War of Elysium

Chapter Twelve: All that is to come

        So much had been done. There was too much yet to be started. She stood alone in her father's office... Her office. Iris was out on some mission for now so Ade would simply have to pick up the slack. 

She took up an ornately decorated black leather journal; within - on the first page - the words "Apotheosis, general notes and pontifications - Journal six. Author: Vasily Tempish." Only the title was delicately written in English, each letter had been carefully scrolled with an overly gentle hand. It brought a smile to Ade. It was obvious her father had intended to publish the journal and wanted to make a good first impression. She tentatively turned the page and exposed the rough scribbling and chaotic Cyrillic writings. The page lacked any formatting at all, seemingly just his direct thoughts written down as quickly as possible before they could be forgotten. Iris had tried to decipher the book earlier in the week but - either due to her lack of fluency in Russian or the horrific handwriting -  she was completely unable to parse even the opening sentence. 

"In the event that a catalytic agent is found..." Ade mumbled through the page. "Application of treatment through direct nerve contact. Patient must be sedated... Pain incomprehensible... Genetic will required for basic function... Possibility of death upon exhaustion." A coffee stain blocked out half a page of half formed formulae and their descriptions beneath. 

Truth be told, it wasn't terribly interesting. She scrolled through the pages, skimming over what she could but ultimately not finding anything new to aid in their efforts. As she flicked through the pages and mumbled aloud what little she could read, a small note slipped from between the pages. She managed to catch it before it could fall to the ground and become lost amongst the lessened but still large mound of papers that sprawled across the floor. 

It was a small sticky note written by a much more pleasant hand than her fathers. 
"Remember to congratulate Serah & Reese."

Reese? Could it be the Lieutenant? Ade searched for some hint of what the note meant. The pages it had been slipped between was marked as having been written in May of twenty-one sixty-four. Ade would have been four years old at the time. Maybe it was her mother's hand? But did her mother know Reese? Who was Serah? 

She laughed to herself after a thought entered her mind. Serah, a very specific spelling. She had only ever heard of one 'Serah'... The daughter of Matias Malthines, heir to the Ministry of Galicia... The Rebel Queen; Serah Malthines. 

Why would her mother have written a note about this Serah four months before the Queen's Rebellion began? As strange as it seemed, it must have been a coincidence.

Reese was a very common name in the Hypatian undercity. Ade had heard it was their word for a bastard, it meant something like "Unwanted" in their language. It was a name taken by the many orphans who had no surname to inherit. 

It seemed strange that Reese wouldn't have mentioned that he and her parents were friends and he didn't mention knowing any Serah's? 
Ade decided to ask Lara or Iris about it, curiosity always seemed to have an inescapable power over her; useful for a scientist - less so for someone working in a top secret lab.

"Oye, Temp." A familiar Kiwi tone sang out through her office door. Archi Mason had his face pressed firmly against the glass pane.
"Archi?"
"Aye, aye! Can I come in?" He asked. She nodded and he slunk through the door.

"Pack some shit, Temp. You're coming with me." He said, not looking at her but letting his eyes wander around the room. He bobbed slightly as he walked, as though he were singing some silent song in his head.

"I- What? There is too much to do." Ade protested. "Look!" She signalled him over to a small see-through safe. Within was a strange ball of what looked to be a thick blue fluid which lazily floated between two black pods. The fluid wasn't contained within anything, instead it had been suspended using the same gravity tech used to fly Daphi. She opened the safe and pulled out the two black pods. The fluid orb stayed perfectly between them.