Butterflies of the Dark Star

20 (REVISED)

It was just a nightmare; a false awakening. Space station life can be hard to adjust to, hence Space Sickness. It caused stress and gave me nightmares of things going wrong on the station since the accident. False. It's all false — of course I'd be nervous about things going wrong. I'm always nervous about those sorts of things, but I know Neo would say the mind is the universe's greatest anomaly. False. I'm getting Space Sickness. That's all. Her shoulder pressed against the wall, providing her support and stability when Neo rushed out of the room to 'grab something important'. Just a nightmare.

His blood oozed into her hand.

Just a nightmare, Nova.

Nova lifted her head when the door slid open with a hiss, and he held a metal container in his hands. "What's that for?" she asked to drag herself from the visceral false awakening. Back straightened out against the chair, he slipped into the booth beside her in their room.

"It is a peace offering for Thuni, of course," he teased and opened it with a wry smile, then pushed a sweetrock into her hands. "Here you go — I'm hoping this will help perk him up to the very idea of my existence—"

Neo, talk to me... Nova knelt in front of him, cupping his cheeks and longing for his existence in her life. It filled her mind, but she shook it out and sucked on the sweetrock he gave her instead to distract herself from the imagery of her nightmare.

"—At least, while he investigates the droid," Neo continued and closed the container. "I've also got a little extra something. I haven't gotten a good chance to analyze the liquid with a fine comb. I have a couple tests in mind before I come up with a conclusive hypothesis—"

His hand was limp in hers.

Nova shoved her fist into his side. "Don't put it in your mouth, Neo."

Neo sighed. "I give an anomaly one tiny poke and everyone thinks I'm going to go around licking them," he said and nudged her out of their booth, then raised a finger at her when they left the safety of their room. "I have seen you do worse, Nova Spacyn with explosive compounds. I do still remember what happened to your first prototype."

Sour dust salted her tongue from the sucking sweetrock, to put together the puzzle of her own mind. "Well, Neo Teimea, there is a difference," she said with her own point. "I understand the consequences. A prototype's job is to show me where I can improve. I need to put it through its paces." Nova tapped the back of his head, but drew back at the stickiness of blood, causing him to study her. "I mean, I deal with certainty. It's you who deals with the uncertain, and the uncertain can be dangerous."

"That was my worry." He laughed. "I wasn't certain it wouldn't explode in your face."

"I take precautions."

Beaten at his own brutal game, Nova smiled when he folded his arms and matched her pace as they walked to the south transit.Metal never clanged in an odd rhythm, nothing more than the grumbling of a space station at work. Onto the tram, followed by Neo, she waited for him to place his code into the terminal and the doors closed behind them. Here's what I'll do. Nova swung out her datascroll to write down her dream, all to prove the lie in her head. Write down every little instance of her false awakening, and match it to the truth. I know the last time I was there the liquid hadn't melted through the droid core. I know Neo wants to get his hands on a sample of that liquid again. Nova gave him the tiniest pinch, but with his attention trained on the metal container as if it was the answer to the universe, she let him go. You're right here, with me. Still trying to get through someone's heart with their stomach.

It wouldn't be the first time Neo resorted to food to gain the approval of others.

Images flashed in her mind at the shattered butterfly necklace, soaked in blood. A cold shiver crawled through her spine, but when she pushed the tension away, Neo studied her.