The Redemption of Arania

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jwhouk
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The Redemption of Arania

Post by jwhouk »

Since I didn't want to extend our "Epilogue" (Pillsbury +1), I decided to break the entire story out into a separate thread...

---

Ari sat nervously in the waiting room of the office. She had been filling out applications left and right since she'd been let go from Wal-Mart, and she was getting desperate.

This place had actually called her back for an interview - something she hadn't even gotten a sniff of from any other place she'd handed in her resume.

"Miss Wardoff?" The receptionist called. Ari rose upon hearing her name - a bit too quickly, as her portfolio of resumes went skittering across the floor. She hurriedly collected them and, smiling apologetically, went over to the woman's desk.

"Our HR director, Constance, is ready to see you." She pointed her towards the hallway. A few doors down, a blonde woman in a smart business dress smiled - even as Ari struggled to keep her portfolio from re-opening.

Just as she reached the door, the phone on her desk rang. Ari motioned to a chair and asked her to have a seat.

"This is Constance," she spoke into the phone. "Oh, yes, Mr. Alexander... Oh, dear - at least they got everything out before that happened... Well, yes, I think our office staff would be more than willing to help out again this weekend." She paused for a moment. "Well, I do have an interview here for that position we've been... yes, that one... Sure thing, I'll call you back when I'm done. Say hello to Kath."

She hung up the phone. "Sorry, my boss is moving things out of his mother's place in Maple Plain." Ari's eyebrow raised slightly. "They've had to renovate the place since that nasty business at the Pillsbury A-Mill last year. So," she leaned against the edge of the desk, reaching back to take a folder from the top of the file tray that was on it. "You were here for the security position?"

Ari had closed her eyes. Every time she'd heard any reference to the Pillsbury incident, on TV or in the papers, she had to stop and concentrate; for some reason, the event had caused her and her two sisters to freeze up every time they'd heard of it.

"Uh, yes, the security position," she said. "I have references from my past employer, and my educational references are on page two..."

It had only been by accident that they'd discovered how they'd "frozen" when the Mill was mentioned. She witnessed how Drey had frozen up on reading a story about one of the surviving police officers from the incident - and put two and two together. She and her sisters had come up with a "distraction technique" when it came up in reference: they thought about Justin Bieber.

Granted, it wasn't a perfect workaround, but it kept them from appearing to be on drugs.

"There's a distinct lack of experience here," she pointed out. "But truth be told, we have had issues trying to fill this particular position."

"I'm willing to work in difficult circumstances," she said - perhaps too eagerly. "And I have background in security - it's what I did back in college."

"I see that. Well," Constance put the folder down on the desk. "The job would be at the old number 2 plant, and would require a background check; AHI does some contract work with the US Government at that facility..."
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

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NOTE: This was written by Just Old Al and myself.

"WHAT? Whaddya mean 'That one?' I haven't blown up anything for at least a week... and the last security survived the incident. OK, it'll take some time for her hair and eyebrows to grow back, but really..."

"She quit the next day, Al," Buck said patiently.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

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NOTE: This was written by Just Old Al.

A few days after her initial interview Ari was back at Alexander Harvesters' personnel office. From what she had heard from the people she'd listed as references they'd been contacted, and questioned pretty thoroughly about her and her habits.

From the fact she'd been asked back, however, it seemed that she'd done something right.

Again, she sat in the front office till Constance was ready to see her, and then was met at the office door. Constance again shook her hand warmly and motioned her to a seat, and as usual came right to the point.

"Miss Wardoff, we talked to your references, and they had nothing but good things to say about you. As a next step I'd like to talk to the gentleman whose facility you'll be providing security for – a Mr. Richer.

This is an unusual facility as it is not nominally part of the AHI family. Mr. Richer runs an independent business from Building 2, on both the government contract and the public-facing sides. You will be responsible for the government-contract side's security primarily– the other side is public facing and what security it needs for guests will be dealt with by the gate guards who will control access to the campus. Of course, if there is any kind of an emergency on the other side you will be expected to step in, though we don't expect it. Mr. Richer's civilian customers are a pretty relaxed bunch – antique machinery and old British cars don't tend to make people go off the deep end.

Any questions?"

Ari shook her head, and Constance continued.

"Now, let me tell you a little about him before we go down to the facility. Al (and he will likely ask you to call him that – NEVER call him sir or you will get yelled at) is a retired British sergeant-major. He's a gentleman of the old school and expects that you will be a lady – he dislikes sloppy modern manners.

However, I will warn you that he is a bit…odd, and you'll see this yourself I'm sure. He has a partner down there – a Mr. Howard, who is also a military man - a retired sergeant from the US Army. When the two of them are down there – and Mr. Howard is in at least two or three times a week – they will argue – and it will get LOUD. Whatever you do, don't get in the middle and just let them argue. They like it, and it's kind of entertainment for them. Just ignore it.

One thing to not talk about is the fight that happened at the Pillsbury facility back in December – both of them were there and heavily involved."

Justin Bieber, Justin Bieber, Justin Bieber……

"If there aren't any questions why don't we wander down there." They both donned their coats and headed out of the office, catching a shuttle tram toward the main production facility.

Building 2 was an anachronism in among the brick and metal, windowless plant buildings. Constructed of red brick in a nearly Victorian style, the outside of the building was columns of brick separated by nearly floor-to-ceiling grids of small square windows. The roof of the facility, like older industrial buildings, was made up of a series of skylights oriented to catch the prevailing light and funnel it down into the building. One half of the windows in the building – the front half – were clear, and machinery and equipment could be seen inside. The other half showed blacked out windows, and Ari suspected this was the half that did the government work.

They went inside through a personnel door let into the main bay door. When inside Ari was taken by both the cleanliness of the facility and the rock and roll being played at mind-numbing levels.

Constance called out "Hey, AL! Got someone here to meet you!"

A set of legs rolled out from under a partially-disassembled Land-Rover, and with them came the slightly tubby body of an older gentleman, clad in a ball cap and military coveralls. Wiping his hands on a shop towel he walked over to the pair, stopping at a bench to pick up a remote and reduce the volume level of the music to bearable levels.

"Hello, Constance – lovely to see you, as always. Is this the young lady who's going to take over security for the back shop?"

"Yes, it is. I'll let her introduce herself."

"I'm Ari Wardoff, sir.." Damnit. Ooops.

"Ari, please don't call me sir. I work for a living. I'm Al Richer - Al will do nicely – I am not interested in formality. Why don't we go sit in my office – Constance, you are coming along as well? Bravo."

Leading the way to a staircase to the upper level, Al and the two ladies walked up the stairs to the office area suspended above the shop floor. Halfway up was a landing, and Al stopped there for a moment.

"From here you can see my humble domain."

The vehicle doors led into a workshop area, with portable benches and colour-coded roll-arounds of regular and specialty tools. Between the workshop area and the wall they were climbing was a set of parking bays, empty except for a wine delivery truck and a very fancy English sportscar.

Under the office on the floor was an array of machine tools –Ari couldn't tell what they did but she could recognize them. A full-height wall split the building in half – this contained an airlock door with a security booth in front of it, and a heavily built double door. These were the only openings.

"I'm sure you can make out the general layout, here. The machine tools to the back here, the vehicle bays and the service and repair areas. I keep a forklift around the place for moving things – no need to do it by hand."

"What's that structure at the back there?"

"Good question, and well spotted! That is a firing range – my partner Mr. Howard and I do some custom weapons work here on both sides of the shop, and this gives us a place to test smaller items – very convenient.

Your responsibilities don't extend to this shop except in an emergency. You will be responsible for controlling access to the back shop – that security setup over there. You will never enter that shop however – that is for me, Mr. Howard and those of our associates that are pre-cleared with you via AHI Security or me. You will never allow anyone in that is not pre-cleared as a security measure – this prevents access under duress.

That rule is inviolable."

With that, they walked up into the old plant office – and Ari was surprised. Instead of the grungy old office she expected this was bright, tidy and very well-decorated with artwork on the walls and heavy, well-built antique office furniture. Al offered coffee and tea, and then the three of them sat, with Al behind his desk.

Over the next hour Al ever-so-politely grilled Ari, first over her background, then about previous security work she'd done, finishing up with a piercing set of what-if and how-would-you-handle questions that left her feeling drained.

Several times she'd felt herself slipping away and fell back on the Bieber defense – though it became easier and easier to stay focused as Al's questions challenged her.

After this, Constance and Al excused themselves into another room, leaving Ari to relax from the grilling.

"Well, Al – what do you think?"

"Sharp young woman – insightful, and hardly stupid. Seemed to have a focus issue early on, though as I pressed her it went away and she tightened right up on her interaction. I think she'll do nicely – if she held up under the pressing I did she should be able to keep her cool as a guardian here."

"I can work with her – though she's going to have some trouble getting used to the level of oddness around here, I suspect."

Constance nodded. "I agree with your assessment – she'll do nicely. Try not to scare this one off, though – I realize you and Greg love to argue, but turn it down for the first week or two. This isn't a done deal, though - we still need to get back her background check, but that won't be long."

With that, they returned to Al's office, and Constance and Ari went off to return to the main offices, and Al back to his rebuild.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

Post by jwhouk »

NOTE: This was written by Just Old Al.

Al was finding his stride again.

After the tumultuous months of rebuilding the shop both front and back in AHI Building 2, the frantic pace of building New Alexander House and the tumultuous repairs to Old Alexander House, life was finally settling.

Al was spending long days at the plant between the front and back shops – the backlog of repairs and rebuilds on the antique car front, coupled with the MIB research projects interrupted by the moron with the bomb were all back on track. Al had even brought in a few retired AHI mechanics to help in the front shop, to give him the time he needed to work on the research projects in the back.

Couple that with having a family again, and his days were busy, fulfilled and never dull. His life, his loves, and his vocations were all meshing in perfect symmetry.

All was well, and he was thoroughly enjoying his new shop. While a solitary individual for most of his retired life, his marriage and acquisition of an extended family had caused major changes in his outlook – he liked having people around now.

Especially people who made his life easier.

Ari Wardoff had gone far beyond being a passive security person and had de-facto taken over his scheduling for the back shop – and become the liaison between the front and back shops. With her present Al had to do nothing about his visitors – the civilians were dealt with by the gate guards at the entrance to the campus, and the back shop visitors were all pre-cleared with Ari either by plant security or by Al in advance.

No exceptions – this was Al's policy. He'd had issues at his old shop with people trying to force entry – and those did not end well for the forcers. Even before the vendetta the police of Minneapolis were more than familiar with him – and he'd had enough of it.

So – no exceptions.

This, however, did not account for the unforseen, a fact Al had not taken into consideration.

Out in the front shop instructing one of his mechanics in the procedure for replacing Austin-Healey kingpin bushings, he started when the alarm for the back shop went off, Dropping what he was doing with a muttered word of apology, Al headed for the door to the back shop, shouting to Ari to "Open it up!" as he trotted by. She hit the button, and the airlock door opened.

Al ran in, and as the outer door closed he hit the cycle button for the inner door. Even as it opened Al was in and through and heading for the secure phone warbling REM's most famous tune.

"Al here – what's up? You guys haven't pushed the panic button in oh, at least five minutes."

"Senior Agent Geezer – got a problem – two guys headed in with an item that's got to go into an isolation tank fast. Need your help – can do?"

"Surely – though you call me a geezer one more time and there WILL be a disturbance in the Force. This isn't another nuclear item, is it?"

"No – bio. Not immediately dangerous, but the packaging has an issue. You have replacement packaging and can swap – but they need an isolation area to do it in. You're the closest place with this and we figured you wouldn't mind."

"Don't mind in the slightest – glad to help. I'll go meet them and walk them in."

Al headed back out through the airlock, mind focused on the problem walking in his door. He sprinted across the shop, jumped into the Rover and headed for the main gate, to return a few minutes later with the gentlemen.

He pulled the truck back into its parking space and let the gentlemen crammed into the passenger seats out, and extracted their two Haliburton cases from the back door. With that, the three of them walked across the front shop to the access Ari controlled, and Al called "Open it up!"

The door stayed stubbornly closed.

"Ari, open the airlock door please – we need to access the back shop."

"No. Protocol states that all visitors to the secure area have to be pre-cleared either via the front gate security or directly by you – and not with them present. Standard policy, Al – yours."

"Ari, this is important – open the door please, These gentlemen have a time-sensitive issue they need to deal with – a dangerous one. We need in and we need it now."

"Can't do it, Al. Your protocols state specifically that you are not allowed to override this in case of duress. I cannot let you in."

"Oh, bugger this." Al's irritation and concern overrode his common sense. He strode to the back of the security area and reached for the controls. Ari, realizing what was happening, grabbed his arm and attempted to twist him away. Al stood steadfast, at which point Ari changed her tactic and drove the elbow of her right arm deep into the pit of Al's stomach.

With a loud wheeze Al backpedaled, bounced off the wall and dropped to the floor on his back. Quick as a flash Ari was out of her seat and standing over him, pistol held two-handed in a steady aim at Al's right shoulder. Realizing the other two were there as well, she began to swing her weapon up to cover them.

As she moved Al swung his left leg up between her arms, knocking the pistol free of her clenched hands, then grabbed her legs behind the knees and pulled.

Ari hit the floor in a flurry of curses, and tried to roll to regain her feet – but Al was quicker and in a far higher state of practice. Flipping her over he knelt in the small of her back and grabbed her hands, yelling at his visitors to grab him ty-raps from the electrical cart nearby.

With her wrists and ankles secured he rolled her onto her side and said "Sorry dear, but this is a dangerous situation. You did your job properly, and I will need to adjust that policy – but not now. I sincerely apologize for this - all of this is my fault."

"Harrison, will you cut her loose once we're through the airlock? You'll need to stay out here to operate it – I need to be in there for the security protocols to work. We'll be back out in a few minutes, there's a good lad." With those words, he showed Harrison how to operate the door controls, and Al and the other gentleman sprinted for the door with the Haliburtons.

Lying on the floor on her side, Ari burned with the shame of having been bested by an elderly gentleman – military career notwithstanding – and something of a far more visceral nature from having been bested by a male.

The first burn faded, but the second grew even as Harrison cut her loose and helped her back into her chair. Eyes dilating, pulse quickening, breath coming a bit faster and a flush on her cheeks, she eagerly awaited Al's exit from the back shop.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

Post by jwhouk »

NOTE: This was written by Just Old Al.

The phone rang in Phix's office – a surprising instance. She picked it up, to be greeted by a squawking voice that was barely recognizable as Al.

"Phix, dear, need to speak to the General – is he about?"

"Should be back in a minute – this sounds important, can I help, ducks?"

"Nooooooo I don't think so – need male advice on this…I am in a bit of a dither. Can you have him call me, please?"

"Certainly – I'll call him on his cell and have him call you."

A short while later Neil was awaiting Al in the atrium of the Library, as was a rather confused Sarge who had gotten a similarly panicked call.

"I have had an awful problem this afternoon." Al went on to describe the situation that had happened with the unauthorized visitors and his own botched handling of it.

"In short, I blew it. However, I was not going to let her stop me from getting into the shop – that packaging wasn't going to last while I got authorization clearance from the gate and everything else."

Neil considered the situation. "Al, yes, you blew it. Apologize profusely, buy her flowers, and accept that you blew it and fix your damn policies."

"Already fixed the policy – but this isn't the weird part of it. When I came out of the back shop Ari was all over me – practically climbed up me and was very…enthusiastic…in her embrace."

"WHAT!?" Both Sarge and Neil sat forward and looked at Al intently.

"You heard me – she hit me like the face-hugger in the movie "Alien". I peeled her off – the MIB chaps were amazed at what happened – and I ran for it under the guise of taking them back to the main gate. Stuffed the both of them and their cases into the Vanquish and ran for it, I did."

Neil stopped dead, struck by a thought. "Al, this sounds familiar. This young lady is of what species? Is she a sphinx hybrid or something similar? This sounds remarkably like a mating battle result."

"Neil, I don't believe she is. She's just a nice kid who Alexander hired to do security for my back shop, no more. Near as I know Ari is completely human."

"What was that name again?"

"Ari. Ari Wardoff."

"Does she have two sisters?"

"Why, yes, I do believe she does. She mentioned them in passing."

Neil sat right back in his chair, head back. At first his laughter was nearly inaudible, the small movements barely noticeable. The movements grew and grew, till he was bellowing out loud at a full throated roar.

Greg and Al looked at each other – neither had a clue whatsoever why Neil was laughing – and the laughter certainly was not infectious.

Finally, Neil slowed and stopped, hiccupping and wiping his eyes.

"Al, by all the gods you are the only person in the world who could manage to have luck like this. How you have survived to your present age amazes me – you are a magnet for the unlikely."

"All right, then – would you care to explain exactly what is going on?"

"Hang on – before I say anything I need to check something." Neil pulled out his phone, hit a speed dial combination, and waited for the connection.

"Phix – Neil. What were the names of the apos that got stranded in the Twin Cities as punishment for the nonsense at our wedding?...... Now, those aren't names…no, I really need to know....... OK, thanks. Love you too. Back in a few minutes and I'm bringing Al and Greg – and I have a story for you."

"Al, you hit a million to one shot. The young woman you hired is actually an apotropaic sphinx – one of the ones that caused problems at our wedding back a while ago. Not sure if you heard about that – but they tried to kill us and most of the other guests.

For their punishment they were given amnesia of all things Sphinx and stranded in Minneapolis in human guise. However, they are sphinx through and through.

Hate to say this – but you just got married – again. Now, we need to go see Phix and figure out how to get you divorced again without getting you shot by your dam."
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

Post by jwhouk »

NOTE: This was written by Just Old Al.

The story told in Phix' office ended to a resounding silence…for at least three seconds.

"WHAT?!"

"Yes, dear. Al bested an apotropaic sphinx – and we need to figure out how to break the bond."

Rather than answering, Phix turned to the elderly Brit. Index finger thrust at him like the bladed weapon Phix obviously wished it was, she advanced on him.

"YOU. YOU are a manifestation of chaos! Do you stay up all night thinking of ways to cause trouble? Is there something in your genetic makeup that thrives on chaos? While I have to admit that the thought really is fairly hot and I would have loved to see the fight, this really is a problem.

The "woman" in question is under punishment from the sphinxes – however she is still a sphinx and all of the hormonal attributes are still there. In short, my lad, you have managed to get yourself a harem. Wasn't species-jumping to a centaur enough for you? Had to add a sphinx to the mix? I should just eat you myself and be done with this – but with my luck you'd win." All of this severity was marred by the gasping sounds from Greg over in the corner, collapsed in a breathless heap and laughing hysterically.

Al stood steadfast and totally unrepentant under the tongue-lashing.

"FIRST, How the Hades was I supposed to know she was a sphinx or that you all had history? As I doubtless need to remind you I am very recently come to this insane asylum you call the paranormal world, and I'm not exactly up on all of the physical characteristics to look for when trying to "out" a paranormal masquerading as human. I also was not at your wedding or aware of the details, other than that fact that it was nearly as big a bloodbath as Pillsbury.

Secondly – if you DON'T read me in on all the dirty little family secrets I don't exactly know, now do I? What are you going to tell me next – that my uncle Edgar was actually a werebeagle? It would fit well – his wife was an absolute bitch."

Further strangling noises came from the Greg corner.

Neil, as befitted a natural commander, stepped into the middle of the argument. "OKAY, you two – either get a room or calm down. We need to figure a way out of this mess. Phix – are there cases of unconsummated mating bonds in situations like this?"

Phix thought for a moment and then nodded. "I'd have to check the literature, but yes. If Al and Ari are kept apart for some number of weeks then her hormonal imperative will fade. There'll still be a bit of unrequited lust there but it won't be at the drop-your-drawers stage it's at right now. The easiest thing to do here is fire her – get her off the property and in a few weeks Al will be a revered memory instead of a lust object."

Further strangling noises came from the Greg corner at the words "lust object". Al sniffed disdainfully as Phix continued.

"In any case, you need to fire her – I'm not thrilled with her having anything to do with any one of us and she deserves to rot in the hell we put her in."

"No. Absolutely not. You are NOT going to fire her either because of what she used to be nor because of this little pavane she and I got into.

That young woman – YOUNG WOMAN – has been an utterly charming asset to AHI and to my outfit since the day AHI gave her the job. Other than a regrettable taste for Justin Bieber she's been an utterly efficient, civil, polite young lady and I am NOT going to sacrifice that or her because YOU have a grudge!"

"Grudge? You call being annoyed that she tried to kill my wedding party wholesale a grudge? What are you going to call World War Two – an unfortunate disagreement?" Phix was flabbergasted – she didn't expect any pushback from anyone on what she saw as a simple, commonsense solution – and Al was just being impossible.

"That was NOT ARI – that was the Sphinx. That creature is dead to her – she has no idea who or what she was. All I see is a young woman trying to make her way in life with no advantages, and doing the best she can. All this paranormal tripe has nothing at all to do with that young woman – and her guts in taking me on when she could have just gone limp and let me do what I wanted shows a strength of character and a caring for those in her charge that deserves to be rewarded and nurtured. She is going to be one helluva human being – and deserves the chance."

"Fire her – you can likely convince Daisy and Buck to do it. You do, and the first thing I will do is break every one of my personal rules and hire her as my majordomo at Richer Engineering. I am NOT going to lie down on this, and YOU are not going to make me do it. My family will be none too pleased with me, but so be it. Loyalty of that stripe needs to be rewarded, and YOU are not going to stop me from doing it." These last statements were punctuated with Al striding forward and thrusting his index finger into the face of a very surprised Sphinx.

At that point, the room became still – a pregnant pause. One second became two, two became three, and finally Phix blinked.

"Okay. I see your point. Damn, Al – I can see why your men followed you when you wore the suit. Okay, so firing her is right out. I have to say I don't like it, but I understand.

There is another way to deal with this – but you are not going to like it. First, it requires Daisy in on it" Al rolled his eyes skyward and shook his head - he'd been hoping to avoid that "and there is a measurable amount of risk here – and not a small one.

Let me tell you what you'll need to do…."
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

Post by jwhouk »

NOTE: This was written by Greg Howard.

"'Lust Object'," snickered Greg in his corner, "DAMN Al, you have way with critters, don't you? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!"

One swift SLAP from Phix ended that- " 'Critter', you say? ... go ahead and laugh some more... if you dare,"
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

Post by jwhouk »

NOTE: This was written by Just Old Al.

"WHAT?!"

Al tiredly rubbed his hands over his face, then said "I have had people yelling that word in my ear all day. Please don't do that."

Daisy snorted. "Well, pardon me if finding out my husband is a multi-species BIGAMIST is a bit disconcerting! First it's a centaur, now an apotropaic sphinx – what next, werewolf or would you perhaps prefer something cuter and cuddlier?"

Al sighed – this was not going at all to plan. "Dear, it was completely inadvertent.."

"INADVERTENT! How can jumping and hog-tying a SPHINX be INADVERTENT! Care to explain that Mr. Ty-Rap!"

"Okay. From the top, I had no idea the young lady was a sphinx. Secondly, I did not jump her - I was lying on the floor and she was pointing a gun at me - I had to get an emergency arrival of a biological nature into the back shop before it let go and made a nasty toxic mess. Third, the "marriage" has not and never WILL be consummated. Please stop yelling at me – it's been a very long day."

Daisy was not quite so easily placated. "And when did we hire this blushing flower of a SPHINX, eh?"

"We didn't - your HR department found her. I interviewed her – she was a bright, charming young lady and more than capable of doing the job. She also took over handling the visitor schedules for the back and front shops, and took that off my hands. Very able and not at all obtrusive."

"I'm sure she wasn't obtrusive." Daisy snorted again.

"LOOK. GET OUT OF IT. I did not plan this nor was I planning any inter-species trysts – you are all the woman I could ever want and then some you silly bitch. Kindly turn the green-eyed jealousy routine off and listen to me – I need your help to fix this. Either that or just go the hell away – I can't take a lot more right now."

Daisy was taken seriously aback. In all the time she and Al had known each other this was the only time she had ever seen him be less than a perfect gentleman – to anyone he deemed worthy of the privilege.

"I'm sorry, dear – it's hard to be the wife of a handsome man and not get a little green-eyed when things like this happen. So, what do we have to do to fix this?"

"Simple – I need to fight her – and lose."

"WHA- Oh, sorry."

"Yes, fight her and lose. If I do this on my own I'm a dead man – she'll kill and attempt to eat me. Not going to work real well as a human, but there's a biological imperative going on here."

"So how do we keep that from happening? I mean, it would make an awful mess of the shop and all…"

"Very funny. Ha. Ha. You are such a comedian. Shut up and listen."
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

Post by jwhouk »

---

Arania stretched on her couch in the studio loft she was now renting at the historic Fort Snelling Army base. The place had just opened up after she'd gotten the job at AHI, and she was really starting to be annoyed with Drey and Mori. Of course, the same thing could be said for the two of them of her, as she was finding herself singing "Sorry" too many times throughout the day.

The job at the Number 2 plant just down the road (and one stop on the Light Rail) from the complex had invigorated her - and the other two were getting more and more resentful. She didn't need that kind of negativity in her life right now, anyways.

Things had gotten a bit... strange... after she'd tried stopping Al from going into the containment area. For some reason, she kept having dreams of having her way with him... and, for some reason, she was always imagining that she was his angel, with wings spread wide, covering him, nuzzling him...

Her thoughts trailed off as she realized her CD had stopped playing. She'd noticed that she could concentrate more when she was listening to music - especially the Bieb. She swooned to herself for a moment - soooo dreamy...

She reached over and put on another of her Bieber CD's, then went out to the kitchen. For some reason, she'd been hankering for some pork ribs - and now, since she could afford it, she'd gone out and bought some.

The CD was about halfway through the third track when she realized that she was eating the ribs raw...
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

Post by jwhouk »

NOTE: This was written by Just Old Al.

The ride to the plant the next morning was awkward and quiet. Al, dressed in one of his old ripstop fatigue sets and boots, was driving, and Daisy, clad in jeans and a turtleneck was sitting in the passenger seat of her Bentley. Neither had said much, especially after the arguments the night before.

They were waved through the main gate and drove through the passages to Building 2 – sitting lit up and ready for business. "I guess that means Ari's here." Al said, even though he had just confirmed that with the gate guard a few minutes before.

He'd also told the guard that no one for Building 2 was to be allowed through until further notice – this was going to require privacy.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Al asked, though he'd asked this more than once.

"Yes, let's just get on with it. I want this over. Then you are taking a course at Gryphon on how to spot paranormals." Daisy was brusque, and Al realized that this was not something that was going to be easily smoothed over. Here was a crux point in their relationship – there'd been a lot of stress with the vendetta, but this was the first real problem that had happened between the two of them personally.

Privately, Al was a little concerned that Daisy would miss her cue, or not respond quickly enough. He loved his wife, and had full faith and confidence in her, but things were a bit…strained…and this could be a convenient accident for MIB to clean up.

Exeunt Sergeant-Major indeed
Al thought.

Rather than parking inside, Al pulled the Bentley alongside the building in one of the visitor slots and shut it down.

"OK, I am going to go in. You wait a count of five and come in after me. Don't interfere until the right time otherwise this isn't going to work."

Daisy said nothing, and offered no solace. Feeling truly alone, Al got out of the car, emptied his pockets of everything onto the driver's seat and then walked to the door. A three count saw Daisy out of the car and behind him, and Al entered the building and started to walk toward his office.

Ari looked up from her desk, the ever-present Justin Bieber music on her personal player. Upon seeing him her face lit up, and she bolted from behind the desk. Toeing off her shoes, she ran toward him, security blazer flying to the ground. Tie was next and the top two buttons of the shirt undone when she got within reach of Al – and he moved.

Dropping to stance he used her momentum to propel her over his leg, sprawling to the floor several feet beyond him. Spinning, he repositioned himself as she charged him again, a gleeful light in her eyes. Again she charged, and this time Al threw her toward a more open space on the floor hoping for room to maneuver.

Behind them both and completely ignored by Ari was Daisy, arms folded and silently watching the fray.

With the third charge Ari's tactics changed. She circled him, looking for an opening, a weakness she could exploit to her own advantage. Sheer lust was no longer the motivator – by fighting back Al had changed this from a simple mating to a challenge – and these rarely ended with both combatants alive.

Thanking his gods and Neil for two good legs Al circled in place, waiting for the next attack. He didn't have to wait long, as with a shriek of fury Ari threw herself at him, a trifle too fast for him to be able to react cleanly. Sphinx and human toppled to the floor, human on his back on the ground with the sphinx straddling his chest, clawed fingers reaching for his throat. A quick twist and lift tossed the girl off, and both scrambled to their feet.

Al was in trouble, plain and simple. That skirmish had moved him too close to the wall – he had little maneuvering room and would have nowhere to go if attacked from the right angle. Ari knew this as well, and maneuvered to take advantage of his entrapment.

Al was also tiring rapidly and was wounded – at least one rib and likely more had not survived the last exchange unscathed. Ari was tiring as well, her breath coming in heaves, sweat pouring off her – but the deadly predator's gaze did not change, nor did the clawed fingers straighten.

Dodging, feinting, Ari kept pressing in on Al, getting closer and closer with each maneuver. Finally, Ari feinted and Al reacted, and she knocked his legs from under him. Leaping, she pinned him before he could roll away, and her teeth reached for his jugular.

Screaming and leaping Daisy closed the distance between the pair, grabbed Ari by collar and belt and heaved her across the floor. Running, jumping, she pinned the hapless sphinx to the floor, hand reaching for her esophagus. With a howl she held the sphinx's windpipe closed and screamed "YIELD!"

On the third repeat of the "YIELD" scream the madness in Ari's eyes faded and confusion took its place. Daisy let go, chest heaving from the exertion. Ari looked up "Ms Alexander! What's going ON?" Her voice, contrite and thoroughly confused told Daisy that the cure had worked, and that the crisis was over.

Daisy climbed off the young woman and offered her hand. Taking Daisy's hand and struggling to her feet, Ari asked "What happened? Yesterday Al and I had a…fight…and since then that's pretty-well all I remember."

"We're not sure, dear, but thankfully I came in with Al this morning. When we came into the building you attacked him. He's combat-trained, but while he was trying not to hurt you he let you get in a few good hits on him. I think we need to pick him up."

"Oh, GOD, I hurt him! I'm so sorry! I don't understand…."

Al had finally scraped himself off the floor and trying not to breathe too deeply limped over to where the two women were standing. "I think it was something that was in the Halliburton cases that came into the back shop yesterday. One of them had a leaking container in it – which is why it was an emergency to get it under cover. The container had started to leak when we finally got it into containment – and you must have been sensitive to it. I am truly sorry this happened to you."

"Go home for today and tomorrow too – paid of course. I am going to get AHI environmental in to check the building – and we'll deal with it from there. Again, I am sincerely sorry."

Soon enough the problem was straightened out. A confused Ari was taken home by AHI security, and Al and Daisy locked up the building and headed home. Al was lying in the back seat – the broken ribs were not making breathing or anything else easier – and he said "This hurts like hell. How are you feeling?"

Daisy pulled the car over on the quiet lane, put it in park and came around to climb into the back. With her face close to his she repeated "How do I feel?" in a dangerously quiet voice.

"HOW DO I FEEL? HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK I FEEL YOU GODSDAMNED MORON! YOU DAMN NEAR GOT YOUR THROAT RIPPED OUT AND I HAD TO PLAY "WONDER WOMAN" TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS FROM A PSYCHOTIC AMNESIAC SPHINX AND YOU ASK HOW I FEEL?"

"HOW THE HADES SHOULD I FEEL!"

Al had no words. Enraged as she was he was madly, dizzyingly in love with her – all over again. "I love her when she's mad" held no truer sentiment than at that moment.

She was magnificent. Bruised, clothes torn, smudged with dirt and in general disarray she was still the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

She continued - volume lower but thoughts no less intense. "I will TELL you how I feel. I feel like if I have to save your sorry ass from anything ever again I might – just MIGHT not do it. I love you, you silly man, but there are days I ask myself why – and today is one of them.

Let's go home - I'll call the vet to come over and shoot you, er bandage those ribs and then we can watch THIS." With that she held up a tiny cube with a belt clip. It had a lens on one side, and tiny controls.

A Go Pro.

Al had a sinking feeling that he was not going to like the answer to the next question.

"When did you start filming?"

"Right as you walked in the door. I got ten minutes of pure unadulterated Sphinx porn as you and Ari had at each other. I killed it as I went for her – hated to ruin a good scene like that."

"You are not…"

"Oh, YES, I am. Phix asked me to – right about the time she told me you refused to fire Ari and agreed to this absolutely batshit crazy plan. Why didn't you tell me that there was another way out of this – one that didn't involve you risking your life?"

Al sighed, and winced as the ribs creaked. "I didn't tell you because you would have refused to do this – and Ari deserved to keep a job she did well and her life as she's building it for herself."

Daisy nodded. "Fair enough. The next time you think to withhold things like this from me don't. I will forgive this once – not twice. You saw me in action today – do you really want to see it again?"

Al did – most sincerely. She was MAGNIFICENT. However that was not the answer she wanted, so he meekly said "No, dear. I don't. Can we go home now?"

"Yes dear." With that Daisy climbed back behind the wheel and headed for home.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

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NOTE: This was written by Just Old Al and Sgt. Howard.

FROM: al@richer-engineering.com
TO: phix@library.org
Subject: Video of the recent conflict:

Before you look at that video and assume that you would be the victor in any conflict that we engage in, let me remind you of a few things.

1. The purpose of this engagement was for me to LOSE. That was preordained to free Ari from the issues she had been put upon by our initial conflict.
2. I was trying as hard as I could not to injure her, while she felt no such stricture against me. This as I am very sure you know puts one at a sincere disadvantage, and explains the broken ribs I suffered from her landing on me.
3. Had the previous strictures not been in place Ari would not have survived the initial engagement as a combatant.

To conclude, don't even think about it.

Love, Al

P.S.: Hope you're enjoying the footage.[/quote]

---

From: phix@library.org
To: al@richer-engineering.com
Subject: RE: Video of recent conflict

There would be no incentive either way.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

Post by jwhouk »

---

I was trying to get some sleep after working what seemed to be my millionth double on the year. Sarah had been on the iPad since I got in bed, and I was just about to drift off to sleep when I heard a chirp from the iPad.

There was a tap, then another tap.

"Joe? What's this video in your inbox?..."
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

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---

Arania woke up with a start. She'd had that same dream again - flying around Minneapolis, soaring through the air with white wings outspread.

She landed outside the old apartment, went in a side door - and found herself falling. The hole had no end, and her wings had suddenly disappeared, and she kept falling...

Right before she woke up, she heard a voice: "YOU are a manifestation of chaos!" It sounded so familiar... and then the ground suddenly came screaming towards her, and...

She was sweating. She never kept the thermostat in the apartment turned up that high - heat wasn't included, and her electric bill was already a bit high from the late thaw that year - so it wasn't from that.

Her heart was pounding. That voice... she had heard that voice before. She KNEW that voice.

She took a deep breath. Looking at the clock, she realized she needed to get moving, or she'd miss the Blue Line down to AHI.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

Post by jwhouk »

---

Arania trudged across the parking lot to the entrance to AHI Building 2. Thankfully, it only took about 20 minutes from door to door, so she had yet to be late - despite not having a car.

Yet. That was looking to be the next big purchase of hers - if, of course, Mister Richer hadn't decided to fire her after that little... well, she wasn't sure what exactly it was. All she remembered was going into this red... haze...

She swiped her ID and entered her code - it worked, which was a good sign. Relaxing a bit, she went into the key locker room to get her equipment for the day - keys, two-way radio, radiation badge...

On a whim, she slipped one earpiece of her ancient iPod in, and cued up "Sorry" from Purpose. It was a little thing she liked to do on occasion - and she found it helped a lot with her focus on the day at hand.

She walked out onto the shop floor - just as Mr. Richer was pulling his Aston Martin into the shop. She put her head down, and walked over to the small office by the containment area entry that she had set up as her Base of Operations.

"Ari!" Richer was calling out to her. Damn. She froze in her tracks. "Ari, I need to speak with you for a moment, before you head in?"

She blew out a breath. Great, he's going to fire me, and I'm going to have to go grovelling back to my job at that damn Super Wal-Mart... unless maybe Mori can get me in at Target...

"Ari, there's going to be a couple of... visitors... to the plant today," he explained, his overcoat folded neatly over his briefcase. "We're going to be discussing our government contract here, and..."

"...You don't want a scene like last time?" She replied, a bit frustrated. "Look, Mister Richer..."

"Al. You don't need to be formal."

"...Al, I can't apologize enough for what happened, and if you just want me to stay in the booth until they leave, I'm fine with that." Please don't fire me, please don't fire me, PLEASE don't fire me, she thought.

"That would probably be a good idea. Oh, and Ari?" Her eyes widened. "Thank you for catching that error with item 24 yesterday. Never would have caught that without a second set of eyes."

Her head tilted a bit. "Uh, thank you?" He nodded to her.

"Have a good day - there's a lot to get to this morning." He headed off and up the stairs to his office.

She sighed and went off to her "booth".
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

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---

I gave you the key when the door wasn't open, just admit it
See, I gave you faith, turned your doubt into hoping, can't deny it
Now I'm all alone and my joys turned to moping
Tell me, where are you now that I need you?


Arania was on a roll. She'd verified three new projects, gotten the clearance from the FBI for one new contractor, and had written out a whole summary about the relic that Richer and his "Sarge" buddy had been working on.

Where are you now?
Where are you now that I need you?
Couldn't find you anywhere
When you broke down I didn't leave you


She was contemplating seeing if she could get some shooting time on the indoor testing range. Mr. Richer encouraged his employees to be handgun safety trained - something she took to immediately - and she needed to sharpen her skills on the .357 she'd been issued.

I was by your side
So where are you now that I need you?
Where are you now that I need you?


She was just about to call over to see if the range was available when she saw Al escorting two figures down the stairs from his office.

She immediately recognized them.

"The Centurion. And The LIBRARIAN." Her eyes widened. So that's why he didn't want me to show my face... OH GODS.

Arania suddenly realized what was happening. Al wasn't going to fire her. He was going to have the Centurion kill her. And the Librarian...

...was going to have her for LUNCH.
Last edited by jwhouk on Thu Dec 31, 2015 10:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

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NOTE: This was written by Just Old Al.

They descended the stairs from the overhead office, heading for the main floor.

"This is not a good idea. From what you two have told me, this is NOT a good idea. This poor young woman has made a stable transition to being what she is…"

"Al, not buying it. I don't care what you think this time – I need to see her myself, and see what she's turned into." Phix's demeanor was no-nonsense even in human form – and there was certainly no stopping her in the mood she was in.

Neil nodded, agreeing silently. With these two determined to see something through there was certainly no way Al was getting in the way – old and tricky he might be – stupid he was not. Ari for this once was going to have to deal with them – whether she wanted to or not.

As they hit the main floor and headed toward the office at the back Ari had co-opted with Al's approval, they heard a singer's voice coming from the door. "Damn Bieber…can't stand that stuff, but she likes it." Al grimaced, and they continued. The song finished and silence reigned as they walked up to the office.

Ari was completely visible through the glass wall of the old shop boss' office. She was staring forward at them, completely unmoving even to the normal blinking and eye movements. They came to the door, and Al called, "Ari? Ari, dear, the government folks are here and would like to meet you."

Nothing. She was unmoving, and utterly cataleptic. Al picked up her hand from the desk and left it suspended in the air – and there it remained.

"Great. What the hell did you two do to my damn security?"

"Obviously the Library's conditioning is still working. I'm amazed she's at all functional never mind to the level you've been describing, Al. Obviously she's found a way to circumvent the conditioning to a certain extent, but not enough to handle us."

Phix looked at her, and her voice went flat as she spoke. "If she continues to behave and be the person you say she is, Al – and I'm not certain you're not developing a fondness for this girl – then I will leave her alone. If she shows any tendency to become what she was then I will take action. Be aware of this."

"Are you threatening me, sphinx?" Al's voice was as flat as hers, and just as deadly. He didn't take well to threats on a good day, and yes, by damn, he was fond of the girl – and more of what she could become with a break or two.

"Not threatening you – but I will not let a danger to my family exist. Understand this and we will not have a problem."

"If she becomes a problem you can act – NOT BEFORE." Al's voice was low and emphatic.

Neil stepped in – this peacemaker role between these two hotheads was becoming tiring.

"Both of you, behave. Phix, as you can see, there's nothing to fear here – the conditioning is working.

Al, you have to understand what we were dealing with here. When we get back up to the office I will explain in detail what went before – and then you will see why we aren't as trusting as you are.

Why in Hades do you care, anyway? By all the gods I don't understand."

Al paused – getting this out in a coherent fashion was not going to be easy.

"I await what you have to say, so I know what you know.

However, look at what I see. I see a young woman, smart, bright, capable of so much more than what she was hired for, and open to learning and doing – and doing so on her own with no prompting from me.

I see potential – so much potential – and very little to no advantage to work from to leverage that potential.

I also see integrity, and care, and a stout heart that stood up to her boss on a protocol he put in place and was willing to defend it with the weapon she carried – even though she was likely wetting herself at the thought.

How can I not stand up for that?

I saw many like her in my career – young ones with nothing, trying to make something of themselves. Many did well, some did not, but I encouraged and mentored every last one of them I could. I am sure, Neil, that you've done the same a thousand fold more than I have."

Phix and Neil went silent at those words. They understood loyalty, and honor – and now they saw Al's reasoning.

Phix spoke again, determined to make her point though less strident than before. "Be that as it may – we have the potential for disaster here. I do not threaten, but I do make the statement – if she becomes a problem I will have to act to defend my family – and I will not apologize for it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal. If that becomes the case you must do what you must do. Now the two of you go on up to my office – I'll be there in a minute after I unlock the synapses of my security officer."

They left, headed up the stairs and were soon out of sight. With that, Al turned Ari's office chair away from the window and started to call her, softly, then a bit louder and then louder.

"Ari. Ari, I need to get into the back shop. Ari."

Her eyes refocused, and the catalepsy that had taken hold of her faded.

"Mr. Richer - Al. I faded out, didn't I?"

Oh, damn, he's going to fire me for sure. What happened? she thought – then remembered fading out when she saw the visitors coming down the stairs.

"Ari, you're fine. Obviously that garbage that got into the air is still having an effect on you. Relax – I needed to get into the back shop, but I think you need to take it easy for a few minutes. I'll be back later and you can port me though."

Still shaken, Ari turned back to the report she'd just finished – a bit of normalcy in what was turning into a bad day. Maybe not taking range time right now was a good idea.

Seeing her turn back to the computer on the desk, Al walked away, back toward his office. A few moments later the music player came back on, and her music again filled the space around the office.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

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And now, our story continues...

---

That afternoon, Al had suddenly buzzed into her office to inform her that he'd been called away for an emergency at home.

She nodded and shrugged; he'd been having issues with the reconstruction of the Alexander estate out in Maple Plain. Contractor probably hit a power line or something, she thought.

She did a review of the biohazard containment that had just come in – the one where she'd had the fight with Mr. Ri… Al… over. The containment system had failed, but they had managed to put it in a new container very quickly.

She went on to Grainger to see if she could get some of the supplies used replenished; after all, you didn't keep a spare biohazard containment kit on hand if you didn't need it…

The sound of Bieber was suddenly drowned out by the containment room's alarm. It took her a moment to realize it was going off, but she distinctly heard Michael Stipe's words: "It's the end of the world as we know it…"

And she knew she wasn't going to be feeling "fine" momentarily.

She went over to the controls. The readout on the screen said there was a breach in one of the rear containment compartments – she couldn't recognize which one right away, but there was one thing she did recognize: the radiation meter was rising.

She needed to get back there and get the compartment sealed – or the Twin Cities could start glowing like Pripyat in short order.

She hit her radio. "Any available security unit – I have a containment breach and need assistance – NOW!"
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

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---
Arania's fingers danced over the controls. She'd figured out which compartment was leaking – Item 24. There'd been something funny with it when they'd brought it in, and now…

Now, it was apparently ready to blow like a roman candle.

For some reason she laughed derisively as she thought about the containment procedure: enter room, don Rad Suit, press button to allow access… then pray whatever it was didn't explode in your hands before you put it in a new casing.

There was a sudden thumping on the window of her booth. It was Greg.

"Ari! I was over at the shooting range – what's happening?"

She let him in to control area.

"I've got to go in. One of the compartments is leaking, and I can't run the controls and do it at the same time," she said.

"Let me call Al…"

"NO TIME. That thing's going critical!" She motioned up at the rad display on the screen. "It has to be put in a new container or we all start glowing like a Christmas Tree!"

"But…" She waved him off.

"I know which one it is. Run the controls. I'll do it." She ran for the entrance to the clean room.

Greg wasn't quite sure if she was insane or confident, but the alarms were telling him she needed to do the job.

He clicked her into the airlock, then watched as she ran into the clean room to don the rad suit.

The radiation levels were starting to reach uncomfortable levels – and probably intolerable ones inside the container – as she reached the compartment where the leak was found.

Unceremoniously, she reached down, pulled the container from the compartment, and switched it to another, unoccupied compartment across the way. She quickly hit the lock-down switch, which closed the door and accepted the container.

Without thinking, she turned around and did a quick inspection of the old container. There was still a small puddle of… something… on the floor of the container. She quickly slammed the door and hit the lock-down for that container as well.

She ran back to the clean room, hoping she didn't need to get a decon shower – though it was probably a good idea after all that.

On the way, she was wondering why it was taking her so long to get back to the room… when she realized she had lost her footing. All of a sudden, she was on the floor.

Damn it, the radiation…

She struggled to get back on her feet. Stumbling, she reached the door to the clean room airlock, and willed herself into the vestibule. Struggling to reach, she managed to get the door closed behind her…

The air in the lock seemingly took forever to clear. Heart pounding, dizzy, sweating profusely inside the uncomfortable suit made more for Al than her, she heard the final click – and the green light that indicated that the outside door was now unlocked.

Shaking, she opened the door – and fell through into the clean room.

Her world faded to black after that.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

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Arania found herself standing in a completely white room. All four walls were bright white, as were two chairs and a table. The floor and the ceiling were all white – though the ceiling seemed to extend up indefinitely.

Where am I? she thought. She took assessment of herself; she seemed to be able to breathe…

But she was now sporting claws on the ends of her fingers. And, as she looked down, her legs were now covered in fur… and cat-like.

She looked around – and the first thing she noticed was that she had a pair of wings. Both were a pure white – whiter than even the room's walls.

What… what is this? She was bewildered. Had she…

Died?

"No."

The voice shocked her a bit. She'd heard that voice before… long, long ago.

"Arania," the voice continued. "You're not dead. You've fallen asleep. You were trying to save others."

She was trying to recognize the voice… it had something to do with that place… that… Library?

"Most people would not be willing to die for just anyone – though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good."

Wait… the Library. She was a sphinx. And that voice…

"But – there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. Or, in your case… enemies."

"Lord GOD!" she screamed.

"Your penance is over, child. Though, for the sake of my child Cornelius, I will honor his request to keep you from the Library."

"Wait, what? But I was born there! RAISED there! I was part of the Library…"

"Yes – but where I Am, you cannot follow. Remember this, Arania: your sisters will not know you. They will not recognize you. They will not see who you are. But you will know."

"Know what?"

"Who you really are. And Phix – she will not believe you. How you've changed. How you sacrificed for others."

"But…"

"That is why Gregory is here. He will testify to the truth. And that truth… will set you free."

Ari started to have trouble breathing again. Her heart was racing, even as she was reducing from feral – a feeling she had not had in what seemed ages.

"Go in peace, child – and sin no more."

Her world solarized, tilted, and faded to black.
"Character is what you are in the dark." - D.L. Moody
"You should never run from the voices in your head. That's how you give them power." - Jin
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lake_wrangler
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Re: The Redemption of Arania

Post by lake_wrangler »

I very much like where this is going, so far. I look forward to the rest of the story (with apologies to Paul Harvey... ;) )
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