"Intolerable......"

Myaru glanced over her shoulder, eyeing Ariath carefully before turning over to face him across her pillow. He seemed to have calmed a bit, but she wasn't sure she wanted to risk a real conversation with him just yet. **Damn Kislev for doing this......**

"Damn Kislev!" She jumped, shocked to hear him echo her thoughts. "Of all the things to force my hand in this purge...... Why did it have to be them? Now we must take Aveh back before we carry out the rest of our plan." He lay on his back, trying to glare a hole thorugh the ceiling of their quarters; or so it seemed to her. "What a waste of resources."

**True...... Too true...... What is the Ministry thinking? Or was this beyond their control, for once?** It was very likely. They weren't as omnipotent as they liked to think. Typical men. She could hardly believe they were her own 'children'. Couldn't they have inherited common sense, at the very least?

"I won't send my soldiers in to take that wretched city......" Ariath sighed. "I don't care what the Ministry said - it's a waste of manpower. If they want Aveh back, they will have to supply us with a greater force than what we've been alotted."

Myaru was silent another moment. "Then I suppose we'll have to inform the them, won't we......? Though the rest of the crew won't be happy about this."

He finally glanced at her, out of the corner of his eye. "You usually preach the importance of obeying the Ministry, Myaru. Why the sudden change?" He smirked. "Have they recinded your paycheck?"

She kicked him, throwing a level look in his direction. He ignored it. "I don't -like- the Ministry, you know...... I just take advantage of them from time to time." Myaru smiled, running her hand down his chest. "You know me better than that."

"Yes...... yes, I think I do......" His sudden change in tone sent a chill down her spine.

Something...... Myaru sat up, gathering the sheet about her to ward off the chill of the dull, metal room. Something was bothering him. Something about her...... the tone in his voice implied it, and it sounded serious.

But what could bother him like this? He didn't know who she was...... Surely that episode outside her room last week wouldn't warrant such a change in attitude.

**Right?**

It was just because he was angry over being pushed out of Aveh, and conceding defeat to the Lambs. There wasn't anything else......

**It serves you right, -Miang-** The Sister's voice was sharp, irritated. Tired of being pushed to the background so often? **You should treat the young man a good deal better than you do.**

**What do you know?** she growled back. Did this woman have no tact at all? **I don't see why I should defend myself to you. I haven't wronged him, and you certainly don't have any business trying to interfere with my dealings.**

**I share this wretched body with you. Shouldn't we all have a say in the matter?**

It took all she had to keep her expression smooth and unworried, for Ariath's benifit. **I think not.** Before the sister could retort, she shoved the unwanted consciousness to the back of her mind, holding her defenses strong until she felt the other presence fade away in silence.

It was a curse...... She wished sometimes, with all her might, that she could speak to her creator, if only to spit in his face. Everything, all of the torture she had endured over the last ten thousand years..... This resurgence of her past "lives" was the least of her problems. The curse of -life-, of being forced against her will to follow the Program's directives, was far worse than anything that Nisan Sister could dredge up and complain about.

"We'll be leaving Etrenank soon......" she said, more to break his silence than for an answer. He had been staring at her for quite some time now...... His unreadable gaze was making her more than a little uneasy.

"Yes."

A moment of silence. "You aren't very good at hiding your feelings, Ariath. Something is bothering you...... Will you tell me what it is?"

His perfect face remained impassive. "I was simply thinking back to our encounter on the command ship, in Aveh. You've worried me, lately."

**That's not all,** she thought grimly. **He's still...... he must be hiding something. Why else would he be so quiet, instead of solicitous, or protective?** Myaru shivered - she couldn't help it. The room was unbearably cold, compared to the heat she had grown accustomed to. "Still?" She tried to keep her tone light, undisturbed. "Nothing is wrong...... The medic's treatment got rid of the burns. I'm fine."

He smiled colorlessly. "Mordon's nanoreactors are good for that much, at least."

She returned his stare, tempted to grab him by the shoulders and shake the information out of him. He seemed, unbearably, like a smug little boy who had found what he thought was an advantage over his mother, and he was dangling it in front of her nose like bait.

"What is it?" Myaru let a line mar her brow, hoping that he would break if she allowed her worry to show through. "Tell me."

Ariath levered himself up on his elbows, still regarding her with that impassive look. "So commanding...... Quite a contrast to our first meeting, wouldn't you say?"

"I......" She blinked, flushing red. If he was trying to unnerve her...... he was doing an excellent job. "I-I apologize for that, Lord Ariath......" She did her best to bow, though all she could manage in her current position was a deep inclination of her head. **This can't be......**

A flicker of amusement passed behind his eyes, and the smile turned upward, just for a moment. "I did not say I had a problem with it...... as long as you do not try to throw a command at me outside of our quarters."

That was it? "Of course not...... I would never do such a thing." He seemed to relax as she said that, and she bit her lip. **That was it? Why was he so worked up over that?**

Myaru let her muscles relax, and once again curled onto the bed, pulling the sheet over her shoulders to keep out the chill of the ship. Ariath threw her another amused glance and gathered her into an embrace, turning on his side so she could find a comfortable position.

"Oh...... I almost forgot......"

She looked up, craning her neck back as far as it would go to meet his eyes, while still curled up against him, almost like a cat. "Something else......?" Nothing important, she hoped...... she was just getting comfortable, after all.

"Yes...... it's brief, don't worry."

Another flush crept into her cheeks at that smile, still sardonically amused....... Myaru turned her eyes down, pressing her face into his chest, and guessed by the motion of his muscles that he was reaching back, or perhaps down, for something. It didn't really matter, as long as it would be finished soon, and she could immerse herself in the warmth of his presence.

Ariath gripped her shoulders and pushed her back a few inches, holding a plainly tied, scrolled sheet of paper between them. "I assume this was for you........ I can't imagine any other reason to find it here."

"Oh?" She took it, untying the string binding it and starting to roll it out. "When did you find it?"

"The very day of that incident we were just speaking of."

Myaru arched an eyebrow at that, but finally managed to unroll the parchment, and hold it before her face, out of Ariath's view.

Her heart froze; she threw the scroll down, over Ariath, and closed her eyes.

Yes...... **That........ That damn bastard......**

It was, indeed, finished.