The Bird and The Dragon
The Daughter of the Forest: Part 2

Bladewater took her blue notebook decorated with faded golden ornaments. “I don’t have data on the dragon and I base my evaluation on the feverish talks of a man who fell from the orbit. Unfortunately, he was sick, both in body and mind and most of his speech was about people and emotions.”

Patrik had kept his silence, sitting in the chair he was pointed to. After the introductions, he had almost been forgotten. I was clear Esrau was guiding the discussion and Patrik had spent enough time in the politics to recognize a good player when he saw one.

Esrau had climbed the nocturna hierarchy gathering reputation, but Patrik felt this was not about the authority over the military. The dragon was a key to nocturna’s reason for existence and evidently, Esrau and Wratski disagreed on the subject.

Patrik was sure his presence in this meeting was not by chance. The captain was building the groundwork for a turn in his career, but the timeframe of that change was open together with its nature. The strategej put together the details he had gathered, and it pointed towards the nocturna in the heart of the old Leipzig cult, guiding and controlling the planetary processes according to their will. The unpleasant conclusion was that the nocturna indirectly controlled most of the planet’s raw material production and Watergate’s ecosystem.

Bladewater talked about her opinions on the technology in the orbit and Patrik considered his plans. He was interrupted when the navigator mentioned the bioships. Patrik’s command of the southern speech was good, but the explanation rich in technical terms escaped him.

“Sorry to interrupt, but did you say that some starships were in a storage orbit, and they have survived?” Patrik asked.

“Yes, Patrik. At least one cocoon survived in the long orbit during the war. It connected with a shipyard after the end of the world for rigging. It means to be prepared for interstellar travel.”

“And you said the dragon has spread its influence in that bioship?” Patrik thought about the Agiisha’s human and dragon forms and saw no reason the number of her bodies would be limited to two. A partly organic spaceship sounded like the same branch of technology as the dragon.

“It has used the new frame’s abilities…” the navigator started, and Patrik saw how she halted, maybe looking for a less technical way to continue. “…well, the speeches are unambiguous on how the dragon used the bioship to awaken a newborn human baby to consciousness.”

Patrik hoped his shrug was generic enough for a man who was supposed to know nothing.

“Which testifies the technology is really in operation,” Esrau said fixing his black stare to Wratski. “All the accumulated errors could be fixed. One bioship would have enough capacity to synthesize vectors for the Watergate’s needs and its databanks would…”

“No captain. The dragon has defiled that system. Everything provided by that bioship would be corrupted, every single molecule carrying the dragons’ touch. Our mission is to destroy it. This information strengthens the awareness of the situation; we will act swiftly. Do you understand, captain?”

Esrau’s guarded look met Patrik’s eyes telling him not to interfere. The captain saluted. “I disagree, commander. On officer’s right, I raise this question to the elders.”

“You intentionally slow tactical decisions.”

“No, commander. We have the officers available to form a field justice team. We will follow the protocol of strategic matters, commander.”

“I see. I’ll meet you outside in an hour. Dismissed.”

”I hate you. You are a lying bastard and full of your ego.” Khiandri stared at Ikanji like a snake. She had gotten up from the floor.

“I used to be all that and more, “Ikanji agreed and Kvenrei saw distant pain in his eyes. Jenet was standing behind Khiandri, holding the knife in his left hand. The right had strained on the fall.

“I assume you haven’t left that asshole too far behind,” Khiandri spitted between her teeth. “I need that side of you. Marci is not what I assumed.”

“What do you mean?”

“The dragon…you’d better see it yourself.”

Kvenrei was not sure about himself. He was here because he had wanted to help Khiandri, but he hated how she had played and threatened him. “What about me? Khiandri, you used me as a hostage!”

Khiandri took a long look into Kvenrei’s eyes. “Sorry, Kvenrei. I had no alternatives. It would have done nothing because the ammunition unit is missing.”

“You used my worst fears against me. Those are nightmarish weapons,” Ikanji said.

“You have ever seen one in operation,” Khiandri said without letting her gaze waver from Kvenrei. Her eyes were green and beautiful and Kvenrei felt his heart soften. Khiandri was a mother and Kvenrei knew he would do anything for his children.

“I’ll forgive you for trying to explode my head.”

“Thank you, I pray I don’t have to do it again.”

Khiandri walked them to an airy room. Light flowed in near the roof and the walls were clean from the roots. There were no signs of any growth invasion through the spotless white walls. Instead, the walls were equipped with panels, some ripped away revealing the electronics behind them. All over the machinery silvery roots were creeping like a network.

Kvenrei noticed the signs of someone having lived here, the soot on the wall from a fire, and a pile of blankets. Ikanji inhaled softly and kneeled by a girl lying in the roots. She was pale and dirty and thin, but still beautiful; she had curly brown hair, a symmetrical, heart-shaped face, and large, unnaturally green eyes where lights were moving. At least three roots disappeared inside her skin, one on the left wrist, one in the right ear, and one under her shirt.

“She was like this when I found her. She hasn’t been moving for a day,” Khiandri said.

Kvenrei walked to Khiandri touching her hand. “She will be all right,” he said, not believing his words. “She is surely all right. If she is anything like her parents, she knows what she is doing.”

“Marci is alive,” Ikanji said, caressing the girl’s hair, his expression difficult to read. “But her mind is in the forest. I can’t follow her there and disconnecting her is risky. Maybe…if Agiisha didn’t modify them.”

“I specifically forbade you to experiment with the bodily matrixes!” Khiandri said.

“I only made the preparations, she was not even born,” Ikanji said softly, like in shame, and concentrated on the girl.

The man was quiet for a long time, the other hand holding Marci’s wrist where the root penetrated the skin. His other palm was on Marci’s brow. Khiandri didn’t move and Jenet circled the room, observing it.

Eventually, Marci closed her eyes and her breathing deepened. The roots in contact with her grew transparent shedding pearly dust. Ikanji opened his bloodshot eyes. Khiandri approached them cautiously.

“Marci is here,” Ikanji said weakly. “I have never seen a mind like hers. It is like filaments or clouds in the sky. Foam on the waves.” The man rested his chin on his knees and lifted his hands to press his temples.

“You will not participate,” Esrau said to Patrik.

“But what if Wratski gets her will through?” Bladewater asked. The idea of destroying any technology was impossible for the navigator.

“Then you are under her command. Try to contact Khiandri and the others. Escaping is unlikely, but I’ll provide the names of possible contacts to help you.”

“Esrau…you are only talking, right?” Patrik asked.

“It may escalate to a duel. I didn’t plan to challenge her, but the situation may develop that way.”

“You fight over solving matters?” Patrik continued.

Esrau nodded. “We are genetically modified soldiers, a wolfpack. Some items need shedding of blood.” The nocturna pointed his belt buckle showing a four-legged hairy animal. “A wolf. None were brought to Watergate. They hunted in packs.”

“But I could understand the ship should I establish the contact. My ancestors sailed them, the ones they produced here,” the navigator muttered, and Patrik took hold of her hands.

“Bladewater, it is not in our hands now.”

Ikanji spoke unclearly about the porous, self-replicating macroscopic structures guiding the flows of space and time. He kept his eyes closed and seemed to fall asleep. The girl woke and opened her eyes. Their bright color had clouded towards grey, but the eyes held understanding that didn’t fit the young face. Marci leaned on her elbows and scanned the people around her.

“Hi,” Khiandri said gently.

“You are Khiandri Taan. My mother. She said you would search for me, and I was to hide from you, but her analysis was more than three units off, and I skipped it.” Marci’s voice was a child’s voice and she spoke flawless ainadu language.

Khiandri blinked her eyes, but her smile held, even deepened. “I found you as soon as I could. Do you have a name?”

“She said you would name me Marci for I resemble your sister. Did she hit the right iteration?” The girl stood and Kvenrei saw the facial similarities to Khiandri.

“Yes Marci, you look like your aunt.”

” No one asked me,” Ikanji muttered, his eyes still closed.

“She said I will never see my father and I calculated that future to carry the strongest probability wave,” Marci said.

Kvenrei eyed Jenet, who stared at the child openly, his expression changing between adoring and murderous like he was debating himself.

“Are you still talking to the dragon?” Kvenrei asked.

“I am not to trust my half-brother Kvenrei, but no harm must fall for him. She wanted to talk to me and I hid.”

“You mean Agiisha?” Kvenrei asked, he was having trouble following Marci’s talk.

“She. Her discussion is limited, and her essence is tightly packed, and she doesn’t perceive her true being. I ran and hid and locked her out and now she is screaming and clawing behind the false gates.”

Jenet noticed Kvenrei staring at him and only a shadow of a smile revealed he reached a decision. “She is both a daughter to Khiandri and a creation of the dragon. Blessed and cursed beyond my authority.”

“I have never heard of such skills,” Ikanji said slowly, holding his head.

“It wasn’t your doing then?” Khiandri asked sharply.

“No. And I say this as a punished practitioner in the matrix abuse: that is Agiisha’s work.”

“She talked to me before I was born and after I was born, via the machines and the cell memory and the blood. But she can’t talk to the forests. That I learned by myself.” Marci explained.

“You were talking to the forest, weren’t you?” Khiandri asked.

“I was playing she was trying to catch me,” Marci grinned like any girl.

Kvenrei followed the discussion in disbelief. The dragon had bestowed Marci skills and connections stolen from the orbit. One moment Marci talked like a girl, then turned into a machine, a dragon.

He thought about the navigator thinking if she shared Marci’s way of perceiving the world. The two needed to have a talk, but there was a problem with Khiandri and Ikanji. The strategej was not pale anymore, but he was still kneeling, like in meditation. Khiandri’s body language was protective and she surely would attack anyone who tried to take Marci away from her.

Kvenrei touched her arm. “Khiandri? You are not safe outside. Do you remember what Agiisha did to you?”

“She invaded my head. She held Ikanji’s body. I understand, we must talk to the nocturna.”

They left the underground passages using a small corridor ending in a malformed pipe. Marci passed through easily, but the others had trouble and Kvenrei had to remove his belt to fit through. The pipe ended in a pit, covered with waste wood. Marci said she had done it after replaceing the way in.

The way to the housing was shadowed by a row of pillars, the survivors from the ancient structures. They evaded a group of nocturna gathered in an opening and proceeded to the building they were assigned to upon arrival. Bladewater pushed her head to the hall as she had waited for them.

The navigator smiled widely. “Bird - you found them.” She came to greet Khiandri and Marci. Patrik started to report on the disagreement between Esrau and his commander.