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The Seventh Star is Eden (Skeith Takahata II & MessedUpRp)

Before Ceres left her grandfather stopped her. "Ceres... Take this" he shakily lofted a necklace from around his neck. Hanging from it was a small cylinder. A dark liquid inside with little streaks of white moving around inside. "It was from your mother... I want you to have it... Take care Ceres... Now doctor... I need a constant oxygen supply. Mt body is slowly deteriorating due to lacking protein-" he continued to tell the doctor what to do while Ceres left..

When she entered the sleeping quarters Ariel stood up, obviously uneasy. "Look at these." She flashed two documents up. The one was a string of messages between the eden commander and someone else named R.

Eden command: "I trust everything is in order?"
R: "yes sir. The traitor and his family have been found. Derevov has been captured"
Eden command: "good. As for the traitor, after he is taken I want you to fake his execution. We still have use for him."
R: "yes sir. The family will be sent to work camps. It's getting diffuclt. The rebellion is beginning to grow suspicious of me."
Eden command: "worry not... They will not realize one of their own is a double agent, after the traitor is taken you will.move up and cement yourself as a true member."
R: "Roger. Signing off"
The messages ended there.

Ariel spoke, "your fathrr may be alive still. But more iminently, there is a traitor in the ranks."

The second document grew to size. It was some sort of cryo chamber. Next to it was a diagram of a human, it looked suspiciously like Ariel, emblazoned on the top of the document were the words. 'A.R.I.E.L organic body.' Ariel was speechless. "I...I may have a body..." There was a catch in her voice.
 
As Ceres and Ariel walked, Ceres' hand gingerly held the necklace that he handed her. She held it close to her chest as she closed her eyes, remembering her mother. As they entered the room, Ceres was already overwhelmed and tired. She sat down on the bed, rubbing her eyes until Ariel stood up in front of her. She looked up at the documents she presented. As she read through the conversation, her eyes slowly widened. "How long have they been scheming to destroy my family and why?" When Ariel spoke about her father possibly being alive, she was awestruck once again. "My father... He might be alive? Until we know for sure, we can't tell my Grandfather. I don't want to give him false hope."

She stood up pacing the room. "As for the traitor... When this happened I was very small. It was years and years ago. If the traitor is still alive and he still hasn't been discovered..." She paused, her eyes widening. "They wanted me to infiltrate that facility, kill my grandfather and die in the process. Two birds, one stone. But only one group of people can formulate and hand down missions right?" She looked back to Ariel. "Could the traitors be one of the commanders? We have to tell my Aunt. As soon as possible." She looked down at the ground for a moment. "Is there anyway you can constantly monitor a single piece of security feed no matter where we are? If the traitor finds out Derevov is here, he might try to eliminate me and my Grandfather in person. We need to keep an eye on him."

She turned to face Ariel after all of her contemplation. "Did you say something about a body? Where?" She asked, walking over to look at the image.
 
Ariel shook her head, still awestruck. "I-I don't know. I'm not even sure of it was even completed. It's just a diagram. It may or may not exist somewhere in the world... This means... This means I could be a living being..." She let her words hang there, focusing on other things. I think you're right. This just set up too perfectly to be coincident. You destroyed the building, died in the process and the blast would have killed him. Any trace would be gone... But why you specifically. Why would one if the commanders be a traitor to the rebellion."

Ariel contemplates this while keeping a camera up on her grandfather, the doctor working on what her grandfather had told him to do, "we can't notify your aunt... If she knows about this and starts acting different around the commanders she may become a target too. The traitor hasn't killed her yet. If she starts acting differently we may force their hand."
 
Ceres slumped back onto the bed at Ariel's advice. "What would you have us do, then? We can't alert my aunt. We can't stand by and protect my grandfather at all times. But surely once the traitor learns that he's here he'll be in danger." She rubbed her brow in frustration. "We can't search for my father without tipping the traitor off either." She looked back up at Ariel, her expression clearly a worried one. "So, what do we do? Just wait for him to expose himself and strike? He's been pretty good at hiding for my entire life."

"Why my family? I know Eden thinks little of mixed races, but why us specifically? Why keep my father alive? What was he working on? Why is he still valuable to Eden? And why bother targeting me? How much could I possibly know?" She wondered for a moment if it was what she was rather than who she was. Ariel had mentioned that she was only about 30% Eden. That left at least 20% of her heritage unaccounted for. Was there something unique about her genetic make up that made her a risk?

She stood up as she dropped her head into her hands, growling irritably into her hands. As she looked up, her eyes and skin had shifted again. She yelled angrily as she thrashed at the desk near her bed with a tendril of dark energy, shredding the furniture with ease. She hated this powerless feeling. Like she was getting played. She slowly calmed herself, turning to look at Ariel. "Your body. Let's focus on that for now. It'll give us something to do." She panted heavily, her color slowly settling back in.
 
Ariel thought for a second before Ceres destroyed the desk. She jumped a bit and partially dissapeared before reappearing. She looked over at Ceres, still slightly scared. "Well um... We probably could tell her... We just need to warn her to act natural. That way we can keep an eye on her and your grandfather."

She looked down at the mention of her physical body. "I... I don't know what to do... Why would they have made a body for me... Was I supposed to be a real, organic being or was I just supposed to be another AI... I have so many questions that I can't solve."
 
Ceres rubbed at her brow again, turning to look at Ariel. "You called the man who wrote your code your father. Is it possible that he wanted an actual physical daughter, and was going to use Eden resources to make it a reality?" She asked, folding her arms. "The documents there, are they actual schematics? Can we replicate the design? Or do we have to find them. If so, can you track that files origin?"

She couldn't find this traitor just yet, she couldn't look for her father, she couldn't even insure the safety of her aunt or grandfather, but what she could do, was help Ariel. And that was something at least. "I'll ask my aunt for a ship. Surely the rebellion is interested in what manner of synthetic life forms Eden is trying to develop. It could allow us the opportunity to recover your body, or the plans for it, at least."
 
Ariel nodded. "I-I might be able to track the files. But that can wait... We need to find the traitor and save the rebellion first. If we have a traitor, your family is in danger and SK is everyone else. We need to find out who this person could possibly be and why they want to hurt you and your family."
 
Ceres nodded in agreement. "You're right of course. Beyond my father's betrayal, is it possible to search Eden records for any other reason my family might be targeted? They need him alive for whatever reason, but they want the rest of us dead. I doubt it's because we know something, I was in a camp my whole life. It must be something else." She pushed herself up, taking in a deep breath.

"Well, I need to debrief the commanders anyway. They'll want to know why I brought a ship full of refugees back with me, as well as the status of the mission. For the time being, can we disguise my grandfather's name in the system? Maybe get them off his scent for a time? I can just lie and say that Derevov's been taken care of. We can bring my aunt up to speed separately."
 
"Oh by your grandfather do you mean Isaiah Tarning? The eden deserter who was imprisoned despite his failing health condition? Yes I think he will be disguised." Ariel's hologram smiled as she filled in the system. "Shall we then?"

Her hologram followed Ceres through the base, going back to the command room. She had already called a meeting for them. There they all stood, waiting for Ceres' response. They looked between each other in genuine curiosity at what she would say.
 
Ceres smiled when Ariel spoke of disguising her grandfather. She walked beside her towards the command hall, pleased to see them all in assembly already. She stood, confident, in having accomplished what was certainly planned to be a suicide mission. "Commanders, thanks for meeting with me. I only returned a short while ago from my mission to assassinate Dr. Derevov. The doctor is no more and the facility was also destroyed. No mutated specimens survived."

"Your ship came back notably... Fuller than it departed." The Sartan commander spoke.

"Yes sir. While infiltrating the station, we discovered numerous prisoners spanning all of the organic races being held for experimentation. We freed those who had not yet been tampered with, and brought them here. They are desperate refugees without a home. Certainly many among them would be willing to serve in the Rebellion. Even those who aren't, I think deserve our shelter. Otherwise, who and what are we fighting for than those already captured and oppressed?" She spoke professionally and even passionately as she debriefed the commanders, even if she kept passively scanning the room to see if any of them could be the traitor.

"If it's all the same to you, commanders, it was a hard mission and a long flight. I would very much like to get something to eat, a shower, and some sleep." She spoke softly. Her gaze lingering on her aunt Erza, hoping to give her a silent indication of the need to speak alone.
 
A Mordo commander with a bushy gray mustache steppes forward. "Miss Karn, I must ask a question of you... How did you manage to execute this mission?" The other commanders gawked at him. His face remained set in stone. The Sartan spoke first. "Romulus! Are you suggesting that miss Karn is a traitor?"

The Mordo man, Romulus laughed heartily and shook his head, "no no of course not! She had plenty opportunity to betray us already. She had proven herself loyal in my eyes. No... I am.curious how one so young and untrained managed to accomplish such a mission. Even with Ariel's help. You infiltrated a mining colony of super-mutants and escaped. How did one person do such a thing?"

He turned to the generals, "furthermore... Who was it who suggested we send her on this mission. A single new recruit out on a mission a platoon could not have completed."

The Sartan bristled a bit, "Well... Romulus, you know as well as we do... The suggestion was submitted anonymously."

"Yes, but only we the commanders knew of this mission. Again... Who would send such a person out to fight in such a dangerous mission." Romulus planted his fists on the holo-pad table. Glaring at each commander in turn.

"Something if afoul here. I don't know who or what it is. But I intend to find out." He stood straight fixed his jacket and strode out of the room without another word. Every commander gawking at what he had just suggested.
 
Ceres was completely surprised when the Mordo commander spoke of the mission being suspicious. The exact thing that her and Ariel were trying to avoid pointing out in the open he brought up on his own. As he stormed off, she looked about at the commanders, studying their own reactions to the implications. If any struck her as suspicious at the moment it was the Sartan, even then she couldn't be sure. She was thankful that among the commanders was at least one she could trust. Her aunt. She approached her after a moment, touching her arm to get her attention. "Commander Mal'Keth... If I could speak to you for a moment?"

She lead her Aunt back to her quarters, sealing the door behind her. "Ariel. Do a scan for bugs. I need to know if we're being watched." She moved to sit on the edge of the bed, looking shamefully at the ruined desk for a moment. "Aunt Erza." She had no issue addressing her aunt more casually when not out and about on duty. "Commander Romulus is right. Not to say that I trust him. Someone is trying to kill me and I suspect that it's one of the commanders." She placed her hands in her lap, threading her hands together nervously. "Dr. Derevov isn't dead. He's here on the base, under a false name, obviously. He isn't a maniac. He's my grandfather. He shared some documents with me, revealing a traitor, and that my family was targeted specifically. Whoever assigned this mission is trying to make my family disappear. Trying to silence something." She looked up to Ariel's hologram. "Ariel, maybe you could explain it better. Do you still have the message log?"
 
Ariel searched the room, finding no bugs she bright up the message log. Erza read with mounting horror what was written on the hologram screen. She looked from Ceres to Ariel back to the words several times. "This... This can't be... The commanders would not betray us like that."

Ariel put a holographic hand on Erza's shoulder. "Own or them did commander, there's a mole within the ranks and we need to figure out who it could possibly be. There is a danger imminent if we fail."
 
"Whoever this person is, they're the reason my mother, your sister, is dead. They're the reason my father is possibly still alive and being held against his will. The reason my life is at risk even here at the base." Ceres looked over at her aunt with grim seriousness. "Beyond my own life, the rebellion itself is in danger. Whoever this is, we have to draw them out without making them suspicious of us. Right now you aren't a target. They're after my immediate family. If you make it clear you're looking for a mole, you'll end up in their crosshairs."

She pushed herself up from the bed, walking to the center of the room. "If I had to bring up a possible suspect, I would suggest the Sartan. He's looked down on me since my arrival, and was awfully quick to defend that my mission was submitted anonymously." She rubbed her brow in thought. "We'll just have to watch other Commanders for suspicious activity. Perhaps have Ariel track any outbound messages from them to suspicious contacts."
 
Erza nodded. "Yes... But we mist act with haste, if we let this mole sit for too long, they might make a.move and we might pay the price. This should be made our top priority." Ariel looks between them and spoke. "If need be, I could call a fake alarm, maybe a gas leak."
 
Ceres was quick to agree that they would have to root out the traitor. "They've been imbedded for most of my life. Obviously they were involved with my family's capture. So they're very good at hiding. How do you suppose we draw them out?" Though at Ariel's suggestion she grew confused. "If we don't know who the traitor is, what good would an alarm do for us?" It wasn't that she doubted Ariel's reasoning, she was just having difficulty following her suggestion.
 
"Commander Romulus has inadvertently helped us. The mole will know there's pressure to find them out, if they stay there's a chance that they could get found out and captured. If they have a chance like a lockdown, they'll take that opportunity to escape and go to the Eden forces..we just need to be outside when the lockdown happens and find them in the act." Ariel smiled triumphantly.
 
Ceres palmed herself in the forehead when Ariel explained her plan. "Of course! That's brilliant!" She looked back to her aunt, smiling broadly. She looked back to Ariel as she stood up from the bed, pacing the room in thought. "Aunt Erza and I have the void on our side, her being Spellva and me being half Spellva." She looked back to Ariel, giving her a small nod. "We could very easily ambush and detain the traitor. Even better if we can force a confession out of him."

She stopped walking, satisfied with the plan. "You'll need to monitor all cameras near docking bays to make sure that no grounded ship takes flight during the lockdown. The second we see him make his move, Aunt Erza and I can make ours. We ambush him, interrogate him, and bring him before the other commanders. Ariel can record the encounter for posterity so that he can't fight the evidence." Of course, all of this would hinge on Ceres not losing her temper in the encounter and slaughtering him outright for trying to destroy her family.
 
Ariel smiled and made a few adjustments, locking all the ships so they couldn't take off. After a few moments a ted light bathed the facility instead of the normal lights. A loud mechanical voice saying, "alert. Alert, lockdown in progress. This is not a drill, lockdown in progress." Ariel brought up the cameras, after a few minutes of rapid movement as people moved back to their quarters she focused on one person left out. The Sartan commander was walking toward the air field, gun in hand, looking from side to side. His arms locked in a shooting stance with his gun. "That must be him"
 
Ceres smirked when the alarm began to sound. It was even more a shame that Ariel lacked a physical form. Ceres could kiss her she was so enamored by her brilliance. She moved into action quickly, hugging close to walls. and staying to the dark places on the base. She worked her way to where the Sartan commander was walking, gun raised. She wasn't sure how to interrogate the mechanical being. Unsure if they even felt pain, but she would have to figure it out. He obviously feared discovery and death enough to flee.

Seeing him in person, her ability to think clearly left her entirely. All she saw was the person who tore apart her family. The reason she had grown up a slave and the reason her mother was dead. This person had spent over a decade worming his way up through the ranks, going so far as to target her family specifically. Her eyes flooded black once again, her skin paling as she emerged from the shadows, tendrils of void like energy snaking out all over her body. "Why!?" She roared, a second slightly deeper voice layered under her own. She lashed out with a tendril striking the gun from his hand before sprinting towards him. "Why me!? Why my family!?" She shrieked as she drew closer, not slowing down, if anything picking up speed.
 
The Sartan looked up as his gun was knocked from.his hand, his eyes widening. He jumped away, "Ceres! Look out!" Something hit Ceres in the back. She was still conscious but nothing moved anymore. Even her void powers were inaccessible. As she fell she saw the Romulus standing over her Golding some sort of weapon. "A tranquilizer Miss Karn... Eden technology, the dosage to subdue you was much larger than normal."

He smiled and picked up her arms, dragging her toward a ship. "Eden is going to be very pleased to know I rifhtes the wrong. All those years, a voidmage and her daughter in a work camp and they never even knew... Now they'll have you. All because of me." He smiled wider then ever, "your father was easy to betray... He was getting close to.me.and I needed him gone, it for me in food with Eden as well as got rid of him."

As he opened his mouth to speak again his shoulder erupted in a spurt of blood, he had been shot, the Sartan was walking towards him. Gun in hand, "release her Romulus. There's nowhere to go."
 
When Ceres fell, she fell hard. Despite losing functionality of her body, the impact hurt. She looked up to see Romulus standing over her. She felt both anger and guilt as she began to be dragged away. Then the same Sartan she had nearly killed for Romulus' betrayal was the first to act to save her. She collapsed back onto the ground after he was shot, her eyes darting back and forth as she tried to make her body cooperate. Not even her powers were working. She closed her eyes tightly, as she hoped against hope that Romulus would be stopped, hopefully captured. She needed to know where her father was. He was her only connection to the truth.

She hoped that Ariel was watching, maybe even had a plan, given how useless Ceres was in this predicament.
 
Romulus and the Sartan fell upon each other, grappling in hand to hand combat. Their grunts and the sound of fists hitting each other lifted through the air. Around her the base was on high alert. The lockdown was lifted and troops were steaming out, the alarm voice blaring, "attention. Commander Romulus has been found a traitor, he is noe trying to make an escape and must be stopped at all costs.

Eventually as troops neared, Romulus pushed the Sartan off and ran into the small, stolen Eden fighter ship. He lifted off through the hail of gunfire and flew away, quickly followed by two more fighters firing at him.

Meanwhile the Sartan returned to Ceres and picked her up, he silently stood and walked through the gathering crowd. Shrugging off questions about Romulus' betrayal and carrying Ceres to the infirmary. Derevov looked over at her and his eyes widened. He moved to sit up only to be gently held down by a nurse, "I want to see my granddaughter. I want to be there for her for all the years I couldn't be." The nurse hesitated before moving his bed right next to Ceres's. The old man slowly reached his shaky hand over to Ceres' and clutched hers. "Everything will be fine Ceres... You're safe."
 
Ceres lay still, not that she had much choice, when brought to the infirmary. She could feel her grandfather's hand around her own, but couldn't return the gesture. She stared up at the ceiling, unable to move. How long would this blasted tranquilizer keep her paralyzed like this. Still, tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. She'd let him get away. Romulus was free and she hadn't gotten what she needed from him.

Her eyes moved about the room, seeing her grandfather out of the corner of her eye. Her gaze shifted then looking for other familiar faces, her aunt or Ariel. She closed her eyes, unable to even emote how frustrated she was in that moment. How could she have been so foolish? To have flown off the handle and dropped her guard like that? Her mother would have been ashamed.
 
Ariel materialized next to Ceres and stroked her hair, her hand oc asiinally going inside Cerea' head. Sometimes even she forgot she was a hologram. She cooed Ber softly as the nurse gave her an injection to stop the tranquilizer. "Don't worry Ceres... The ships are out, they'll catch or kill Romulus before he even leaves the atmosphere."

It was at that moment that Ceres' aunt appeared she sighed and ran over, visibly relieved. "Ceres you're alive, I was so worried about you."
 
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