family ties
Aggie was stroking Lori's blonde hair as she slept peacefully. Agnes Brooks was very deeply in love, but oblivious to the fact her new partner was feeling exactly the same way.
Aggie was wandering down a dark future, one she thought maybe as close as the instant Rails woke up. An empty bed, tough times at work, Rails the new Belle Of The Queer Ball, leaving Aggie empty and alone.
She was having trouble believing what she thought was her luck. It didn't occur to her the little hellion was completely smitten.
Her voxbox went off. She tried not to disturb Rails as she reached for it. Rails stirred a little.
"Aggie Brooks."
"It's me. We need to meet privately, the three of us."
"What's up, Dr. Stormer?"
Rails was waking up now, sensing the alarm in Aggie's voice. She mouthed the question "What?".
Aggie held up her famous finger. Rails had grown to love that finger quite a bit.
"Not on the vox. May I come to your room?"
Aggie knew Stormer kept up on current events. "We're in Suzanne's suite."
"Good. Stay there, I'll be there in two minutes." Stormer clicked off.
Aggie looked at her lover. "He'll be here in two minutes."
Lori scampered to the en suite bathroom. "Did he say what's so urgent?"
Aggie got up and began making some semblance of order out of the bed. "No, but he sure sounds like he thinks it's important."
Lori extended her hand out of the bathroom door "Teeth." She held out a toothbrush already wet and loaded with toothpaste.
Aggie smiled as she took it and they shared the mirror. "That was nice, you doing that."
Rails rinsed her mouth out and spat it into the sink. "I love you, remember?"
Aggie momentarily stopped brushing. "Gyou qhwat?"
"I love you." Lori looked almost shy & demure.
"Ghi glub vue thoo."
Lori smiled. "I'll take that as read, shall I?"
Aggie rinsed and spat out far less than Lori had. Aggie had accidentally swallowed a lot of it when Lori had made her announcement. She felt vaguely unwell for a moment.
Rails was pulling on her dark purple scrubs. "May as well look professional."
Aggie followed suit. It wasn't as if they had a choice. They had no other clothes available in Suzanne's room unless they raided her wardrobe.
As soon as Aggie had finished slipping her shoes on, the knock came, low but clear and Stormer's voice rumbled like distant thunder. "It's me."
Lori grabbed the door, and ushered Peter Stormer in.
He looked around, well aware of the pheremones. "I like what you've done to the place."
Lori beamed up at him, hands behind her back. "Suzanne lets us use it when she's on and the Air Force has the emerge shift."
"Duly noted, these details are important for me to know." Stormer clearly wasn't being facetious.
Lori's eyes narrowed. "We have a problem, don't we?"
Aggie encouraged them to move to the table with the daylight lamp. "What is it we're up against?" She sat on the bed as Lori sat opposite Stormer at the small round table.
"You two by now know I regard you as my family, I hope, right?" He looked a little vulnerable then, Rails thought.
"And we do you, you know that." Rails was dead serious, and Aggie nodded her agreement when Stormer looked at her.
"Are you okay? Are you ill or something?" Aggie's concern was genuine.
"No, no, thank you for asking." Stormer looked highly gratified his daughter-figures shared his deep affection. He sat back in the chair. "I need to tell you something, to clarify what I said when you, Lori, asked me why Leon is on L5."
Lori smiled slightly. She knew he'd given her a brush-off answer. "Good, I think I'd like that cleared up."
"I made a mistake."
Both women grimaced.
Aggie looked at him. "Leon is a test subject and things went wrong?"
"No, no, my mistake was I must tell you something I should have told you before I told someone else." Stormer shrugged sheepishly. "We Gvot must always tell our loved ones first. Suzanne already knows what I'm about to tell you."
Aggie slipped off the bed and slid on the floor over to the table. "Okay, but it's about Leon?"
"It is, yes. And now she has come to me with a proposal." He sighed. "I need to enlist your aid keeping an eye on Suzanne and especially to keep an eye on Leon."
Aggie was looking at the carpet, thinking. "Leon's not ill, is he? He's not even a test subject."
Stormer appeared to fade into the past. "Your fathers both served with honour in Vietnam, as did Leon. My father served in the Gvot uprising in 1956. My grandfather served in World War 2. My great-grandfather served in World War one."
Lori was following him intently. "My great grandfather served in World War I as well."
Aggie seemed pensive. She shut her eyes. "And Leon?"
The thought occurred to Lori at the same time. "Was he ... ?" Her question died on her lips. Her eyes widened.
"What do all these people have in common you may ask?" Stormer was nervous about breaking the news in pieces. He took a deep breath and let it out. "They all served in wars with Leon Freedman."
Aggie's voice was low. "So the speech we can't understand ... the chaotic dreams ..."
Lori finished the thought herself. "The battles he speaks of we know nothing about ... "
Stormer nodded. "They are first hand memories of Leon Freedman."
Aggie was assimilating it as best she could. "So Leon is at least 120 years old?"
Stormer leaned down to table level. "Leon Freedman is at least 300 years old."
Lori put her hand to her head. "So Leon Freedman is the most valuable human being alive that we know of."
Stormer nodded. "Yes, as I told Suzanne, Leon's master signed the Louisiana Purchase."
Aggie hung her head. "So he was a slave, he served in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War ..."
Stormer was pleased it was progressing well. "Yes, so he is invaluable as a subject to develop a longevity vaccine to allow us to live longer."
Lori filled in the Devereaux blank. "And Suzanne has the power and influence to finance the development of the vaccine."
Stormer nodded. "And to keep it out of the hands of the government."
Lori wasn't naive about politics. "Suzanne has links to Melf and Richardson."
Aggie nodded. "Plus how much do we know we can trust her?"
Stormer looked sheepish again. "That one's on me, I told her, and I don't know how much she can be trusted."
Aggie was synthesizing it into a whole. "So to keep the research private we need her ... "
Lori bit her lip. "And we have to keep Leon safe in case she sells out to the Government."
"Oh God!" Aggie hit her forehead for emphasis. "We could end up with Melf & Richardson around for 2-300 years!"
Stormer raised his eyebrows. "How old do you think Leon looks now?"
Aggie shrugged. "Mid-fifties to 60."
Lori was looking blankly at the table."But he's had PTSD from so many years, plus enslavement ... god, it's way more than 2-300 years!"
Stormer forced a smile. "I think his expected life span is closer to 1000 years."
Aggie said it quietly. "Methuselah."
Light dawned on Lori's math. "We're talking passive genocide if you develop a vaccine." Possily the quietest words she had ever uttered outside the bed.
Aggie looked up at Stormer. "You're god."
Stormer nodded. "If it works, yes."
Lori spoke softly again. "And you have a pact with the devil you don't know."
Aggie added another. "Plus, she'll have to get the vaccine too or you're out of funding."
Stormer nodded in agreement. "Plus I will, and so will you."
Lori looked up with an expression in her eyes no one had seen before. "Who chooses who gets it if it can be done?"
He looked from one woman to the other. "The three of us, plus, of course, Suzanne Devereaux."
Aggie looked up again having gazed at the carpet. "I know one who won't be wanting it."
Stormer nodded. "He is tired, the weight of so many years, so much death, so much war."
Lori was still quiet and reflective. "When his time comes .. "
Aggie's head stopped moving. "I guess we found Leon's Angels Of Death."
Stormer sighed again before replying. "So we have little time and a lot of work to do, miles to go before Leon sleeps."
Aggie was wandering down a dark future, one she thought maybe as close as the instant Rails woke up. An empty bed, tough times at work, Rails the new Belle Of The Queer Ball, leaving Aggie empty and alone.
She was having trouble believing what she thought was her luck. It didn't occur to her the little hellion was completely smitten.
Her voxbox went off. She tried not to disturb Rails as she reached for it. Rails stirred a little.
"Aggie Brooks."
"It's me. We need to meet privately, the three of us."
"What's up, Dr. Stormer?"
Rails was waking up now, sensing the alarm in Aggie's voice. She mouthed the question "What?".
Aggie held up her famous finger. Rails had grown to love that finger quite a bit.
"Not on the vox. May I come to your room?"
Aggie knew Stormer kept up on current events. "We're in Suzanne's suite."
"Good. Stay there, I'll be there in two minutes." Stormer clicked off.
Aggie looked at her lover. "He'll be here in two minutes."
Lori scampered to the en suite bathroom. "Did he say what's so urgent?"
Aggie got up and began making some semblance of order out of the bed. "No, but he sure sounds like he thinks it's important."
Lori extended her hand out of the bathroom door "Teeth." She held out a toothbrush already wet and loaded with toothpaste.
Aggie smiled as she took it and they shared the mirror. "That was nice, you doing that."
Rails rinsed her mouth out and spat it into the sink. "I love you, remember?"
Aggie momentarily stopped brushing. "Gyou qhwat?"
"I love you." Lori looked almost shy & demure.
"Ghi glub vue thoo."
Lori smiled. "I'll take that as read, shall I?"
Aggie rinsed and spat out far less than Lori had. Aggie had accidentally swallowed a lot of it when Lori had made her announcement. She felt vaguely unwell for a moment.
Rails was pulling on her dark purple scrubs. "May as well look professional."
Aggie followed suit. It wasn't as if they had a choice. They had no other clothes available in Suzanne's room unless they raided her wardrobe.
As soon as Aggie had finished slipping her shoes on, the knock came, low but clear and Stormer's voice rumbled like distant thunder. "It's me."
Lori grabbed the door, and ushered Peter Stormer in.
He looked around, well aware of the pheremones. "I like what you've done to the place."
Lori beamed up at him, hands behind her back. "Suzanne lets us use it when she's on and the Air Force has the emerge shift."
"Duly noted, these details are important for me to know." Stormer clearly wasn't being facetious.
Lori's eyes narrowed. "We have a problem, don't we?"
Aggie encouraged them to move to the table with the daylight lamp. "What is it we're up against?" She sat on the bed as Lori sat opposite Stormer at the small round table.
"You two by now know I regard you as my family, I hope, right?" He looked a little vulnerable then, Rails thought.
"And we do you, you know that." Rails was dead serious, and Aggie nodded her agreement when Stormer looked at her.
"Are you okay? Are you ill or something?" Aggie's concern was genuine.
"No, no, thank you for asking." Stormer looked highly gratified his daughter-figures shared his deep affection. He sat back in the chair. "I need to tell you something, to clarify what I said when you, Lori, asked me why Leon is on L5."
Lori smiled slightly. She knew he'd given her a brush-off answer. "Good, I think I'd like that cleared up."
"I made a mistake."
Both women grimaced.
Aggie looked at him. "Leon is a test subject and things went wrong?"
"No, no, my mistake was I must tell you something I should have told you before I told someone else." Stormer shrugged sheepishly. "We Gvot must always tell our loved ones first. Suzanne already knows what I'm about to tell you."
Aggie slipped off the bed and slid on the floor over to the table. "Okay, but it's about Leon?"
"It is, yes. And now she has come to me with a proposal." He sighed. "I need to enlist your aid keeping an eye on Suzanne and especially to keep an eye on Leon."
Aggie was looking at the carpet, thinking. "Leon's not ill, is he? He's not even a test subject."
Stormer appeared to fade into the past. "Your fathers both served with honour in Vietnam, as did Leon. My father served in the Gvot uprising in 1956. My grandfather served in World War 2. My great-grandfather served in World War one."
Lori was following him intently. "My great grandfather served in World War I as well."
Aggie seemed pensive. She shut her eyes. "And Leon?"
The thought occurred to Lori at the same time. "Was he ... ?" Her question died on her lips. Her eyes widened.
"What do all these people have in common you may ask?" Stormer was nervous about breaking the news in pieces. He took a deep breath and let it out. "They all served in wars with Leon Freedman."
Aggie's voice was low. "So the speech we can't understand ... the chaotic dreams ..."
Lori finished the thought herself. "The battles he speaks of we know nothing about ... "
Stormer nodded. "They are first hand memories of Leon Freedman."
Aggie was assimilating it as best she could. "So Leon is at least 120 years old?"
Stormer leaned down to table level. "Leon Freedman is at least 300 years old."
Lori put her hand to her head. "So Leon Freedman is the most valuable human being alive that we know of."
Stormer nodded. "Yes, as I told Suzanne, Leon's master signed the Louisiana Purchase."
Aggie hung her head. "So he was a slave, he served in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War ..."
Stormer was pleased it was progressing well. "Yes, so he is invaluable as a subject to develop a longevity vaccine to allow us to live longer."
Lori filled in the Devereaux blank. "And Suzanne has the power and influence to finance the development of the vaccine."
Stormer nodded. "And to keep it out of the hands of the government."
Lori wasn't naive about politics. "Suzanne has links to Melf and Richardson."
Aggie nodded. "Plus how much do we know we can trust her?"
Stormer looked sheepish again. "That one's on me, I told her, and I don't know how much she can be trusted."
Aggie was synthesizing it into a whole. "So to keep the research private we need her ... "
Lori bit her lip. "And we have to keep Leon safe in case she sells out to the Government."
"Oh God!" Aggie hit her forehead for emphasis. "We could end up with Melf & Richardson around for 2-300 years!"
Stormer raised his eyebrows. "How old do you think Leon looks now?"
Aggie shrugged. "Mid-fifties to 60."
Lori was looking blankly at the table."But he's had PTSD from so many years, plus enslavement ... god, it's way more than 2-300 years!"
Stormer forced a smile. "I think his expected life span is closer to 1000 years."
Aggie said it quietly. "Methuselah."
Light dawned on Lori's math. "We're talking passive genocide if you develop a vaccine." Possily the quietest words she had ever uttered outside the bed.
Aggie looked up at Stormer. "You're god."
Stormer nodded. "If it works, yes."
Lori spoke softly again. "And you have a pact with the devil you don't know."
Aggie added another. "Plus, she'll have to get the vaccine too or you're out of funding."
Stormer nodded in agreement. "Plus I will, and so will you."
Lori looked up with an expression in her eyes no one had seen before. "Who chooses who gets it if it can be done?"
He looked from one woman to the other. "The three of us, plus, of course, Suzanne Devereaux."
Aggie looked up again having gazed at the carpet. "I know one who won't be wanting it."
Stormer nodded. "He is tired, the weight of so many years, so much death, so much war."
Lori was still quiet and reflective. "When his time comes .. "
Aggie's head stopped moving. "I guess we found Leon's Angels Of Death."
Stormer sighed again before replying. "So we have little time and a lot of work to do, miles to go before Leon sleeps."
