Umber halted only when he reached the room of choice - a rather nondescript area where two individuals stood encased in translucent crystal. One looked to be in her third trimester.
As a Captain, Umber left instructions for Amphitrite to meet him in the area. She should feel him well enough; Umber himself hardly detected any other notable presences there. His instructions warranted the delivery of one or more starseeds for some basic studies on their use and composition. And given the time of their meet, he had only to sit and wait for her to appear with escort from another captain. So far as he was aware, she hadn’t yet earned the rank of Super Senshi.
Umber sank to a crouch against the cold, rigid crystal housing the male. In his hands lay a starseed of his own plucking - a civilian’s, as far as he knew. It glowed dimly and it reminded him all the more that the Rift would’ve left all manner of creature seeking the energy that they so whimsically played with.
Amphritrite. Let’s see what insight you can lend in starseed exploration. We have little at our disposal, beyond our own wits and tales. So where will it lead us?
Amphitrite was still mortified when she thought of the way she had recoiled from the senshi’s starseed. It would have been so easy to pluck it and make a swift getaway. She’d been alone after all, as order senshi tended to be. No one would have missed her. Even if she could logically explain why she had stumbled in that final, crucial moment, it did not excuse her. That senshi could, and would, return to fight again.
The next time, she vowed, there would be no hesitation - and there wasn’t. Her first success was a man on the outskirts of the university, a beer in his hand. She couldn’t remember much about him besides the lingering scent of alcohol when the can had spilled onto the ground. He’d been drunk, anyway. It wasn’t really so hard - and she couldn’t help but be fascinated by the shimmering jewel in her hand. An entire life in her palm. The same thing that lay exposed in her chest.
Umber’s directions were more than enough incentive to try again. The next one came even than the first easier. The corrupt senshi had barely batted her eyes as she sunk her hand into the woman’s chest, a jogger in the wee hours of the morning.
No one would miss them, she told herself, just as no one had missed her. That was why she claimed another, just one more man, so she could come and present two in hand. The more the better, and she wanted to look her best.
She masked any discomfort she felt with a smile, the same as she always did, and she bade her escort a fond farewell with a pat on her arm. This captain didn’t seem half as fond of her as some of the others had, and her recoiled from her touch with a curled upper lip. Amphitrite’s smile grew bolder and she winked as she stepped away from him, turning her attention to Umber and those housed in the crystal. Her eyes glinted with curiosity, but there was protocol to follow. It was a game Amphitrite rather liked, bowing politely as she greeted, “Captain - I have what you asked, sir.” Personally, she always felt a tiny thrill of delight when someone took the time to call on her.
[size-10]Formality sat odd and cumbersome with him - the additions of ‘sir’ to typical conversation, any number of bows or salutes, and a general tendency to avoid looking him in the eyes became somewhat commonplace. Amphitrite’s greeting, formal as it was, came as no surprise. He still found reason to dislike it somewhat.
“Thank you.” He made no effort to stand. “I trust it wasn’t too great a task to return with the starseeds I requested. I figured this room would serve our purposes - the presence of crystallized agents seems something of a ward against other company. No one should bother us here, so we have time to operate as we wish. I know I was vague in my reasoning behind my requests, so I will expound on it -
“‘Magic studies’ were first mentioned to me by General Schörl, who showed special interest when I reported in about one Dark Mirror Sailor Persephone. If you are aware of rank history, you will know that she used to be one of our own corrupted Eternals. She suffered pangs to her starseed that would cripple her frequently - and General Schörl explained that this phenomenon was of monumental interest. Her capture did not focus on sending a message to the Mirror Court, but on finding out what damage had been done to that starseed and what use we might glean of that. What we are doing here is a more clandestine version of magic studies.
“So we will start with the basic facts we know for starseeds - they allow us the power to transform, they leave us unconscious when pulled from the body, and they can be shattered to create youma. Adding chaos to a starseed can result in an officer. An officer can also consume a starseed to recover some energy and boost healing. Are there any other known facts of starseeds you can think of, Amphitrite? We should establish these observations before we continue to outlining an experiment.”
To follow up, Umber withdrew a small spiral memo book kept in his rear pocket. A short pencil remained tucked into the spiral marking the top, and he withdrew it from its housing to start columns on a fresh piece of lined paper. The headers remained blank until he found reason to write down further observations.
Since he made no effort to stand, Amphitrite didn’t seem to feel at all awkward about striding across the room and kneel down beside him, nodding along as he spoke. She felt lighter, truly liberated in a way, as she was able to respond almost flippantly, “It was no trouble at all.” One more personal hurdle tackled, and damn did it feel good.
Then, the corrupt senshi went ahead and continued to listen, trying to look as serious as she could. It wasn’t a matter of not being serious, but she knew she tended to be more smiles than not and she didn’t want to come across immature or uncomprehending of the gravity of this information. Especially since, honestly, some of this information was new to her, and there was no denying how interesting it was. She’d shrunk away at first, but that was simply due to her own painful brushes with chaos and her starseed. Now, that was a power she held; it wasn’t something that could so easily be used to conquer and humiliate her.
However, she couldn’t quite help herself when he asked her if she knew anything. Yes, yes! She had something worthwhile to contribute! “There is one thing… “ She paused as he withdrew his spiral notebook, her head tilting to a side and the corners of her lips quirked just a little higher. Umber was a strong captain, very rigorous and professional and honestly downright impressive - it felt almost out of place to see him just fish out something as ordinary as a notebook. “Corrupt senshi are a little special.”
To empathize her point, and trying not to make a face - even if it wasn’t painful, this never really stopped being unnerving on some level - she reached into the hole in her chest. When her hand emerged, her own starseed was grasped gently between her fingers. Amphitrite gently shrugged her shoulders and laughed softly. “Still awake. Not sure why that is, but it is.”
Umber’s eyebrow hiked toward his hairline when Amphitrite withdrew her own starseed so readily. Having been warned never to wrench his own starseed from chest, he never knew such an incidence could happen with anyone - were corrupt senshi the only kind who could hold their own souls in hand, entirely conscious while doing so? He scribbled down a few choice notes pertaining to her unique endeavor. Underneath came a few shorthand questions to pursue later on, should Amphitrite - or even Ochre - become a subject for investigation.
“And that doesn’t hurt? Normally engaging a starseed pains anyone - brush your fingers against a senshi’s starseed and they recoil terribly. You seem able to take and hold it without pain.” The fact that it hovered over her hand was another point of interest. “And can others handle your starseed to the same effect?”
If ever we discover another faction capable of starseed ripping, or even rogue officers… If our corrupteds can fight without starseed in chest, then we have warriors unbreakable by that means. And imagine the amount of sheer control instilled when that starseed is squirreled away, kept in a drawer, kept under watch by someone who was charged with evaluating their progress through the Negaverse. Any interested in deviating from their orders risk their lives.
And what effect would that have on you, brother?
“We won’t be reaching a point where we can toy with your starseed for some time, I expect. Aside from removing your starseed from your own body, have you encountered anything else peculiar about starseeds? The last of my observations ends with different colorings for each - with some spanning very different gradients.”
She felt more than a little pleased that she’d been able to elicit a reaction from him, and although she tried to keep impassive, her eyes radiated her satisfaction. “No. I mean, I expected it to the first time, but… “ But she couldn’t resist playing with a hole in her chest and seeing what happened? More or less. Curiosity killed the cat, alright? “It is more exposed than any other starseeds. I’d like to assume it’s more durable, but I really doubt that’s the case, “ she admitted with a slight pursing of her lips. “Maybe it’s more like a survival mechanism or something. Either way, no one else has really tried to mess with it since my corruption - not an experience I’d recommend, but I can’t argue with the results.”
As for further experimentation with her own starseed, jumping off that, “Well that’s good to hear, “ and she was trying to joke, although she didn’t really know how tease-able this captain was. Cinnabar would have been another thing. When it came to starseeds though… funny, how she could remember more of her torment and corruption than much else of her past. Might be helpful for this line of research, though.
Between her own recollections and the stories she’d heard about the captives that had been worth saving, plus the experiences that followed, “I don’t know how accurate this is gonna be; my memory’s still scrambled, and I’ve got bits from that and what I’ve heard from others, “ she admitted as she stuck her starseed smoothly back into place. “There’s some glowy senshi whose starseeds can’t be pulled, I think. Don’t quite get what their deal is, but that’s part of why I was taken in the first place, and I sort of met one in a park. They feel strong. You probably already knew that, though, “ she admitted sheepishly, gnawing idly on her lower lip before pressing on, “I’ve heard, too, that when I was taken, a couple of senshi from the captives had to eat starseeds. - but you probably know that, too, “ she tapped her finger on her chin thoughtfully. The color thing was interesting, that was for sure. “I hadn’t seen enough of them to really think about what color they were… that’s really interesting. I guess that’d make sense though. I’d say a starseed is a little more personal than a fingerprint.”
”I don’t think showcasing your starseed inside of your chest qualifies as a survival mechanism.” Its exposure seemed much the opposite, but he didn’t press the issue. Corrupted starseeds marked something of a fascination, but it was one that needed revisiting on a different day. Exploring their abilities marked a specialization without first learning the basics.
“I have encountered one of the glowing senshi once before. I was not aware that their starseeds were immune to being pulled.” The thought was curious - she prefaced her explanations with a memory scramble from corruption, so her information may not be entirely accurate, but the revelation that starseeds sometimes housed impeccable safeguards intrigued him. If this proved true, then these senshi could not be corrupted. The only other option for ceasing their actions against the Negaverse was death. A waste, unfortunately. “With the one I encountered, neither myself or the other lieutenant were aware enough of our abilities to try pulling her starseed. I doubt we could’ve gotten close. That’s useful information to follow up on.”
And they were fed starseeds? Who decided to try that one? If we receive a boost from eating souls, that does not necessarily preclude the same benefits for White Moon senshi. A gamble, certainly. “Did you learn of the outcome from those experiments? Were these senshi energized afterward? Overstimulated? Sick? Mutated?” With no standards to measure against, he resorted to wild guesses.
More personal than a fingerprint. That may be. I haven’t seen enough to notice minute size differentiations, but the color of them does stand out. If these are individualized to a great extent, then I wonder if it’s impossible to place a starseed in the body of another. And if they are not so unique, is it then possible to place the starseed of a corpse into the body of another person? Doubtful - how many cases of incorrect body have we heard to date.
I suppose now is as good a time as we will find to explore those scenarios.
“To start, we can compare gathered starseeds to each other and determine if there’s any differentiation among them. Size, weight, shape, cleavage… We don’t have many instruments to take empirical measurements of them, but obvious differences should be visible to the naked eye. If there’s any resonance among the souls, that should be perceptible too. I apologize that I wasn’t able to take a scale with me; the best I could manage was a ruler/protractor combination.”
”Oh, no, definitely not, “ the corrupt senshi laughed softly, running the tips of her gloved fingers through her own too-long hair. She tried not to show it, but her cheeks burned with a hint of embarrassment; what a silly way for that to come across! “I meant - not so much that, but since our starseeds are exposed, maybe the whole staying awake thing is our defense since we’re sort of more vulnerable than anyone else. I’m just sort of thinking out loud, though, “ it was the only logical reason she could think of, not that she was any kind of queen of logic.
He hadn’t known. Amphitrite’s brief brush with shame died away just like that, and she was able to hold her head a little higher again. “They’re dangerous, those glowing ones - it’s a pity we didn’t just kill them when we had them, ” she rued with a sigh. Even now she said ‘we’, as though she’d been part of the negaverse from the start instead of a captive. “We should have a log of their names somewhere - or if we’re not keeping them we really should.” Was she talking too much? Probably. But he hadn’t exactly shot her ramblings down yet, so she liked to think she was being helpful instead of annoying.
Of course, she was less used to kneeling and crouching, so she hoped he didn’t mind too much when she slid down onto the floor cross-legged, humming as she thought back to it. “None of the positive effects we get, if I remember right. I think one became a youma. That took a lot of starseeds though. - again, that’s just what I heard.” Screaming. When she tried to remember it, all she could recall was screaming. “One of the glowing ones, too, they made her eat one. I’m pretty sure she just got sick; I think they said her name was Ganymede?” Funny how when she asked questions now, most officers seemed more than happy to answer her; but then, a lot of them seemed like they were more excited for a chance to brag than anything else.
An apology for something so small. Amphitrite bit her lip and tried to keep her smile muted just that once; she’d been good so far with the whole respectful thing so far regardless of how cute he was. Damnit, keep it together shell-head! Progress was being made! “It’s no problem. I’m not used to fancy tools like that anyway, so you’d have to teach me a thing or two before I’d be any use anyway.” She paused, toying idly with one of the starseeds she’d bought in hand as she looked up at the crystal laden figures. “Can I ask something? - this might sound silly, but I’m still a little green. Why are they…?”
Umber watched her for a time; his gaze shifted from her eyes to the gaping hole in her chest where starseed twinkled out tauntingly. He wondered at the use of it. Why would there be need to wrench one’s starseed from chest and hold it? What purpose did it serve? “... If we do encounter many questions surrounding corrupted starseeds, I know of a corrupted senshi that we can experiment with. He is detained currently, and not set to be released anytime soon. He committed treason; his life is forfeit.”
Umber breathed a sigh through nose to disseminate some of his irritation; it still seeped into his hands, where they balled into fists against his palms. Absent weapons meant that he would find the crescent moons of nail bites in his skin for hours after. “For all the experimentation we claim to do, there are few logs of it. None of it is ever published in a scientific manner; I don’t know if the Negaverse aims to spit in the face of modern science, or if all these trial runs are truly executed by brainless teenagers who don’t know how to document their findings. I would be surprised if they kept track of anything beyond names.
“Did you know that I haven’t found a single written log of that operation?” Teeth pressed together harshly to stymie any potential rage. “I found out of it through one of the Knights captured - Hvergelmir.”
At least this Ganymede sounds like a worthwhile follow-up. They should have killed her or moved her to a more secure area; capturing one of their glowing ilk heralds so many different and genuinely useful experiments. If the head of that operation died in its resolution, I doubt it’s much of a loss; they missed out on far too many opportunities.
Umber flipped a few pages back in his journal to note the name Ganymede beneath a handful of others. Afterward he dropped the memo book in favor of pulling the protractor from subspace. He plucked up a starseed afterward and began measuring the angles of its cleavage for recording on a separate piece of paper. “To start, you line up one edge of the crystal with the baseline here. Then you can swing the arm of the protractor around to line up with the opposing angle of the crystal…” He paused to align it properly. “And the line on it should reach a specific degree measurement. It seems the angle on this one is 30 degrees.” He relinquished the protractor for her use, if she chose to attempt it.
“If you’re not comfortable with measuring angles, there are other observations we can take. The study of starseeds really needs to be expanded and supplied with significant funds; as it is, we can’t measure refraction, specific gravity, selective absorption, clarity… So any study of their physical appearance is going to be woefully underwhelming. I’m going to assume that they’re more interested in the practical applications of starseeds than formal study of them, but that cut-to-the-chase point of view overlooks key elements that might clue one in on a starseeds peripheral uses.
“For example, imagine if all blue starseeds provided us with the generalized energy boost in addition to… Slightly better night vision. Without first taking study of their appearance, how would one know that it’s specific to blue starseeds? What if angles told us that a starseed produces more energy? Or if its refraction signified a senshi over a knight?” He sat back against the crystal afterward, legs bent but positioned before him. Rambling now offered him no benefits.
Her question toward the pair of encased figures provided a welcome segue, though. Umber directed his gaze toward the back of the male and placed a hand flat against the crystal formation. “I’m not certain what happened to either of them. I haven’t seen or heard of a case of crystallization since I started in the Negaverse. My general, Xenotime, never mentioned it. I expect they’ve been here for a while for there to be no mention of it around the ranks - like they’ve become a fixture here. I can imagine that, if you were determined to learn the story behind their existence here, you’d find a very interesting story.” He finished with a languid point toward the swollen belly of the girl in orange.
It must have been the corrupt from the gym, Amphitrite reasoned to herself with a vague frown. The whole affair had played out at a distance, but even with all the chaos of that night, it was hard not to notice. Not to mention, let’s be honest - when a corrupt ******** up, it spread further than news of a faulty lieutenant would have. When one of them slipped, was it any big surprise that the rest of them felt some of the waves? “Some people just don’t know how good they have it until it’s too late, “ she mused out loud, shaking her head at the thought. After being part of the order, abandoned by it, she couldn’t imagine what would compel someone to --
She noticed his hands balling into fists; even if she was trying hard to play along with the whole protocol and respect thing, Amphitrite’s nature compelled her to reach out and drape her fingers lightly over one of his fists, giving a squeeze before her hand dropped back into her lap again. “I wouldn’t even call myself ‘scientific’ exactly, and I’m frustrated to hear that, “ she huffed with a little added flair, blowing her bangs out of her eyes only to have them fall right back into place. “How are we supposed to come up with a good strategy if we don’t know all the facts, right? - but at least that’s something that can change, right?”
Frankly, hearing that there was no record of the whole New Year’s Eve debacle confirmed what she knew on some level, but it still disconcerted her. “What was the point of taking any of them if they weren’t going to do anything about it, “ and she was asking herself more than him before shaking her head and sliding her smile almost too easily back into place. “Or maybe there just wasn’t anything they considered worth writing about; that feels like a major lack of foresight on… anyone’s part though. I know there were generals present. - it was a good idea, but it’s the strategy thing.” She motioned to herself vaguely, “I know I’m pretty great and all, but as far as I know, what - me and one other basic came out of that? - again, I can’t really complain, but I definitely wasn’t the biggest asset there.” Not to mention some a*****e lieutenant had almost dusted her starseed just to get his jollies off, but that was a whole other tangent she didn’t see the point of getting into.
Then, she went ahead and leaned in, listening and watching intently as he demonstrated the way he used the protractor. She bit her lip as she took it, maybe a tad nervous of bungling it somehow, but she was pretty confident she could nail it. Still, even if she had given starseeds thought before, Amphitrite had never considered them to the extent that Umber had. “I never really considered any of that, “ she admitted, although she sounded more awed than anything. “When you say it like that, I really am surprised that more attention hasn’t been given to this. Like, considering what we deal with on a daily basis, you’d think it would be worth our time.” She shifted a little, pursing her lips as she asked, “I know we try and shy away from starseeds because draining energy is better for long term sources and all, but… like, with this kind of research, wouldn’t it be feasible that we could find these people, like senshi, before they ever awaken?” Imagine the kind of trouble it would save them, seriously!
Another mystery, like the starseeds - and Amphitrite couldn’t help but crack a faint, mystified smile as she stared more intently at the figures wrapped in crystal. “Answer one question, get ten more, “ she mused out loud. She glanced back at the captain, frowning quizzically. “How long has our branch been set up here in Destiny City, anyway? - do we really have no one that compiles records on all this stuff?” After a pause, the corrupt senshi thought to add, “I mean, we’re great at collaborating on patrols and wide-scale missions, way more than the senshi were. We’ve got training and teamwork covered really well. So it’s kinda surprising that we don’t have a solid record and research system, don’t you think?”
”Some people aren’t meant for the Negaverse,” he countered. “I had cautioned against corrupting him.” But he was a lieutenant at the time - and personal opinion held less value than rank.
The touch to hand came as surprise, but did not provide cause to recoil. Calming rage already demanded a conscious effort; her sudden contact provided enough jarring to disconnect his anger quickly. “I don’t know for certain if they completely abandoned notetaking practices during that operation. Some might’ve kept log of what they did to whom and when, but I expect that those reports don’t follow a universal format. I’ve never seen anything like that posted in the Negaverse. And if they did take those notes and upload them to the database, I haven’t been able to find them. There might be clearance levels assigned to different ranks, and my clearance is below what’s required for this documentation.” He sighed. “It’s… easy to blame the Negaverse structure. But to pigeonhole it as the only cause is just going to perpetuate our problems as an organization.”
Amphitrite’s offhand comment touting her own existence earned a favorable look from the Captain, but he was not one to project his entertainment overtly. He shifted to sit upright and refrain from leaning against the crystal. “If you’re willing and interested, you can try compiling accounts from the different Negaverse agents involved. I don’t know if there’s a posted listing of the agents who participated in the New Year’s operation, but even soliciting one officer offhand would yield at least a handful of names. If you can learn more about what transpired and post it in an accessible manner, we’re going to benefit from it. Even if it’s redundant.”
Amphitrite proved readily that she could follow along and extrapolate from the information given. She saw value in those projections, even if they might ultimately prove dead ends. “We might find senshi before they awaken. We might improve the efficiency of our armies. And we might, as humans, learn more about our own souls. There’s no way to tell without attempting it.” Craning neck back, he looked up toward the crystallized man behind him. Lilac dreads stared back, lying over black clothing.
“I don’t know how long this branch of the Negaverse has existed. I do know that the head of our information branch has been missing for some time, which might explain the complete lack of coherence to our research and documentation. I expect that someone should step in to take up the reins, be it a Sovereign transplant from another branch of the Negaverse or even some of our own generals banding together to cover the loss.” He could hope, but bitterness wormed its way into his heart. He glanced toward the small collection of starseeds once more, and wondered if resentment tarnished the brilliant color from the gems. If derision, despair or jealousy left their mark on these souls.
After a time, he looked back toward the shell-laden senshi and made a point of eye contact. “I should explain why I wanted to start this experiment before we progress much further with it.”
The fact that he didn’t recoil was the kind of cue she needed to know that was a green light for the future; good to know.
Amphitrite knew that the Negaverse structure wasn’t perfect. Very few things were. But Umber was right: this was something that could be resolved easily by digging around and compiling facts. She already knew some of the people that had been involved. “Do you think any of the higher ups would mind?” she asked, rocking forward as she thought it over. “I know it probably sounds like, stupidly paranoid, but I don’t want anyone to think I’m digging for the wrong reasons. I’d love to do it though. I’d go even further back than that operation, if they’d let me.” Ambition, she had plenty of. Ideas, she had those too (whether they were good or not). But she also had to have some degree of self-awareness; if she was on the other side of the negaverse, a lieutenant from the start, would she completely trust herself either?
More about their own souls, huh? “I’d love to see how some churches react to that, “ she mused out loud with a soft chuckle. Funny how she could recall things like that, religions and churches, but without any kind of detail. Had she been religious? - if she had been before, it sure as hell wasn’t the case now.
Amphitrite’s mouth fell into a tiny ‘o’ of surprise. That made sense, then. She’d had no idea the person who was supposed to be there was, well, no longer there. Awkward. “Do we know where they went?” was the obvious question. Although really, wasn’t the head of information in one of the best positions to go ahead and vanish? Need information on this person? Whoops, the person in charge of the information is gone, too bad.
When it came to eye contact, now that a little of the formality play was out of the way, she didn’t have any problem meeting it. “You mean - there’s more to it than curiosity?” Her interest was very much piqued from the get-go, and just like that, it was undivided. “Please, tell me.”
”I don’t know if the higher-ups would mind or not.” The question had its merits, certainly - if there was deliberate choice behind the lack of information, then any action Amphitrite might take would directly conflict with it. Her being a recent addition from the White Moon meant that her devotion to the Negaverse may be called into question. “It may be better to seek clearance from a superior officer first. I would give you leave to do so, but I am not familiar enough with the Negaverse’s intentions to determine if that information mining is counterproductive. It would alert our newer ranks to our achievements in battle though, and for that I cannot imagine there’s cause to hide it.”
His gaze fell on her again with the comment of churches, but he offered no comment to accompany it. Religion does become a question here. But it can coexist with the knowledge of starseeds, can it not? Some are not so far off.
He shifted back to the topic of Information easily enough; it proved more comfortable than calling into question his faith. “I shouldn’t have used the word ‘missing’. It’s more like… If the head of information is still at work, then I haven’t heard anything about them. Perhaps they elected to shut themselves into their job without interest in broadcasting it. But I haven’t heard much from the heads of any branches, except for Laurelite. What happened to the others, if anything, is a mystery.” The rosters listed their respective General-Sovereigns, yes, but… Were they all simply inaccessible to the lower ranks? Perhaps the Negaverse found want for ivory towers.
Umber examined one of the starseeds closely, and watched the dim glow within. He wondered how long they spent alight until their energy wasted away. Did that time ever come? Or had they lasted only days before losing their power? He couldn’t be certain without locking a few of the gems away, but there were few safe havens for such treasures to the Negaverse. “You were present for Sandrine’s corruption. Were you aware of a redheaded Negaverse senshi that tried to assist her? That senshi was later captured for his outward display of treason and imprisoned here in Negaspace. He would have - and should have - been outright killed.
“But he is my brother.” He paused to look back at the motionless crystals that housed the pair of agents. “I did not want him a part of the Negaverse when it came to light that he expected Xenotime and I as participants of the war. I demanded that she kill him, but the choice was out of my hands. Now he’s realized all of my expectations as a mediocre officer and miserable sibling. But… If there is some way to condition him otherwise, then doesn’t it fall to me to find it? And if the method is generalized enough to fit all officers, then doesn’t it behoove me to pursue it?” The starseed, pinched between thumb and index finger, was held close to his gaze to test translucence.
Will I ever be looking at yours, Slate?
The redheaded corrupt - yes, of course she remembered. Just barely, it had been out of the corner of her eye, but that was enough to go by. A traitor, and even in her mind the word tasted sour. To think that sad excuse of a senshi was Umber’s brother… it was like night and day. “I never would have guessed you two were related, “ she admitted, and wondered to herself how many times Umber must have heard that in his life. For a split-second, Amphitrite found herself wondering about her family prior to corruption - and for the first time, she was sort of relieved that she would never know who or what they were.
A prickle of irritation settled in her stomach. But of course this guy was a corrupt senshi instead of an officer. - he probably didn’t even think about what it would mean for the rest of them. What could he have possibly been thinking? She wanted to make a biting remark, but thought better of it and held her tongue. No matter what nasty thoughts stirred up, it was one thing for Umber to talk about his own brother. For all she knew, it was a completely different story for anyone else to do the same. The last thing she wanted to do was offend him. “Absolutely, “ she agreed instead with a solemn nod. “Even if it wasn’t for your brother - we work as a system. That’s one of our biggest advantages. If there was a way to make sure that things like treason couldn’t happen - you think this research can lead to something like that?”
”I can hope.” Research of the human mind coupled with research on the effects of chaos assured him that this might be the only solution. If the starseed governed the mind as it did in acts of purification and corruption, then could they not change motivations? He needed to consider it. If the starseed held that much power, then tampering with them in conjunction with chaos might be the only way to magically influence someone. But how would it be different from normal corruption? How could they change the delivery, the method, the seed itself? How was any of this supposed to transpire?
“If it doesn’t, then at least we’ll know more about starseeds. It’s hard to say what will come of this. So much of it is dabbling in powers that we don’t understand.” Often it seems like a recipe for ruin. If too much chaos energy can turn someone into a youma, then what will happen to Slate? Is that, then, to be his fate? Shale examined the starseed in hand once more, looking for some signs of the vibrant life within the lot of them. Nothing suggested personality or intelligence or willpower. Nothing said virtue or scorn or innocence.
It didn’t offer anything at all.
“Thank you for coming out here, Amphitrite. If you can, I’d like you to help find more starseeds. If we can get enough of them, we might discover resonance patterns, or particular clarities that are receptive to chaos energy, or… something.” Honestly he wasn’t sure. So much of this remained beyond the scope of his abilities and understanding that he only took fleeting steps into darkness. “And if we can find nothing more in that, I’ll look to more assistance.”
“Then it’s a good thing there are so many starseeds out there.” Did it sound callous to say that? The corrupt’s tone was anything but. If anything, she sounded determined. For a great purpose such as this, really, what were a few starseeds? A few more people to add to the pile of missing? - it was for the greater good, after all.
She smiled at him, vibrantly, and shook her head. “No, thank you for asking. I’m always looking ways to help, so - please, call me any time.” Whatever the task, she would give it her all. Especially this; she’d be lying if she said this hadn’t gotten her mind working in ways it never would have if she were on her own. “I’ll try and gather a variety if I can. - senshi, pages - we’ll figure this out.”
frayedflower
posted and fin <3
