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Celebrity parents are the worst. Always out on some mission for peace, or blowing up moons and dead budongs for target practice. And when your dad is the reason why the whole galaxy maintains an uneasy peace, it's kind of a hard act to follow. Well, that, and who can keep up with a mom who's the head of her own army? The Eidolon Guard treat D and me like family, that's neat enough, but Mom always has some snarky comment or putdown: "Why is your hair blue and green? What did you and Chiana do?" It's not like she's had to bail me out of the hoosegow, you know, not more than once, but that was totally D's fault, the drannit!
Like, I'm nearly grown, and Dad never freaks out about dren like this. He's pretty cool, even though he used to be some kind of galactic outlaw. That's all done now, what with having to keep the peace for the Peacekeepers (ha!) and the Scarrans, and the lions and Tragans and bears, oh my. Yeah, I know no one understands the refs, but it drives Mom crazy when we pick up Dad's provincial sayings - and what's not to like about that? Dad says he's so proud his legacy lives on, fakes wiping a tear until Mom smacks him and then they go off to have sex. Can we say “Ugh!”? It's all fun and games until sire-sex happens, you know?
Still, it's good that they get along when they're together. Mom's off a lot with the army and Dad's holed up in his lab with half the DRDs making bombs and building towers of crackers, when he's not stomping up and down on Command and swearing at the Ancients. Wormhole this, wormhole that, it's all we ever heard about growing up, at least until the Guard was big enough to really protect the Eidolons and ferry them around instead of Moya having to do it all the time.
Still, every diplomatic function the parents can't get out of, D and I get dragged along to meet with the other sad kids of powerful people. We mostly end up sneaking off into the kitchens and back rooms once the meet-and-greet is over. D's more into the making nice than I am, but he's in the spotlight a lot more, too, since he was the catalyst for the peace before I was born. It's hard to imagine, like something from one of the PK propaganda films or one of Dad's old space flicks, with fleets of ships facing off and a planet burning dramatically in the background, while Mom and Dad make a big stand on Moya. Not that we hear about this stuff directly from them. Pilot doesn't say much, either, or Auntie Chi. I can understand, since D is named after their friend, and it's never fun to be around when they're remembering what happened back then.
Anyway, that's how I wound up meeting Venom. Weird name, but cool kid. His mom's a Kalish high-hat, his Dad's some PK brain (yeah, it's kind of an oxymoron, right?), but they used to have some big hate-thing with my parents way back when. Dad gets this look when he and Mom have to deal with Chancellor Grayza or Commandant Scorpius. When I was a nixa, they nearly got into it right there in the ballroom. I was really excited, imagining a brawl with fists flying, or swinging from the light fixtures like in Dad's movies. But no, just glaring and grimacing while everyone around kept backing off and Ambassador Shanu lectured them from the ceiling. Admiral Braca and Mom had to cool things down, as usual. Of course we never get to see any fun action.
But back to Venom. He's a hybrid, too, although it's a lot more visible on him than us, with the Kalish coloring - green eyes, red hair, delicate scales, though not nearly so extreme as his Mom. He's pretty smart, too, and doesn't seem too sold on the "Woe, woe, Scarrans gotta go" thing, which makes me like him more than the average vorc. Mom's all about keeping the peace in whatever way works, which some of the Eidolons don't necessarily endorse, but since they wouldn't really hold any power if it weren't for Mom's army, the Holy Purple Hazers tend to turn blind eyes. Which can be kind of a lot, depending on if they're face-on or off.
But Venom talks about how his dad's always pressuring him to use his mind and discover the world, but then turns around and wants him to hate the Scarrans no matter what, which is more than a little fahrbot, considering he’s part-Scarran himself. The Ambassador’s a little looser, wants Venom to study cultures and learn how to lead others to common goals. Sounds like a lot of pressure to me, but then my sires basically just want me to survive and be happy, so like I said, generally cool.
Although from the hints dropped around me and a lot of sudden silences when I was a kid, I've got some digging to do to find out what really happened before Moya became the Eidolon flagship. It's kind of ironic, I guess, because all of the major cultures like PKs and Scarrans and Nebari and even Hynerians have these huge vessels bristling with weapons, but Moya doesn't even have one, except what we carry on board. Then again, we carry a lot. Mom doesn't go anywhere without a dozen guns or knives or who knows what all, and Dad's got some secret tech that no one else anywhere has. A man who can blow up a planet is not someone you want to mess around with, right?
If you think about it, it's a wonder he's not dead, if even half the rumors that manage to get to me are even half true. It's kind of scary, but then I can't imagine my goofy dad being dangerous except when he is, like when a band of Zenetans tried boarding Moya on one of her off monens. I was locked down in the den with Pilot and didn't see any of the fight, but D was old enough to be trusted with a pulse pistol. He said it was drad, and he was real impressed with the way Mom and Dad fought together. Auntie Chi was with us that time, and the three of them and the DRDs finished off a whole crew of pirates.
That's not a part of my parents I've seen yet. Even though I'm old enough now and training in all the combat techniques Mom can throw at me, I'm not sure I want to have her come at me full throttle. Then again, I don't want to live in their shadows forever, either, or D's, being protected like a little narl.
Sometimes I think about taking off. Just flying away in Dad’s old jalopy and cruising for Lomo. I don't want to go alone, though. I'm seventeen cycles old, but there's still so much I want to learn before I really strike out on my own. But a vacation from being Aeryn Sun and John Crichton's daughter, from being responsible and good and all that yotz, is getting more appealing by the arn. Especially since meeting Venom. He's smart, and he's polite, and if he turns out not to be, then I've got Sally Pulse Pistol and a few moves Mom taught me to persuade him otherwise.
It isn’t too much to ask, you’d think, just a couple of Sebacean hybrids out for a good time. What could possibly go wrong?