Chapter Text
-incoming transmission from M-A Secure Network: jadedObstetriatic contacting listlessAdvocate-
jO: ▲has the fire been stoked?▼
lA: the flammmmes are getting larger as wwwwe speak
jO: ▲oh thank god it’s you. where the fuck have you been the last couple wipes?▼
lA: yeah, sorry about that, had to get a newwww burner husk. you have no idea howwww tight the security is on this ship
lA: doesnt help that wwwwere living ammmmongst the clowwwwns up here
jO: ▲ugh, i guess that’s the one good thing about still being down here. anyway, i’ve got some important shit to tell you▼
lA: oh no, wwwwho did wwwwe lose this timmmme?
jO: ▲it’s actually not bad news for once▼
jO: ▲he’s here▼
lA: holy shit! is he hatched?
jO: ▲yup, didn’t even see him in an egg, just appeared out of nowhere. he’s an angry little guy, tiny as all hell too▼
jO: ▲there’s just one problem. skylla backed out▼
lA: wwwwhat do you mmmmean she backed out?
jO: ▲she says the breeding facility she was placed on is swarming with drones, constantly. it’s too dangerous to send a specially bred lusus down to the planet. we’re gonna have to go with operation dolorosa▼
lA: okay, at least wwwwe have a backup. its not like its never been done before, hell, bronya raised grubs a fewwww timmmmes herself before she wwwwas shipped off
lA: are you gonna be able to handle himmmm on your owwwwn?
jO: ▲hahaha you think I can raise a fucking child? i might know how to not kill them but the progeny would become one fucked up kid▼
lA: then give himmmm to wwwwanshi or sommmmething?
jO: ▲i kinda can’t give him to a jade▼
jO: ▲ever since the new heiress appeared with no warning from the caverns, the condesce has been staring up our asses constantly. there’s barely any break in the surveillance, so i was wondering if maybe…▼
jO: ▲you could take him?▼
lA: dude wwwwhat the fuck?
jO: ▲i know what you’re thinking, but you and stelsa would be great lusii▼
lA: you wwwwant mmmme to rope stels into this too?
lA: nevermmmmind that, howwww the fuck wwwwould you get an illegal grub up here? immmm on the largest lawwww firmmmm slash detention center in the galaxy!
jO: ▲we can sneak him onto a cargo ship. mallek is working on rerouting one to you for next wipe. he’ll make sure to disable the internal cameras and everything.▼
lA: holy fuck daraya, howwww ammmm i going to keep the mmmmutant decendant of the mmmmost immmmportant revolutionary prophet safe up here? wwwwhy cant you just send himmmm to bronya?
jO: ▲do you really think they let us have any contact with the cloisters in space? they completely isolate us, it’s some fucking penitance thing for the dolorosa’s sins or whatever.▼
lA: wwwwhat about chixie?
jO: ▲sold to be some bulgelicker’s personal music slave▼
lA: polypa?
jO: ▲would you trust her with a newborn?▼
lA: right. mmmmarsti?
jO: ▲culled last perigee, remember?▼
lA: shit! howwww mmmmuch did i mmmmiss?
jO: ▲you’re kind of our only option, tyz. the cause is falling apart. everyone’s either ascended or fucking dead, and honestly, you’re the only non-jade I’d ever really trust to not accidentally kill a grub. so, whaddya say?▼
lA: ...
lA: alright, i’ll do it
Your name is Tyzias Entykk, and what the fuck did you just agree to? Your pusher pounds in your ears as you stumble your way back to your shared block. Upon ascension, you were lucky enough to be placed on the same assigned ship as your matesprit. Your top test scores landed the two of you on the coveted imperial central judicial ship, colloquially named “Space Alcatraz” (not like you’ve ever heard of an Alcatraz not in space). Right now though, you couldn’t be feeling less lucky. Of all the ships in the galaxy, Daraya had to be sending the Sufferer’s progeny to the one swarming with legislacerators and clowns and insurmountably cruel torture devices. On the way back from your favorite supply closet where you do your most illegal trollian chats, you pass the entrance to the jail half of the ship, a menacing honk reverberating down the hallway as some poor lowblood screams in terror. It’s a stark difference from the paperwork and coffee filled lives you and Stelsa lead on your side of the ship, the only time the two halves collide being when court is in session.
You stare at your block’s door handle, hands trembling. You never were able to fully sell Stelsa on the revolution. She’s begun to warm up to the idea, no longer ignoring its existence or your involvement, but she has made it explicitly clear that she is not comfortable taking any direct action. And you are about to ask her to perform the ultimate treasonous act. You reach forward and take a deep breath. You can do this.
Stelsa is sitting on the loungeplank, a book in one hand and a small weight in the other, just as you expected her to be. Stelsa jumps a little at the sound of your entry, barely taking her eyes off the page. She crows cheerily once she sees you walk through the door.
“Welcome home Zizi! How was your day at the office?”
You take another deep breath before slumping down next to her, hands wringing at a violent pace.
“So Stels,” you begin. “I have a question for you. What is your opinion on grubs?”
“I think they’re very cute, I quite enjoyed myself when you took me to see the caverns to visit your jade friend last sweep. Why do you ask?
“Just wondering.” You stare at a spot on the wall, across the room at the small, utilitarian kitchen the two of you never use. You question whether or not you even have room for a grub, the block is barely larger than a standard dorm. “If we ever got the chance to spend time with grubs again, would you be… interested?”
Stelsa looks at you, head tilted just slightly. “Are you asking me if I would like to go back to the caverns on our day off? I know you miss Daraya dearly, but I don’t know how that would be possible now that we’ve ascended. It’s a real shame, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to raise grubs like the jades do.”
There it is. Stelsa’s unnatural maternal instinct gives you the segue you so desperately need right now. One final breath before the question that could make or break the survival of the Sufferer’s descendant.
“What if I told you we could raise a grub. Together.”
A moment of silence.
“Zizi, what are you saying?” Stelsa’s confusion is tinted with a twinge of fear.
“I know you’ve never wanted any part of what I do with Daraya. I know you’re scared of what will happen to me if I keep researching revolutions and building underground networks.”
Stelsa’s eyes widen. “What does this have to do with a grub, dear?”
“I know you’ve been listening” you continue. “I know you’ve heard Daraya and I talk about the old revolutions and the birth of the Sufferer’s progeny. Well it wasn’t just talk. He’s here, he’s coming, and I’m going to raise him.”
Stelsa is speechless, her normally piercing voice reduced to nothing.
“Stels, you’re the love of my life, and the kindest person I know. Will you raise this grub with me?”
Stelsa gathers herself in an instant and practically rockets off the plank.
“I will do no such thing and neither will you! Think of all the hard work we put in to get where we are! I will not let you bring an infant grub into our block!”
You cross your legs and pick up your mug from where you set it earlier in the evening. You take a sip of the stale water while staring at your matesprit. A subtle power move but one nonetheless.
“You can’t change my mind on this, Stelsa. Are you in or not?”
“Tyzias Entykk, you will text Daraya this instant and tell her to reroute that grub!” Stelsa towers over you, hands on her hips, never clearer that she is a solid foot taller than you’ll ever be. You smirk a little.
“See Stels, you’d fit right in as a jadeblood. You’re trying to be my lusus right now!”
Stelsa falls a bit, realizing you won’t budge on this issue. Her initial anger turns to fear, then sadness. She opens her mouth, her voice a fraction of its standard volume.
“Zizi, you can’t do this. I can’t lose you after all this.”
Your confident demeanor breaks, and your stomach flips. The truth is, she lost you the moment you started your research sweeps ago. You were dead the second you devoted your life to changing the Alternian legal system. You take a breath, knowing what you need to do next.
“This is my decision, Stels. The progeny will be arriving on a cargo ship before the end of the perigee. I’m already dead, and I’ve been dead for a long time. The only decision you can make is if you’ll join me and we die together, or you stay where you are and live without me, because if you don’t help me raise that grub here, I’m hopping in that cargo ship and going with him.”
You knew you had to do this some day. One day the revolution would call, and Stelsa would have to make a choice. What you didn’t know was that Stelsa made up her mind about this ages ago. Every argument the two of you had over the sweeps was only postponing the inevitable, but now that the inevitable has come, it is time for Stelsa to swallow her fear.
“Alright, I’ll do it.”
You’re taken aback. You never thought she would be willing to take this leap for you. The fear you had been knotting in your stomach for the past hour floods your system and you collapse into your matesprit’s arms.
“Thank you, Stelsa.”
The next several nights are nothing but plans. Between your shifts at the office and piles of paperwork, the two of you work night and day alongside Daraya to ensure the safe delivery of the grub. You set up Stelsa with the secure network and introduce her to your fellow rebels, where they welcome her with open arms and begin educating the two of you on grub care, stealth measures, and the best ways to cover up the unmistakable sound of a newborn’s cry.
On the day of the delivery, Stelsa remains in your block while you sneak out past curfew, too anxious to commit such a crime so soon. You grip her trembling hand before creaking open the door and tiptoeing down the hallway, horns covered and face obscured, so as to throw off any surveillance cameras Mallek may have missed in his attempt to remotely kill the security system. You make your way to the port bay to be greeted by a small cargo ship, mostly empty, barring one small padded cardboard box, quietly rocking back and forth. Box in hand, you rush back to the block and place your precious cargo between yourself and Stelsa.
You bend down and slowly lift the lid to the box, almost afraid of what you may find inside. The silence is broken by a quiet squeal, not from the grub, but from your matesprit, her eyes bright and wide, anxious gaze disappearing the second she sees him. Inside the crate amongst a half-eaten bag of food lies a small, neon red grub with enormous, shiny eyes staring up at the two of you from behind his wild bangs. Stelsa bends down and picks up the infant, placing a kiss on the top of his head.
“Welcome home.”