The Silent-Ones ship settles down inside the hangar of what Envoy can only assume is the Silent-Ones embassy. The inside of the bay is spartan, the only occupants being a large claw that grips onto the ship and moves it over to a storage bay off to the side.

"We are here. Follow," Born-In-War signs as he unhooks his seatbelt and stands. Without another sign, the spotted feline heads towards the back of the ship. A hiss of hydraulics follows and soon the rear hatch has opened. Down the ramp he goes and is greeted by what Envoy can only assume are two female (due to their smaller size) Silent-Ones in robes and full masks. They hold out a robe for Born-In-War and he slips his arms into it. Not a sign is made as they cross in front of him and cinch the robe closed.

"They will take you to your son. I must attend to matters of paperwork before we discuss the other matters related to you and your child," he signs. After a quick nod to his two attendants, Born-In-War walks off, and presumably out of the hangar.

Envoy is left staring at two Silent-Ones who in turn are staring right back at her. The masks make it hard to tell their expression. It could be curiosity, it could be disgust, it could even be boredom. Whatever it is, they're waiting patiently at the end of the ramp.

"I need to wash," Envoy eventually signs to the pair, hoping they'll take her someplace she can clean up.

The two felines look Envoy up and down, then at each other. The one on the right waves her hand for Envoy to follow, then the pair turn in perfect tandem and walk towards an exit in the far wall. What's even stranger is that their footsteps are completely synced, and their hips even sway at exactly the same time and direction.

Twins? Envoy wonders. She also isn't sure if they're servants or Born-In-War's daughters. She follows along, and actually forces herself to not start moving in sync.

Not only are their movements synced, the few times they unsync, it's like watching a dance, such as when one opens the door and the other seemingly glides through. Once Envoy passes the other follows, slips by Envoy without touching her, and then syncs right back up with her pair. The corridor Envoy now walks through is wide and with a high ceiling. Everything is clean and smooth. The seams in the wall look so tight, it's unlikely anything could be fit into the crack. When they reach a certain door on the right, the pair splits up and move to stand on either side of it. This time the one on the left rolls her hand in gesture for Envoy to enter the room.

Maybe dancers or assassins, the Aeolun thinks, still curious but not willing to ask just yet. She steps through into the room beyond, unsure of what to expect.

As Envoy steps through the doorway, lights flick on overhead. The room seems to be made of pure marble with a center divider made of glass with a door set in the center. On the side Envoy currently stands are hooks and shelves for hanging or placing clothing along with what looks like some sort of blowing machine, perhaps for drying. On the other side of the glass Envoy can make out numerous nozzles and jets. There are also two control knobs on that side, with the semi-universal blue for presumably cold and red for presumably hot.

"A shower!" Envoy blurts out loud. Somehow she expected something less sartorial… but the Embassy position is probably a very prestigious one. Not having any clothes to hang up, she enters the shower side and turns the knobs.

It's a shower … and it takes a bit to get the water temperature adjusted right! Apparently it's far enough away from the heat source that it takes a minute for hot water to actually reach the hot side. Eventually, though, Envoy finds herself doused in very pleasant jets of water. In fact, the ones on the walls pulsate so it feels like she's being massaged all over.

The temptation to linger is there, but Envoy knows Icarus is waiting. Once the last of the dirt and blood is sluiced off, she turns off the water and goes to the dry side. Noting the blower, she looks for a (hopefully simple) control.

The drier has one button. Seems simple enough.

Envoy pushes the button, hoping she doesn't have to keep it down the whole time – that would be awkward when she has to move around a bit because of her wings.

The machine comes to life around her! Two thin rods jut out on either side of her, then a massively powerful jet of air forms between them. This slides down around Envoy and practically shaves all the moisture off her in one pass. In other words, Envoy just experienced an 'air squeegee'. The rods retract and the machine then gusts her with some warm air to 'fluff' her up a bit, then powers back down.

Shaking out her wings to get the feathers back in place, Envoy makes sure there aren't any missed spots. Aside from her mane of hair, the rest is short enough that fluffing isn't a big deal – but she'll probably need to do something about her hair eventually. "Do you have anything I could wear?" she asks the attendants. "Maybe a backless dress or pants and a smock?"

The pair look at each other again. One of them raises her hand in a 'just a moment' sort of sign and it's the other one that walks off. This leaves Envoy with just one Silent-One staring at her.

Switching back to sign, Envoy asks, "Are you two twins?"

"Yes," the Silent-One signs.

"You move very fluidly," Envoy signs with a smile. "Are you trained dancers, or perhaps martial artists?"

"We are what we are," the Silent-One signs back rather vaguely. The other one reappears around a corner and is carrying a bundle of cloth in her arms. The one Envoy is 'speaking' with now signs, "Please step back and hold your arms out."

Envoy does as requested, and has a brief moment of unease as she wonders if they've brought some kind of straight-jacket for her.

One of the sections of cloth is handed off and the two Silent-Ones twirl about Envoy. One of them wraps what appears to be a sarong-like dress around her waist while the other takes her cloth and drapes it around the back of Envoy's neck, crosses over her chest in an X pattern, then glides behind her to tie it off just below her wings. The end result leaves Envoy covered in at least the areas most mammals typically cover. The pair then step back, look at Envoy, then nod approvingly in unison.

Smiling, Envoy bows slightly to the twins. "Thank you," she signs. "Can you take me to my son now? And do you have names? I am Envoy."

"Your son? Silver-mane?" the one on the left signs. The one on the right answers the question with, "I am Rising-Star; this is my sister, Setting-Sun."

"Icarus," Envoy says out loud, but signs, "Silver-mane seems appropriate too. Are you Born-In-War's daughters?"

The pair look at each other again. "Does it matter?" Rising-Star signs.

"I was merely curious," Envoy signs back. "He mentioned that he has a family."

"We are," Setting-Sun signs, "Follow." The pair then turn away and walk down the corridor.

Envoy follows along. The Embassy is certainly nicer than the run down old military base that serves as her current lair. More convenient to shops and theaters I would imagine as well, she thinks.

The walk is brief and Envoy soon hears Icarus familiar voice complaining, "What are you doing?" It's coming from a door just up on the left. The pair in front of Envoy keep their steady pace, seemingly unconcerned about the complaining. They are heading for that door, at least.

"He hasn't been any trouble, has he?" she signs to Rising-Star.

"No more so than any cub is," Rising-Star replies. When they reach the door, the pair once more take up positions on either side of it. Setting-Sun motions to the door as invitation for Envoy to enter.

Envoy opens the door and steps inside, saying, "Icarus? I'm back… "

Icarus is sitting in the middle of a huge pillow, dressed in a robe similar to the one Born-In-War put on upon arrival. Two unmasked younger Silent-Ones, possibly female, sit near him. One of them is braiding his hair. The other one is … giving him a pedicure. In fact, it looks like she's putting clear polish on his toe claws. Icarus looks … flustered. Very very flustered. It even takes him a few seconds before he blurts, "Mom!" The Silent-One behind him puts her hands on his shoulders to keep him from jumping up.

"Oh… my," Envoy says, coming closer, and leaning in to hug Icarus as best she can without interrupting the attendants. "I'm so sorry to have left you to this… terrible fate," she says. "Thank you for finding me."

The servants dip their heads and move away from Icarus. This gives the hybrid the chance to hug Envoy. This is not entirely pleasant, given she's currently missing some ribs, but at least he's not overly strong. When Icarus finally lets go, he asks, "What happened? Born-In-War wouldn't let me go with him when Morpheus finally found you and told me where. He said I would make it harder to rescue you since you would want to protect me and would take risks you normally would not. That it was safer that someone you did not care about went instead."

"Born-In-War is a wise man," Envoy notes, smiling at Icarus. "And I'm very proud of you for not coming. As for what happened… I was unconscious until today. I'll tell you about it when it's just the two of us… oh… that reminds me, where's Walter? Did he head back to the base to take delivery of the aluminum?"

Icarus rubs his forehead. "He said he wanted to make sure the base would be safe and went back to keep guard. I think he may have dealt with the aluminum too," the hybrid answers. "I would have gone too, but … they won't let me leave," he adds and points at the Silent-Ones.

"Well, they probably didn't want you on your own without a guardian of some sort," Envoy rationalizes. "You recovered all of my belongings, I hope? I'm pretty sure you have the rose at least."

"Yes. Born-In-War put them in a safe in his office. Except for the rose, he let me keep that," Icarus notes. He looks over at the two servants and frowns. "These people are strange. They have been … poking at me since I arrived like I was some sort of … exhibit? I think that's the right word. They even strapped me down in a chair once and did really strange things to me," he complains.

Envoy blinks at this, and her expression darkens. "What sort of things did they do to you, Icarus?" she asks. "Did they use needles or knives?"

"No, they just … measured my limbs, fingers, claws, and the shape of my head," Icarus complains, "Then they smeared some sort of goo on my face and made a mold of it. It was awful and smelled like … Walter's socks after a few days."

"We needed to tailor clothing," one of the servants signs quickly, looking worried. "And he doesn't understand our language."

"And make him a mask?" Envoy signs back, the last word being done with a certain sharpness.

"It was to help him fit in," the servant signs, "Our master requested it be done."

"Why would he possibly need a mask when he is unique?" Envoy signs, although it's done more as a statement than a question.

"We only did what we were told to do," the servant signs. "You must ask the master that question."

Icarus folds his arms over his chest. "This is as bad as someone whispering about me while standing in front of me," he complains.

After taking a deep breath to calm down (although it reminds her of the missing ribs again), Envoy asks Icarus, "Have you eaten yet? I haven't eaten since we had ice-cream."

"I've had dinner every night with Born-In-War and his daughters," Icarus answers. The two servants nod as if to confirm that. "The way they cook meat is very good."

"Well, I would like to try it myself," Envoy says with a grin, and signs to the servants, "When is dinner served?"

"In a couple of hours," one of the servants reply. "I believe the Master wants to discuss a few matters with you before the meal. Or at least we were told such before he left to gather you."

"When can I see Born-In-War then?" Envoy asks the servant, speaking aloud for Icarus' benefit.

"When you desire to do so. We will continue to care for Silver-mane in your absence," one of the servants signs.

"Okay, I'm going to go talk to Born-In-War, Icarus," Envoy tells the boy. "You just wait here for me, okay?"

Icarus looks worriedly at the servants. They actually try to smile back to the hybrid, which makes him look even more worried. "Okay," Icarus finally agrees and looks back to Envoy. "You will be alright? Something did happen to you; your mass is less," he remarks. "I just … I just noticed."

"Hold on to these," Envoy says, and passes Icarus her crystalline ribs. "They should light up if you apply electric current, being semi-conductors." She also reaches into her hair and moves Knick and Knack back to her forearms to serve as bracelets. "All I can tell you right now is that I'm unharmed, but may need a bit of medical treatment later."

"Okay," Icarus says and looks confused by the odd bits he is handed. The servants now move back in closer to Icarus and resume their grooming. The hybrid sighs as if he's suffering horribly. The attending pair … purr. Envoy heads back out of the door, expecting Rising-Star and Setting-Sun to be waiting for her there.

And waiting they are as a pair of identical statues. They look at her in unison and sign, "I hope you are satisfied that he has been well cared for?"

"I am concerned about certain liberties that were taken," Envoy signs back. "I wish to discuss things with your father, if you will take me to him now."

"He has been treated as if he were one of us. That is honorable," Rising-Star signs. The pair then depart their posts and head down the corridor towards what looks like an elevator door.

Yes, and that's the problem, Envoy thinks. Was Born-In-War planning on adopting Icarus if I wasn't found?

Once the door is reached, one of the twins waves her hand before a crystalline plate. A minute or two passes and the doors part to reveal the elevator beyond. They enter, then motion for Envoy to join them.

Envoy steps inside, and looks to see how many floors are indicated by the control panel.

Five floors if Envoy reads the panel right. Setting-Sun waves her hand over the topmost marker. There is a small chime and the doors close, then up they go. The trip is quick and soon the doors part once more to reveal a huge high-ceilinged room beyond. In fact, it looks like the top floor is all one room. Pillars carved in the shapes of Silent-Ones in full armor reach upward as if holding the ceiling above up with their might. A black granite floor is polished to perfection beneath their feet. And at the far end of the room sits an ornate desk surrounded by plush-looking chairs. Sitting at the desk looking impassive as usual is Born-In-War. He seems engrossed in paperwork. Envoy's escorts exit the elevator, then motion towards the Silent-One in the distance as if indicating she should approach.

With a slight sigh, Envoy steps forward. How many times has she entered an imposing office where the person is engrossed in paperwork now? She also studies the carved faces of the statues for any telltale glints of glass or metal.

Everything in the room has a shine to it, so it's a bit hard to make out what the statues are made of. Once she's close enough to Born-In-War he reaches up without looking and signs, "I hope you are satisfied that your child has been well cared for? He has been treated honorably."

Taking the nearest seat and adjusting her wings, Envoy signs, "Other than not being provided with a translator, and being fitted for a mask, I am satisfied that you have looked after his physical well-being. But I am curious as to what you intending for him should I have remained missing or been found dead."

"All those of the People and considered significant are fitted for masks. It is tradition," Born-In-War signs and finally pushes the paperwork aside. "I gave the order he would be considered one of us for his duration of stay; it is not some nefarious plot as you seem to imply. Had you remained missing he would have been cared for until he was old enough to decide what he wished to do with his life. My daughters would have seen to his education on general matters and common knowledge that all of this world share."

"Forgive me for jumping to conclusions, but it is a bad habit of mine," Envoy signs. "I have reason to feel over-protective, as you might imagine given the situation you found me in. You have acted in honor, so now I would know what I must do to balance the scales."

"Will you allow me to run the genetic marker test on him?" Born-In-War signs, his expression remaining impassive. "The results would not be shared beyond myself, my family, and the family identified as the origin of his genetics. It is important to my people that closure is made for any who are lost. This is a chance for us to perhaps close an old mystery."

"This test will search only for those markers, and not study his genome in greater detail?" Envoy signs with a look of concern on her face.

"The standard test is only to match the markers of family lines, yes. Now you make me wonder; is there something special about the other aspects of his genome?" Born-In-War signs.

"It is more a matter of privacy," Envoy signs. "The other half of his parentage need not be examined. Regardless of whether he will agree to the testing, will you recover the remains of his sire?"

"I would desire to do so, yes," Born-In-War signs. "It would allow for a proper burial."

"I will broach the subject with my son when we see each other again," Envoy signs. "Before then, may I avail myself of your medical facilities? If you have an… " Here the alien flounders. Her knowledge of sign comes from Savanites, after all, and lacks certain terms. "An X-Ray machine?" she asks out loud.

"We do, and yes you may. Now, I have a question for you. Why does he exist?" Born-In-War signs. His mask shifts slightly, indicating a possible arch of his brow. "What was the purpose of joining Silent-One and I assume, inferior human genes? When you 'gave birth' to him, did you uncover the answer to that?"

"Yes, I know the answer to that," Envoy signs, looking upset. "But it is not his destiny anymore. His co-creator gave her life to protect him from it."

"And you do not wish to tell me the reason?" Born-In-War signs.

Envoy sets her hands in her lap, and closes her eyes for a moment. Finally she opens them again and signs, "I cannot deny you the information if you ask me directly. However, I do not think the knowledge will bring you any satisfaction."

Born-In-War sits back. His eyes seem to bore into Envoy as he watches her for a time in complete silence. "I am a father," he finally signs, "And understand all too well the desire to protect children from the harshness of the world in which we live. If knowing the truth will not make the situation any better, then the fewer that know of it the better. You may not have carried him, but I can see in your actions and movements that you love him as a son all the same. You may keep the secret of why he was made. I will ask no more on it."

Without realizing how tense she was, Envoy relaxes. "You see him as a boy; a person," she signs. "And that is what he is now. It was a gift I received when I first arrived on this world, and it is important to me that I can nurture it in another. Thank you, Born-In-War, for understanding."

"Ensuring that the child does not endure what the parent has is the goal of all families, I believe, be it Silent-One, human, or even the accursed Confederate races," Born-In-War signs and then bows his head briefly. "He is also be welcome here any time. He may not be pure, but … it would be remiss of me to turn my back that at least part of him is one of us."

"I am sure his time here has made him more curious about his heritage," Envoy signs. "And he tells me the food is good. Given that I am not a skilled chef, he may wish to visit simply for that reason alone."

Born-In-War actually snorts at that. "I will have my daughters ask him if he wishes to know his family line while you tend to yourself in the medical bay," he offers as he sits back up and seems to be preparing to tackle his paperwork again.

Envoy stands and bows, signing, "Thank you for your hospitality, Born-In-War."

"I will see you at dinner," Born-In-War signs as his dismissal of her presence. The paperwork once more becomes the focus of his world.

---

The odd daughters of Born-In-War (and they may intentionally do things in harmony to make people wonder as some sort of a game), lead Envoy down to the third floor. From there it is a short walk to another sterile-looking doorway. They usher her inside, then go to see Icarus regarding his own 'scan'. The medical bay is a room perhaps twenty by twenty feet with two examination (or perhaps operating) tables bathed in bright light. Along each wall are arrays of monitoring machinery made from metal and crystal. One machine is some sort of tube that the patient stands in and the hand-symbols marked on it translate roughly as 'deep tissue examination probe'. Or at least that is the best she can make out given her education in sign.

Envoy eyes the tube, figuring it to be a full-body scanner. Not knowing just what it uses – it could be sonar for all she knows – she removes her clothing and her pets before stepping up to the device and looking for instructions.

There's a screen next to the pod that probably shows the results of the scan. Hopefully it records the scan and doesn't require it o be interpreted while the patient is in the tube. Next to the tube is a panel with a dial of ever increasing numbers. Sort of timer, perhaps? A button is next to it, presumably to activate the device. Nothing much else is there in terms of instructions, alas.

With nobody to ask for help, Envoy steps inside the tube and sets the dial for the lowest number, then presses the button.

A minute passes, then the tube snaps shut. There's an ominous hum then a blindingly bright flash of light! Envoy's vision is a mess of sparkles and floaters afterwards as the tube opens back up. Though it is a bit hard to see at the moment, it looks like there is an image on the screen next to the tube.

Blinking to try and clear her vision, Envoy steps out to look at the screen.

My what an odd skeleton you have, Envoy. Especially since it's missing several ribs. She can also make out on the skull where she was shot, just above her left eye. There's still a spider web fracture spanning out from the hole that hasn't completely closed yet. There's an 'up' and 'down' arrow flashing on the screen that presumably changes the view somehow.

Curious, Envoy taps on the up arrow.

The skeleton gets fainter. She can see into the bone itself, it looks like. It doesn't look like there is any bullet still in her head, but she can make out the synthetic parts of her own brain clearly, including where her own horn grows into it.

She can also make out that the Sifras crystal has 'leached' into her brain a bit through her horn … and that her crystal 'forearms' actually go quite deep and seem to twist and curl up along the bones of her forearms, going all the way to her elbows. It also seems to grow down to her fingers too.

"It must have been removed," Envoy says to herself of the bullet. She finds the crystal intrusions fascinating, however. Dr. Von Bronson used light to control crystals, and she can only assume the ones in her own body are similar. "They could be using my skeleton itself," she muses with a grin. At least she has something to compare to now when she examines the Svartifin drone skeleton down in the ancient spaceship again.

Alas, the image before her can't tell her what the crystals may be doing inside her. It's only a moment-in-time capture, after all.

Envoy looks for a control to delete the scan… like the sign for 'Forget' or similar.

Envoy finds a sign that looks similar to 'forget' floating in the right corner of the screen. It's then that one of the twins, Rising-Star judging by the mask, enters carrying a small vial filled with some sort of red liquid.

Before touching the sign, Envoy turns to the daughter and asks, "Icarus agreed to be tested, then?"

"He did," the Silent-One signs back. She heads over to one of the other machines and inserts the vial. On the screen before her a dizzying array of pictures of Silent-Ones flash by, all looking more or less identical, but apparently members of different lines nonetheless.

The Aeolun goes over to watch the process, and also asks, "Is there a surgeon here, or someone who can assist in minor surgery?"

"There is. Do you require assistance?" Rising-Star signs. The images continue to flick by, but the rate has begun to slow down.

"Two of my ribs were broken off and pulled out," Envoy says as she watches the faces flash by. "I have the ribs, but need someone to help reinsert them so they can be properly set for healing."

"You require bone grafting?" Rising-Star signs, "How is it that you are so mobile with such grievous injury?"

"My body repairs itself very quickly," Envoy explains. "I can regrow the lost ribs in a few weeks – but if the originals are fitted back into place they will be back to normal in a few days."

The pictures continue to slow, until it stops on one. Envoy recognizes it immediate since she was face to face with its 'ghost' not so long ago. A series of unknown symbols scrolls down the side of the screen, probably some sort of personnel information. Rising-Star actually chirps in surprise and covers her mouth quickly.

"Yes, that is his… father," Envoy confirms, and then asks, "Who was he among the People?"

"Fearless-Eye, a decorated Titan pilot. He was allowed access to many weapon prototypes," Rising-Star signs a bit shakily. "So Father was right in his suspicions. He did think the spot pattern matched."

"Your father is too young to have possibly known him though," Envoy notes, still a bit worried by the girl's reaction. "Is Fearless-Eye… a relation?"

The Silent-One turns and looks hard at Envoy. "Fearless-Eye was my great-great-grandfather. He disappeared during one of the periods of great unrest," she signs. The woman then reaches up and carefully lifts off her own mask. Though her face is far more feline than Icarus, Envoy does recognize something; the tear-mark flow and the pattern of spots on her forehead and down her cheeks are eerily identical to Icarus' own.

Blinking in silence, Envoy can only think: Dinner is going to be very interesting tonight.