copy Nora's own, making her much clearer, though somehow a sadder as she lacks a bit of the usual fire in her voice. "Did you feel it, too?" She turns around at the window, looking back at the man.

"Well, you're from a different world and I'm from a different time," Gabriel notes, coming up behind Tasha to put an arm around her shoulders. "But I could feel it. They didn't really know what to make of us."

"They loved you," Tasha insists as she shifts to lean her weight against the man. "You're a hero, a living legend. You belong here – at least more than I do. I think they'd give you a place in their world, and you could be happy here." The Vartan lays her ears flat, turning her gaze again out the window. She looks at the bustle, the lights, the fantastic machines. She bites her lip, and shakes her head. "I wish I could belong here, too."

"It's a nice city, but… it's not much different than Rephidim to me," Gabriel admits. "I didn't grow up here, and the culture has changed quite a bit. I don't think they let women serve in combat now, for instance. And I'm not really a hero, since until a little while ago they wouldn't even have remembered our mission. It feels… a little backwards, frankly."

"And it feels forwards to me," Tasha says with a little laugh. She turns to look up at the man she loves, studying his face, remembering how she labored to save him and all that she and her friends did to bring him to live again. And, she remembers the doubts she had if she even should. "Do you resent us for bringing you from your sleep?"

"Oh, hell no!" Gabriel laughs. "Nothing is worse than being stuck in limbo, Tasha, where nothing is real. Life is hard, but it's something that doesn't go away when you close your eyes." He gives Tasha's shoulder a squeeze. "And hey, it's just our first day here."

The Vartan woman smiles at that. "That's good; sometimes I think back on what I've done and wonder if I've done the right thing. It's good to know I don't have to regret that." She reaches up and entangles her hand with his, smiling a little more as she feels how warm and alive it feels. She just smiles for a long moment, but her mind pulls her towards less pleasant matters, away from her reverie. "Did you see the waitresses? They looked at me like I'd lost my arms. Do you think they'll ever accept me? Aren't you worried they'll reject you because of me? I don't think they've figured out we're together, if they do … " Her ears lay back again, though she manages to not look away.

"I noticed their looks too," Gabriel says. "They probably thought you'd just been rescued from the Coalition – that your mother was a captured Karnor."

"Is that it? I hadn't even thought of that." The woman grimaces at the idea, having some inkling that such a thing might involve strange science as much as rape. "How terrible. I'm not sure if it's worse than them not liking the truth. Did you know I asked to join the Expedition?"

"Really?" Gabriel asks, looking surprised. "What did they say?"

"She seemed even more surprised that you do," Tasha says, wryly. "She said she's never had an outside ask to join, that the Expedition is as much racial as cultural, and that she'd look into it. I'm not expecting anything good."

"One of the reasons I don't feel that… at home… here," Gabriel notes, looking back at the city. "Karnors have a lot more rights now – legally they're equal to humans – but I can see there's still a certain subtle deference to their creators. There wasn't any of that on Sinai. I guess have lots of races and not knowing their origins helps people get along better. The conflicts between the civilizations on Abaddon might go away if they actually mixed cultures any."

Tasha follows the man's gaze, and nods in agreement. "I get the feeling I could have saved their entire world, and if there was a human or Karnor anywhere nearby, they'd think those two did it no matter what the proof. They seem so advanced to me, yet the more I try and fit in, the more isolated they feel. Like, they're afraid and superior at the same time." She shakes her head, sadly. "I don't know if I'll ever fit in here, and now I don't know if you will, either. I had hoped you would. Now, I'm not sure where to go."

"There's no rush," Gabriel notes. "We're together, right? After Sheol, who knows. We aren't restricted to Abaddon after all."

"Then, you still want to come with me? Even though this place, even if it's not how you remember, still has people a bit like you? You know, they won't understand if you leave them for me," Tasha says, turning her gaze up at the man again. "I love you, Gabriel. I knew I did since I first met you. But, I've known I might have to let you go. There's still time, are you sure?"

"There isn't as much here for me as you think, Tasha," Gabriel notes, taking the Vartan's chin in his hand. "I can't just take up my position in the military again, as I have no experience in their current practices, weapons or what sort of conflicts they're in. A lot of it seems to be fighting nasty weeds in canyons. I'm more than that. I'm an explorer."

Tasha grins widely, though she has to reaches up and rub at the corner of her left eye, her eyes having that shine of a person keeping back tears. "I really wanted to believe you would fit in here, maybe because I've never fitted in anywhere. But, you're right Gabriel, and I've just wanted it too much to see it," she admits, nodding a little in his hand. "I'm just a ship-hand, but I think I've grown to like exploring. I've found so many wonderful things." She blinks a bit, the weight of such honest feelings more than she can handle. She used to answer affection with aggression, noise, and lust, being open and honest seems to twist her insides more than anything she knew before.

"You have a family that accepts you, remember," Gabriel says. "And you fit in with me. I guess because you found me in the Fenris, with what must have seemed like fantastic technology, you have trouble picturing me not surrounded by it?" he asks.

"Oh I love me mu- … My mom, and the crew too. I think I've taken them for granted, you're right. I wanted to be so big I just ended up making myself look smaller by standing away from everyone and everything that was near me." She reaches up and puts a hand on the side of his muzzle, feeling the man's fur on her paw tips. "That's right. I've also been afraid I can't ever live up to it. I'll never be as smart or as learned as Nora. And … ," he fingers pause, and a shadow crosses her eyes, "I'm afraid I'll lose you if she returns."

"Tasha," Gabriel says, holding the woman with both arms now. "You aren't Nora. I never wanted you to be Nora. I love you as you are."

"Maybe I want to be Nora," Tasha admits, laying hear ears back, blinking a little more rapidly. "For you, and for her. And for me." She tilts her head, the angle and her blinking finally causing a tear to run from her eye and stream down her cheek, the drop glistening with the reflected light of the city below. "But, I don't … I don't think I do, anymore."

"You shouldn't," Gabriel says, holding Tasha's head against his shoulder. "She wouldn't want that. Neither would I. We all want to be better than we are, but the reality is that we all have weaknesses and always will. Even Nora did."

"I feel so bad for stealing you away," Tasha says, her voice quavering as she finally admits to all her fears and guilt from the last year. "Nora didn't deserve to die, Nora was better than me, she didn't deserve … " Even choking up, she still won't tell Gabriel how his lover died. She won't burden him with that memory, for any amount of alchohol or guilt. "I'm sorry. I've always felt like I wasn't ever good enough, like a freak. I thought I learned that lesson in Amazonia, but I … It still bothers me."

"You're still growing up," Gabriel notes. "I'll help you, don't worry. I went through that all too. I questioned any fortune I had. Why was I given a breeding license when my brother – who I thought was better - was still being evaluated? Why'd I get chosen for the Fenris. That one really gave me fits."

Listening to Gabriel recount his own worries at her age makes Tasha smile a little, and she wraps her fingers more closely with his. "And I'm here for you too, Gabriel. I know I'm young, and I do stupid things – Layth says I'm reckless and he might even be right. But if I can help you, I always will." She runs her thumb along the man's paw, finding it so hard to accept he's real and that he honestly likes her for who she is. But, she'll learn how. Somehow.

"Star help us, they will probably want to have us talk to the press eventually," Gabriel notes with a sigh, and hugs Tasha a little harder.

"Oh, First Ones, we'll ruin their entire society," says Tasha with a soft, strained laugh. She hugs the man right back, finding herself laughing even more. "Maybe we should kiss for them, then we'll either be thrown out or maybe, just maybe, they'll reconsider outsiders."

"This place seems a little more repressed than Rephidim," Gabriel comments. "But it wouldn't matter since by then they'd all know you were from Sinai. Frankly, I think they have bigger news to deal with than us right now."

"Bigger than us? How can that be?" Tasha, sounding a bit more like her old self, shifts to lean comfortable into her boyfriend and grins a little, her fur still damp and glistening with her earlier tears. "But, do you mean the Imperial Life Dome? Or is there something even worse than us and the dome?"

"Magic," Gabriel says. "It will change things. Maybe not for the average citizen, but there'll certainly be a magical arms race eventually."

"Oi," Tasha lets slip, shaking her head. "I had forgotten about magic. I guess magic to me is like technology is to you? I don't want any part of that – the mages can have their new coins and their new wars without us."

"Heh, not sure if the Expedition will exactly welcome mages from Sinai," Gabriel notes. "Probably want to figure it out for themselves – although from I've gleaned it's only the priests that seem to have any kind of handle on it so far. Time will tell – and maybe we can influence things one way or another, if we're asked."

"We can only hope. I just don't want us to get caught up in a war, or to have them use you like some sort of flag. But you might be right, I can't see the Expedition welcoming all the races of mages, except maybe the Jupani and humans. I saw how they treat me when help them without asking for anything – the mages won't help for free," says Tasha. She shakes her head against the man's chest, and lets out a little sigh. "I don't want us to be caught up in their politics, but I think you're right that we may be anyway. If it gets too bad, let's leave, Gabriel?"

The man nods. "I've had enough of fighting. I don't know if Sinai has wars of magic or not, but if we see the Mages again I'll ask about it and warn them," he says.

Tasha narrows her brow, her mother had told her of a war of magic, it was a story she liked to tell her to scare her away from using it. She thinks a moment, then her brow raises. "My mother told me of a old war, somewhere on the surface, of great mages who fought and destroyed countries. She said they raised the dead in great armies, and that all mages are a little like that, even if not all are as bad. I don't think it's entirely true, but I'm sure I've heard it again somewhere. I think what I mean is, it's happened, I'm sure of that," explains the woman. "We can try and help. You're better with words than I am, you might be able to convince someone. But I'm not sure the mages care. I know you can hire them to fight wars just like you can hire them to heal."

"That… is the most chilling thing I've ever heard, I think," Gabriel says quietly. "Raising the dead? I can't think of any group on Abaddon that would condone something like that. I mean… zombies!" The big wolf actually shudders.

"I've never seen one," Tasha assures Gabriel, patting his hand comfortingly. "And my mother likes to tell big tales, she was a sailor, after all. Magic and technology don't seem so different, when you think about how they can be used."

"When technology goes wrong, it just doesn't work," Gabe notes. "When magic goes wrong, demons eat you or something. But yeah, I think I see your point: there's already technology here, so not a lot of use for magic except for healing and farming, hopefully."

"Hopefully," Tasha agrees, nodding a little. She then reaches up and tugs a little on the big wolf's chin, getting him to gaze down at her. "But, I think we've been gloomy enough for one night. You could show me how these backwards machines work, or maybe … " The woman smiles, toothily, "I can show you some things."

"Well, I do like learning new things," Gabriel says with a grin, and reaches a bit lower on Tasha's back.

"And I like teaching," Tasha murmurs back. And with that she kisses her love, forgetting all about wars and insecurities.