Some time has passed since the paintball game. The locker room showers were capable of cleaning away the colorful residue from fur, even though they made a horrible racket when first started up. There wasn't any surviving soap, but the same ultrasonic effect that was at work in the 'freshers' of the Fenris was integrated into the shower itself to break up and loosen the paint, dirt and other debris so that it could be washed away.

Layth took the dog-cart back to the garage to unload it and check on Fred, leaving Gabriel and Tasha to themselves – although Akkers said he'd like to check his old home before heading back, and the ever-curious Vartan agreed to come along.

Gabriel wastes almost a minute trying to make the walls work properly, until he manages to conjure up a mountain forest scene with a nice view down to a lake, which is somewhat spoiled by having the window and doors interrupting it. The Karnor isn't able to get any useful sound or scents to go with it, however. "There," he says. "Better than nothing."

Tasha seems amused by Gabriel's efforts; she always thought him to be the sort of man who'd be embarrassed to show a lady a dirty home. Of course, the Vartan thinks wryly, I'm not much of a lady. The woman's seen worse. Having grown up on an airship her 'quarters' – a hammock and a trunk smack with the rest of the crew – smelled like active Vartan men, wood in various states of repair, and ptera feed. Her room in the Fallen Friend was scarcely better, let alone people's homes she visited in Under and Darkside. "I appreciate the effort, anyway," she tells her mate, smiling. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"Uh, you're welcome?" Gabriel replies, looking a little confused. "I only lived here for… hmm, about a year, really." He rubs his chin and goes on, "I hadn't realized it was that long before Fenris flew. Time really went by fast. Anyway, I wanted to see if any of the stuff I left behind was still here."

"Well, it's just, you and Layth are the first real gentlemen I've known. Coming here, well it's just … It's nice, Gabriel." Tasha smiles a little more, glancing around the room and noting the decay. "Especially after what happened," she adds a second later. "I'm almost sad you saw that, but in a way, I'm also glad. You should see that part of me. The Vartan part that grew up laughing when Redwing tripped and wedged his beak in the deck, the part that laughs when she fires a big loud gun, or stares at shiny for half an hour because, well … it's shiny. The stupid, simple side of me."

"Simple, or happy?" Gabriel asks with a smirk, and starts trying to pull open the warped drawers of a dresser. It looks like any other wooden dresser on Sinai, but lacks all of the usual decorations that those tend to have. This one is plain and utilitarian.

"A bit of both," Tasha admits as she steps forward to help the man look. "But, it scared Layth and maybe you too. I didn't mean any harm by it, but for me – and I don't think this is the same for Karnors or Lapi? – but loud noises, flashes, vibration and smell get me. And I think … The stress got to me. Layth would tell me to be myself, but he was afraid when I showed that side. No one will stand behind the woman I was … That's why I try and hide it, but sometimes, I forget … Or slip."

"For me it was speed," Gabriel admits, as he gets a drawer open finally, and retrieves a metal case about the size of a book. "Running, chasing… thinking that if I could only run fast enough, I could leave the ground completely. When I was little, I always stuck my head out of the car window to feel and smell the wind."

Tasha listens with her ears perked, then nods slowly, understandingly. "I think I can understand that. But what's a ca- … No, wait … I have it … Give me a moment." Touching the side of her head like she had a sudden headache, the Vartan searches the language that was placed in her head, and all the alien references and visuals that came with it. It had only been recently that they started to materialize from the recesses of her mind, the exposure to the Orpheus and acting/talking like Nora causing them to gain clarity like an adjusted lens. "It's a … I see four wheels and doors, a land vehicle like in the motor pool?"

"Yes, but a bit like a carriage in its actual use," Gabriel says. "That is, personal transportation. I grew up miles away from the nearest city."

"Ever since I started talking like Nora, especially on this ship, I've been getting flashes of memories. Images and words, describing what I'm thinking of when there was nothing there before. The PersoCom, I know." Tasha lets her hand fall, glancing at Gabriel and the box he holds. "What's that, Gabriel? And, you were a farmer then? A villager?"

"Nothing like that… Karnors didn't live in the cities, we had our own towns, sort of, for training and evaluation," he notes, and holds up the box. "This… is my photo album," he says, looking a bit embarrassed for some reason.

"Pho- … Oh." Tasha blinks, then grins a bit. "There it goes again. Pictures. Are these … embarrassing pictures, Gabriel? Don't you know by now I love you, no matter what happened?" She leans over and tries to look at the box, but doesn't open it, leaving it to the man to decide. "I'll trade you stories, if that helps? Embarrassing stories."

"Nothing like that, just… " Gabriel starts to say, and then just opens the box. The pictures are stacked inside like cards, and each is made of metal. The first one shows a younger, giddy-looking Gabriel with his arm around a tan-furred Karnor girl, both of them proudly holding out white cards with their own portraits on them.

"Just … " Memories. Memories of what's gone, a time he can never return to and a reminder of what he lost. Remembering Layth's advice, Tasha quickly grins widely and nudges the Karnor with an elbow, trying to distract him from any building despair. "Another woman, Gabriel? Is this where I should get jealous and start yelling? I could crash a vehicle, as well."

"No need for that," Gabriel says, smiling halfheartedly and shaking his head. "It's Abby… Abigail. My wife," he explains, "although we weren't married when this was taken." He shuffles through the photos, and pulls out one of him kneeling down with a smaller version of himself that is waving around a toy sword. "Lancelot, my son," he explains.

Tasha's smile begins to falter as the image hits her. She can feel her heart ache for this sad, out-of-place man. But … I won't let him be sad. Not … Not sadder than he has to be. If he's going to be sad, it won't be from me. Not without me trying. Not again. Layth's right. Smile, Tasha. She quickly restores her smile by an act of will, and nods. "She's pretty, Gabriel. Not as pretty as me, but pretty. Probably smarter too – and not some weird alien." She laughs a little, even if it's a bit forced. "And your son … He's a handsome boy – just like his father. I'm sure he's every bit as remarkable, too."

"I think he was, and hopefully didn't follow too closely in my footsteps though," Gabriel says, noting Tasha's semi-forced mood. "It's alright, Tasha. It's okay for me to feel sad sometimes because these are also good memories. I knew there was a chance that I'd never see them again when I left with the Expedition. It was a hard choice, but one I can't let myself regret. If you start regretting important decisions in life, you'll soon be paralyzed by indecision."

Tasha's ears wilt when Gabriel catches her act, her head lowering. "Slag it," she must have picked that up from Nora, "I was hoping I was doing a good job, here. I've never been very good at hiding how I feel, but … I just don't want you to suffer. Not … Not unless you want to," she says, gazing up at the man beside her. She considers his last few words, pausing a moment, then nods slowly. "I've tried to never let indecision stop me, but I have a ways to go. I hope … I hope you don't have any indecision here, with us? With me? Especially after earlier … ? I hope not, I really do, because … ," the Vartan takes a deep breath, exhaling before saying, "Because I want to build something – together, with you."

Gabriel sets the box on top of the cabinet, and then scoops Tasha against him and gives her a kiss! "You have tells and pheromones from your Karnor half," he tells her afterward. "Growing up Vartan, you probably only recognize the Vartan body signals. So… you can't really fool me," he adds with a wink.

Tasha's mouth opens a second before she's kissed, her ears shooting up and eyes widening – but only for a moment. Her ears wilt as she does, the woman kissing her mate back with all the endless love she has for him. Sad or no, difficult past or no, she can't picture her life without him. When she finally breaks the kiss she's grinning genuinely, listening, then nods again. "I never knew how much of myself was locked up in a side belonging to a people I never knew; never had the chance to know. It's been awkward, but I wouldn't trade it for all the shinies on Abaddon." She then shifts, leaning against the older man. All of a sudden, she states, "I'm going to tell the crew before we depart that I intend to see the Expedition – the original – rise again. What do you think of that, Gabriel?"

"I'm not sure what you mean?" Gabriel asks. "The Expedition… do you mean the combined Expedition? All the different races, together?"

Standing straight, Tasha turns so she can look her mate face to face. Her scent has a certain seriousness to it, not to mention her face; she watches the man before her with cautious searching eyes, while her expression shows all the concern of a woman about to present a serious matter. Even her tail cants up a little. "The Expedition – the Joint Expeditionary Force. After all this, all I've seen and learned, and how I feel, I know … I know that I belong here, just as I belong with you. The people of the Expedition, the Fenris, Nora, their sacrifice shouldn't be forgotten – DESERVES to be remembered. The people deserve to know where they came from, what their ancestors came for. They deserve to be TOLD, and KNOW they can be more – that each and every one of us has a legacy as big as the stars and great as any Emperor or Captain-Astromancer. I'm living proof! I won't let all I've seen be forgotten again, it deserves better! And so, I want to pick up what has fallen. I want to bring it back. The legacy of this place … Of all of this … It's BIGGER than me, maybe all of us. It deserves more. And I … want to be there to see it rise again."

The Karnor blinks and looks a bit stunned. "Are you willing to devote your life to the task, Tasha?" he finally asks, a bit gently. "It won't be easy to inspire people enough to get over their… enmities."

Tasha expected this question; she's been asking herself the same question ever since she came up with the idea the day they found Bellerophon. Can she do it? Will anyone even follow her? Is she prepared to give up any other life to do this, endure the politics, and so much more? The truth is, she isn't sure about half the answers, especially the ones if she's good enough, but … "Yes," she answers without hesitating. While some questions she has lack answers, and others are dubious, she knows the important answers. She knows the Expedition and all its people didn't deserve this fate, that too many lives were lost. She knows their ancestors thought this important enough to come together for it. She knows she was just a dockhand before she found herself – and that others deserve the same chance. She knows this place is in her heart and in her soul. If she walked away, or used it for her own selfish ends, it would haunt her forever. And, lastly, she believes it's a cause worth fighting for – that she's found where she belongs at last; the destiny Abaddon saw in her. "But, will you come with me, Gabriel? I know it'll be hard, that I have a lot to learn, but … I don't have any right to push you into this. I … I can do it alone, if you'd rather stay out of it? Or, will you come with me to explore again?" She extends her hand, palm up. "Come with me?"

"Someone has to train you and whoever you manage to recruit," Gabriel says, sounding mock-put-upon. "And I do like shooting people with paint balls, so… I guess you're stuck with me!"

Tasha grins at that, then reaches over to grab the man's muzzle with her extended hand. "Good!" she says, shaking his muzzle playfully, stepping forward to hug him a moment later. "I was afraid it'd be too much for you," she admits, resting her head against his chest as she gazes up at him. "And for ME, but stopping because I'm not good enough just doesn't seem to be how I live my life. I'll do it. We'll do it. The return of Bellerophon will carry the lost will of the gods, Tisiphone will alight from the heavens to descend to the afterlife, bringing what was worthy back from forgotten halls, the heroes will cry out and all the world will know: The Expedition will rise again." She grins, cocking her head in a 'how do you like that?' expression.

"I think if you phrase it like that, the people you attract may be a little bit on the loony side," Akkers says with a wink. "But I'm sure you can get the sentiment across, if we don't crash."

The woman laughs at Gabriel's point, then nods to both counts. "If we crash, we can ask whoever digs us out in six-thousand years to join our cause," she suggests, nudging him. "As it is, I'll need to ask the others, too. It'd be a problem if it's just us – not that we couldn't do it! – and make this official. I'd like to borrow from the Joint Expeditionary Force for organization. Then, we'll hold a vote and put forward who we nominate for what, with all of us there." She cocks her head to the side, then asks, "It's probably not a surprise I'll nominate you to be our leader, is it?"

"Me?" Akkers asks. "Not my PersoCom? He's younger and all," the Karnor jokes. "And less likely to be distracted by a pretty red face… " he adds with a wink.

If Tasha weren't already red, she'd be blushing at THAT remark. "That's … another problem, isn't it? If you're our leader, and I'm … whatever I'm voted to, I know what I'll ask to be … ," she takes a deep breath again, staring into Gabriel's eyes with a momentary fixation; the same look she sometimes gives shinies when they grab her attention like a vice. "Ah, um … Oh, won't we be … Won't it be a problem? We even split rooms to try and seem more … appropriate."

"Well, that all depends of if we are both in military positions or not," Gabriel says. "If you keep a civilian post, there's no problem, or else if we're both of similar rank – although you'll need a lot of training before that… "

The red woman seems to think on that, head tilting and tail wagging slowly as she mulls things over. "There isn't many of us," she considers aloud. "My thought is that to ask you and your fellow Karnors to the most obvious positions: you as our leader, Eli will head science and research, Remy will head medicine. The problem is Layth and I, but at least I have an idea for Layth. If I'm not good enough to lead – and tell me if I'm not, Abaddon's axe! – then that leaves me with MOTHER, navigation, and … Titan piloting – not that I have a Titan to pilot. What do you think?"

"Well, it's a start, until it's time to really try to expand," Gabriel points out, raising a finger. "Note the layout of Belle's bridge, as far as the races represented. You won't be able to maintain a strong coalition with just Terrans and friends in the top seats – to hold onto the other races they'll need command positions as well."

Tasha's eyes widen; clearly she hadn't thought of that problem. "You're right," she agrees, "I hadn't even thought of that! It's going to be nerve wracking having people we barely know in command positions – especially above me! I've been leading us this far, and I've gotten used to it. But, you're right. I might be the herald, but I don't have the skills to lead what I create. It's … ," the woman exhales, " … a bit sobering. But, I've known that for a while now, haven't I? It's just coming to head soon."

"The Herald," Gabriel echoes. "You were supposed to be studying… ah… negotiation, treaties and such, right? Getting groups to cooperate instead of fight?"

"That's right. Also, military strategy, but mostly management, and trying to think with my head rather than my heart – don't look at me like that!" Tasha lifts her brows, forestalling and pointing out of her emotional weaknesses. "I know! Maybe I ask if High Priestess Nitsa will send a tutor; I always found her instruction very interesting and useful, even if I've let some of it slip out of my head. But yes, High Priestess Nitsa and myse- … I mean, Tisipone were both trying to guide me towards things like that." Tasha's eyes widen, her head tilting, "Do you think they saw this far? Or … No," she grins a little, tail wagging, "No. Maybe I should take some credit too. I was the one who asked for it."

"Tisiphone taught you?" Gabriel asks. "I thought… well, wasn't that just a hallucination from the incense or something?"

"If it was, my hallucinations are a lot wiser than I am," the Vartan says, consideringly. She ponders if Tisiphone was really teaching her or not; if not from Tisiphone, where did that wisdom come from? Pondering the nature of her visions makes her ears flatten. "The truth is, I'm not sure," she admits at last. "But if not from Her, then where? Did I tell you I've seen echoes and mirrors of myself ever since I started following this path? I'm not sure what to think of it all." She shakes her head, as if the gesture could shake the doubt from her mind.

"Have you ever tried… I don't know… summoning her again somehow?" Akkers asks. "Maybe it's some sort of meditative state… "

"Do you think that'll work? It was a little confused, but if I understood right, then I was Tisiphone and at the same time not her, as if there'd been many Tisiphones, but also always just one," she muses, nodding slowly. "Meditation was suggested to me, but I've been so busy I haven't had time to think on my Abaddonian studies. And, well, I was a little worried what you'd think of them – me, following the God of War. Even worse, I had begun to doubt things, seeing all this technology and learning so many truths, I wondered at the gods … But, I'm here, and everything seems to have lead to the point, even me, and it's like they all … They knew it would. I'll do it. Abaddon and Tisiphone deserve to be remembered, too."

"Talk to … I suppose Remy's PersoCom," Gabriel suggests. "There's probably a deep trance program for the bio-tubes… "

"I will," Tasha agrees. "When we have time; I also need to ask Remy – and maybe you know this? – if we can use the PersoCom memories to help Layth and I learn new skills. And speaking of Remy, I hope he's doing well. I worry about him; I sometimes think I neglected him and Eli both because I was so caught in you."

"He's probably elbow-deep in… someone or something," Gabriel notes. "He was always happiest being a doctor more than a scientist."

"Then lets make sure we make him as happy as possible. I hope he doesn't resent me; besides feeling terrible about that he's also going to be my superior officer if he joins!" The woman chuckles at that, head shaking. Then she turns to look around the apartment, admitting, "Superior officer. Oi, it's going to be hard to get used to that again. So, looks like it's being a civilian, or the military for me. If I join the military we'll have problems, won't we? Having you be a civilian and me military would be wrong. You know, I had hoped to follow in your footsteps, but if being a civilian is what I need to do, well … I knew there'd be sacrifices." She glances back, asking, "What about the Titans? If we recover the Themis-Skoll, can a civilian pilot it? If I have to give that up, rrr, I WILL, but that will hurt. Still, I think we need it with or without me in it."

"Being a civilian is important," Gabriel says, "since the JEF has to be seen as a civilian endeavor and not a military one. And it doesn't matter if you pilot a titan for non-military purposes."

"I can be content with that. While I know the Themis-Skoll is powerful weapon, that's not its real purpose, not what it was meant to be. The Themis-Skoll is a symbol to all Karnor of what they've accomplished, and to the JEF it will be a symbol again. I want to see it be a shining beacon to not just Karnor, but to everyone of the legacy of what was and what can be. It can be our flag, like the Bellerophon. That's why I want it returned to us – and well, it doesn't deserve to be forgotten either." She gazes off at the fake sky on the wall, then turns and asks Gabriel, "Do you believe your ships, your Titans, have a spirit?"

"Err, not really," Gabriel admits. "We sort of act like they do, but that's just… normal, I suppose. The other races don't seem to do it."

Holding her hands out and above her head, Tasha explains on Vartan culture, "Me mum taught me everything has a spirit; it's what a lot of Vartans believe, The Rake's crew included." Her arms and hands close, holding them as if she were grasping something hovering above the wall's fake sky. "I'm not sure how much I feel the spirits in other things, except people, but more than anything I feel the spirit of ships," she admits, looking intently at the space between her hands, probably thinking back on The Rake, before glancing back, "And I felt the Fenris's and the Themis-Skoll's too. It might be old sailor and Vartan superstition, but the pain of the Fenris helped drive me here – and the judgment and glory of the Themis-Skoll are waiting."

"Well," Gabriel says, looking thoughtful, "you did grow up on Sinai. And everything does sort of have a spirit there it seems, because of the Sifran field… so it makes sense that you'd sense stuff like that I guess… "

Then the man blinks. "Judgment? What judgment?" he asks.

Tasha smiles a little at that. "Maybe that's it," she agrees. "I've even wondered if my spirit is the echo of the Themis-Skoll, Nora, or- … Wha?" The woman blinks as well, her ears flicking bemusedly at Gabriel's own surprise. "The judgment? I felt the Themis-Skoll was judging me – or maybe I was judging me through it?"

"Judging you for… what though?" Gabriel asks, and for whatever reason rocks Tasha back and forth.

Looking a little bewildered, Tasha goes with the motion as she answers, "To live up to? I couldn't ever really understand what I felt in its presence; awe, judgment, something to live up to, a bridge to cross, what I could be, I even felt a sense of divinity – but not like with Tisiphone and Abaddon. It was a different sacred feeling, and it called to me, even as I felt … I wasn't worthy. My mum would say the spirit speaks to me, but I'm not sure what it was saying, except that I wanted to prove myself to it because … I needed to?" Sounding ever more unsure, Tasha ends her explanation looking even more bewildered. She then blinks again, looking up. "You're not rocking me because you think I'm crazy, do you?"

"No, I just felt like doing it," Gabriel says with a grin. "So, how do you think Fenris judged you in the end?"

Tasha grins at that, leaning in a little more. "I can't argue with THAT kind of logic; if being a military officer means no more of this, being a civilian looks even better," she confides. It takes her a moment more to answer, her brows narrowing as she thinks back to the Fenris and her experiences with that great machine. "I think that … ," she glances up, her ears splaying, " … Though it died, its mission wasn't forgotten, the computer that corrupted it fell, its survivors lived and it was able to pass on its burden. It held on all these years protecting you and its mission, and I like to think it was avenged and that its mission lives on in us. I think it's … content now. It knows I did what I could, and that was enough. I don't feel there is anything it wants from me, except to continue."

"Wow, that's something to consider," Gabriel says, and sort of rock-dances Tasha over to the window, which overlooks the park. "If the Fenris where alive… then yeah, that would fit."

Tasha side-steps along, wrapping a wing around her mate and holding him close. "Ships speak to me, if not in words. Mum says it's because I was born on one; because to me a ship is like family," she explains. "The Bellerophon is still sleeping, I don't feel much from it yet, except a little … excitement? It feels quieter than all the others ships, like maybe it had been sleeping so long without purpose it had forgotten what purpose meant and what it could be." The woman turns her head to gaze out the window, smiling at the beautiful, if empty, landscape. "And Orpheus … Orpheus dreams loudly."

"What does it dream of?" Gabriel asks, looking out. The Ferris Wheel can be seen from the window, even though there were never any children to ride on it.

Tasha follows Gabriel's gaze, a pensive look on her face kept from being a touch sad; she knows her mate can see and smell her moods, but she won't frown in front of him if she can help it. "Dream isn't the right word, exactly," she admits, hesitantly. "It's like the dreams of … Of the dead. But they're vivid dreams. Orpheus remembers the time when it was full of people with so much promise, of sailing the stars, of the families and purpose. I don't feel that it's a sad ship, just that its time has come and gone. I feel some regret, but mostly it dreams of what was – of happier times. I can almost see what it dreams of, the people walking around. It remembers the people most of all."

"Well, how about we give it some new memories then," Gabriel says, getting a sly grin. "There's something I've always wanted to do on a Ferris Wheel… "

"It dreams deeply, I'm not sure I feel it notices us – but if it does, I hope it's happy we're here." Tasha turns her gaze from the wheel and looks up, ears perked. "What's that, Gabriel? What does that thing DO, anyway?"

"You sit in a basket, and it turns around so you go up high and get to see everything," the Karnor explains. "But… well, the younger people like it because they can make out with a bit of privacy… "

"Oh! like the crow's nest!" Tasha grins wickedly at the idea, then grabs Gabriel's hand. "That's something I'll try!" She reaches up and rubs her muzzle with her free hand, then shrugs. "You don't mind making out with a messy girl in green splattered battle armor, right?"

"Well, we can always do away with the battle armor once we get there," Gabriel suggests… suggestively.

"Either you're wilder than I thought or I'm rubbing off on you," says Tasha, brows raising in surprise. She then smiles toothily, a sort of smile Gabriel remembers from that first time in the baths after his recovery, and then she shrugs out of her coat and tosses it and her holster on the floor. "Since you want me to 'be myself,' let me show you some of the things the old me learned about crow's nests and close places." She tugs the man's hand, leading him towards the door.