The Sapphire Pass: All-Father

Where the Lines Come Together

Indira drummed her fingers on the table as she talked with Orion, only stopping to wave Iago over when he arrived.

"Indira," he said with a smile as he sat down. "Orion, it's lovely to see you again."

"It's always a pleasure," Orion said shaking the hand he was offered.

"So what were you two talking about?" Iago asked taking a large bite of his food.

"Orion and I, were trying to find out if we ever crossed paths before, because it seems unlikely," Indira said, "seeing how he was a part of Beta Team."

"Beta Team? I was too once upon a time." Iago chirped, "What was your location?"

"Originally SAM," he said. "I was moved up here a while ago. We both lost our former partners and Ophelia wasn't getting on well enough with any of the other members they paired her up with."

Iago and Indira both choked on their food and stared up at him.

"Ophelia?" Iago asked.

"That's the girl James was fawning over." Indira said with a scoff. "She was nothing special. Trust me, I met her once."

"H-how is she?" Iago asked, pushing his food to the side.

"Last time I saw her she was falling all over herself about how generous and good the 'All-father' was. I was forced to leave her behind. For some reason she trusted that slime-encrusted eel. The intel I gave you had all the information in it." Orion explained.

"She's the one who's supposed to be infiltrating?" Iago questioned.

"That's what I was trying to tell you before," Indira interrupted. "James brought me here under false pretenses, claiming he was interested in me. What he really wanted was for me to train her in the arts of disguise."

"I see," Iago said. "But if she's the one who is supposed to infiltrating then that means..."

"Yeah," Orion said with a dry laugh, "She was really bad at hiding it too."

"Really what do you mean?" Iago asked eager for new information.

"She was constantly having dreams of her old partner. Otto or something I think his name was." he shrugged.

"Othello?" Iago asked.

"Could've been," Orion admitted. "I don't see why it matters though. Indira and I need to work with the artists to have a portrait made so the rest of the guards will know what to look for if she shows up."

"That won't be necessary," Iago said staring across the large cafeteria. " I have some urgent business I need to attend to. I'll see you two later."

"Wow! Way to go Orion. You really know how to kill a conversation." Indira said loudly as Iago made his way to leave. "I think you broke him."

Iago tried to walk calmly away, but he wanted to run, to fly as fast as his legs would allow him. He reached his office in record time, only stopping long enough to grab Orion and Indira's files before he made his way back to his apartment.

He sprinted up the stairs and opened the small compartment that held his white and a lonely file with a single name: Ophelia.

He opened the file with the information he once knew to be true, and filled in everything he could remember about her. Then he removed the picture he drew, now curling at the edges with age. It felt like it was eons ago, but those eyes of hers would never change. The ones that captivated him long before he knew why.

He ran his hand over the fragile paper as he redrew her image several times over. He tried his best, but always ended up feeling inadequate because he couldn't capture his last image of her exactly. Then there was an unexpected knock at his door.