Supernova Blitz

Chapter 51: Restlessness and the Cave Princess

Vivi is one of the smallest living beings on the Polonia. Other than Melody and their unhatched siblings, only bacteria and other single cell organisms, maybe some insects -if any got onboard-, and a few other possible exceptions exist. But, she's certainly the smallest with an intelligent mind.

Of course, she's still a very young child, so while she's much further ahead of a human child her age, Vivi doesn't necessarily know any of that. She knows that the Marines and Spacers are her family, Jessica is her 'Meemee', the Grodrrns are her friends, and many other humans have to be seen as good or bad.

When there's nowhere to go, conversations about 'stranger danger' and other similar lessons for children can be forgotten, especially by a young teen girl whose first child is the offspring of a rather large, other-wordly Queen.

And, while no Marine, Grodrrn, Spacer, or even the Zarakyssn Queen Syretia would dare harm Vivi, they are not the only passengers on the Polonia.

With that, Vivi is a small, fragile being that regularly crawls on a 700 pound Grodrrn's arm, rides a young Marine's shoulder as she trains, and is curious about anything and everything around her. Some deep part of her likes the game hide-and-seek; an instinct at the core of her nature to find a safe place to hide and await coming of age. And, her small size -roughly the size of an adult human man's whole hand- makes her an easy fit in MANY hiding places.

She's been scolded a few times now for starting hide-and-seek when Meemee didn't know they were playing. But, sometimes Vivi sees spots that look so good, she can't simply pass them up.

One such spot catches Vivi's eye as she rides Jessica's shoulder. It's a beautifully spacious and cozy-looking little spot between one of the loud noise makers that Angelica's voice comes out of and some wires disappearing into the walls. She quietly springs off of Jessica's shoulder, lest her good hiding spot be discovered immediately, and she grips the conduits on the wall. The nimble little cave princess climbs skillfully up the wall-anchors, boxes, and switches that all serve important purposes for the ship in some manner or other.

To Vivi's astonishment though, the cables have a long tunnel disappearing around a bend, and there's plenty of room for her. She grins with wide, sparkling eyes. This has to be the best hiding spot ever! She can even explore!

She glances at Jessica, who is speaking briefly to another Marine. She's still nearby. She can explore a LITTLE bit of the tunnel now, right?

Vivi grins. She quickly crawls into the tunnel, minding the metal braiding around the cables. It has lots of rough and sharp points that poke her if she isn't careful.

The tunnel extends pretty far, and the little princess feels an abundance of safety in her new hiding spot. It seems to also follow the hallway, mostly, meaning she could even navigate safely -at least until she grows up more-. Meemee says she'll one day be as large as the Cave Queen herself, but Vivi finds that hard to believe. The Queen is loving and kind, and Vivi cares for her too, but there's no way Vivi will get that big. She wants to ride Meemee around and be together with her forever.

"I'm telling you. The net is closing."

A voice catches Vivi's attention from the opening ahead of her. She creeps towards the opening, peeking outside. Another voice replies, and she follows it, finding the people speaking just inside one of the rooms.

"I realize they've captured some of us, and I realize it's only a matter of time before someone talks, but I think I have the best option yet. The Big One. It can't even hold its temper around those it trusts, let alone civilians."

"If you're thinking what I believe you are, that's suicide."

"Martyrdom is sometimes the only course."