Iia Disera Part 2
Heero sat on his bed, cradling his injured wrist. Words flew over his mind. Arian. Hydro. Rotation. Adua.
You think your home, your 'Earth' as you call it, will allow an...alien ship to land, even with you on board?
Wufei's statement repeated itself over and over in his mind until he shook his head and blinked away the dizziness. What did they plan to do? Sure, they had saved him, and now, while he didn't exactly have a choice but to be captive, what was he to do? Be forced to join their ranks? What was their purpose on this craft, on Leo? What purpose did they have, or want, with him?
Heero thought back to roughly a week ago. The shuttle had launched towards Star X296, to let him continue his research there. He was a scientist, someone who was supposed to discover what Star X296 was like, to see if they could colonize the star if it could sustain life, assuming there was no life there.
He wasn't stupid to dispute the possibility of alien existence. But to have met these...Arians that were so much like himself, so much like humans...
And what of Duo? He'd dropped his pants to prove his manhood as if Heero had insulted him. Sure, he was male, but technically a male Arian, and not a man. So why did Duo act all offended?
And why had he suddenly been forced to storm off after exchanging words with Quatre?
Thinking of Quatre made Heero wonder about the blond system, and the other two systems, as they referred to themselves. Did that mean they were not Arian, not human, but some kind of man-made being? Quatre said he had been made by Duo. What in the world did that mean?
"Having a bit of trouble there?"
Heero looked up sharply to see Duo leaning against the doorframe. He hadn't heard the door hiss open this time around, but even last time it had been very faint. Heero narrowed his eyes as he studied Duo. The amethyst eyes were back; Heero decided to use that particular shade to judge it as Duo's 'normal mood'.
"Anything I can help you with?" Duo asked.
"What are you going to do with me?" Heero decided to be blunt and straight to the point.
Duo sauntered closer. "Nothing bad. It's simple. Leo is my home. There is no other home. You no longer have a way home. Leo has never made contact with Hydran ships. Unless you can find another place to land, or another way home, you have nowhere to go but here." Duo stumbled as he chuckled and at the closer distance, Heero saw that his eyes were a bit lighter than the shade he'd seen before he'd fallen asleep due to the medicine.
"What other ships or places are you in contact with?"
"Only a couple other places and ships that have lifeforms you would consider 'alien'." Duo sat down heavily on the bed. Heero moved a little further away and Duo chuckled. "I'm not going to eat you," he said.
"We are barely acquaintances."
"Even if you want to land somewhere, the next closest place to land is Chark. And that's fifty-six rotations away. Even if we landed there and you got off, you have no way to get back to Hydro."
"Not unless I land and do some work until I can afford my own ship before returning to Earth."
"Your ship would still be alien." Duo pointed out.
"But at least I won't be bringing aliens with me."
"That hurts," Duo said, leaning closer. "Why don't you like Leo?"
"I don't know Leo. I don't even know you, or your three systems, or any other beings you have here. My goal is to get home."
"I can be a home. We can share Leo."
"Thanks, but I'd really rather be back planet-side." Heero studied Duo's eyes again, but the next moment, his eyelids had drooped and Duo had collapsed onto the bed. Heero reached out and shook the Arian. "Hello?"
Duo didn't budge, but he remained breathing, if breathing was what sustained an Arian's life.
"Are you hungry, Heero?" Heero looked up to see Quatre at the door. "Just leave him. Duo will be sleeping there for the next half of a rotation."
"What's wrong with him?" Heero asked. "Is that an Arian's sleeping cycle?"
"It is after certain events." Quatre answered. "Come on, come to the pantry. I can explain some more to you there."
Explanation would be good. Heero stood and followed the system.
"Where do I start?" Quatre muttered as he tossed Heero a water bulb and rummaged into a cupboard.
"Somewhere," Heero replied helpfully. "Just...start somewhere."
Quatre nodded. "Let's start with Arian food, then." He held up a small white block. "This is Arian food. Won't waste. White is high carbohydrates. Green is high fibre. Orange is high fat. For our diet, we usually each take one block of each and split it into three to last one rotation."
"Three meals."
"Right. You think what you want it to taste like, it will taste like it."
"How?"
"Arian taste buds are connected to the brain. They think a taste and get it. Does that make sense?"
Heero eyed the block. "So what would it taste like to me?"
Quatre blinked. "Try it." He offered the white block to Heero, then passed him a green one and an orange one. Heero opened the seal and touched the white block with a finger. It felt like a more or less solid marshmallow, soft, but not as light. He took a light nibble.
"It tastes like rice."
"Rice?" Quatre asked. "Nevermind. You won't be able to show me. So eat, and I will explain.
Heero took brief nibbles of the other two to find that the green tasted like vegetable paste and the orange like chicken. He tried to think of a taste as he took a second bite of the white block, but decided it didn't taste any different. Remembering Quatre's words, he separated the blocks into three and began his meal. It may be too much, or not enough for him, but in any case it gave him the chance to better distinguish likes and dislikes between himself and Duo.
"Arians often leave Adua trying to seek their own home and life. That is what Duo did. He lost his family to an accident and decided to leave and have his own life. His purpose is to travel. We return to Adua once every...maybe two thousand rotations only to replenish food stock."
"Does the craft, Leo I mean, not need fuel?" Heero asked.
"Fuel?"
"How does Leo stay moving?" Heero worded his question in simpler terms.
"Waste." Quatre answered. "Our wastes are turned into energy for Leo."
Heero decided that even if Quatre could explain exactly how that worked in technical terms, there were more important things to learn at the moment. "When was the last time you visited Adua?"
"Ninety-one rotations before we found you."
Ninety-one. That meant they had no intention of returning to Adua for a long time. Heero swallowed hard. "So how did you end up on Leo?"
"Duo created me." Quatre answered simply. "Well, he did to some extent. Another place far from Adua is my first home, Eikel. Known for the birth of empty shells."
"Empty shells?"
"Yes, for different purposes. So whatever knowledge was needed could be put into the shell to make them functional. Duo took me and made me his database. He added his own life into me to give me a mind, which is why I am like an Arian. The same with Trowa and Wufei."
"Duo added his own life to you?"
"Yes." Quatre nodded. "He inserted information to make me the database. Then he hooked us together and gave me a part of him." Quatre tapped his arm.
"You mean he gave you some of his blood. Or life force."
Quatre thought for a moment, then nodded. "You could say that."
"So that made you, Wufei and Trowa part Arian."
Quatre nodded again.
"Maybe you should tell him about the nature of an Arian." Wufei drawled from the door. "Or let him digest this information while you come with me."
"Wait, tell me about Arians in general, then," Heero pleaded. "You're a database, so you won't be biased, right? What makes an Arian?"
Quatre nodded and turned to Wufei. "Go find Trowa. I will finish here and find you later."
Wufei narrowed his eyes at Quatre and covered the black device on his collar so he could speak in their language. Quatre's mic, however, picked up the words, and for the first time Heero heard both the foreign language and the translated version.
"Iia disera saruow," Wufei said. At the same time, with a slight delay, Heero could hear the translation: I desire you.
Quatre and Wufei, too, heard the delayed translation and Quatre blushed and glared at Wufei, who chuckled and left.
"Sorry about that," Quatre muttered. "Where were we? Oh right, personalities of Arians." Quatre gave the topic some thought before looking over to Heero. "What do you want to know?"
"Habits. Lifestyle. History." Heero shifted a little uneasily. "Anything."
"You must inform me of Hydrans later on, when you are more rested," Quatre said. "It would be good information in my database."
Heero nodded; that seemed fair.
"Arians have existed for many, many rotations. But they are in a way cursed."
"Cursed?" Heero asked.
"There are things that Arians are forced to do. They cannot control it. Like the three-legs, or four-legs that cannot speak, cannot function in civilization."
"Like animal instinct."
"I don't understand," Quatre frowned.
"Okay. Just things that are natural to them, like...eating," Heero said. "But something different. Can you give me an example?"
"Like...eating. When they eat, they must always be served by someone else. Or else, they will continue to serve themselves. In the past, Arians who are alone too much have often eaten until they died."
"Why can't they control their own eating?" Heero frowned. It seemed stupid to eat themselves sick.
"Arians have trouble controlling their desires. So Arians do not live alone, or they will die."
"But you said Duo was alone before he found you on another planet."
"Duo was near death; he had been alone for so many rotations."
"So Arians are pigs," Heero stated.
"You don't have to be mean about it." Trowa muttered from the door. "Toss me a water bulb, Quatre?"
Quatre complied. "Technically, Heero should say that Arians have trouble controlling their desire to eat. But that's easily cured if someone else takes care of their food."
"I'll leave you with the Hydran." Trowa gave Quatre a small smile and left.
"What else...you know about the lies. Oh! Arians are proud of their accomplishments. That's part of the reason that Adua is so technologically advanced; everyone strives to do better, and whatever they do accomplish is considered a self-accomplishment for one, and a stepping stone for further accomplishments."
"In other words, having someone...upgrade your accomplishment isn't considered bad."
Quatre nodded. "They are also proud of their hair as a representation of their honesty. Don't touch Duo's hair if you value your life."
"Is that a threat?" Heero narrowed his eyes.
"Consider it a warning."
They lapsed into silence for a while before Heero spoke again. "What happened to Duo there, back in the control center? His eyes got really dark. And now, he's sleeping. You said he would sleep for half a day."
"Ah." Quatre nodded slowly. "Arians sleep a lot. Especially after certain activities that take a lot out of them."
"Like what?"
"Masturbation."
Heero stared at Quatre. "Excuse me?"
"Arians are attractive. If you ever have a chance to land on Adua, you will see that for yourself."
Heero conceded that Duo was, indeed, quite handsome. "And?"
"Much like their inability to control their food intake, they also have trouble controlling their physical attractions to other beings. As a result, Arians become intimate at an early age. If they do not have a partner, they will use masturbation to gain release in order to maintain control."
"Physical attractions?" Heero asked. "So what was that just then? The time of day for Duo to go..." He trailed off in thought. "You don't mean to say...Duo was physically attracted to me?"
Quatre nodded. "You are quite easy on the eyes," he remarked. "And after controlling himself via that sort of release, Duo needed sleep to regain strength."
"So you're telling me that a day in the life of an Arian is...to sleep a long time. Eat, but have someone else control how much they eat. Gain release in some way, which ends up with their need to sleep once more?"
Quatre smiled. "All of the events you mentioned are important in a day, but not everything."
"You must be tired," Wufei said from the doorway. Heero looked up; this time, Trowa and Wufei were at the pantry doors. "We've moved Duo back to his room. You can find your way back to yours, right?"
Heero nodded uncertainly. Wufei's eyes were dark to begin with, but now he noticed that Trowa's green eyes were also becoming quite dark. A quick glance at Quatre saw the aquamarine eyes darkened to almost navy. Just like Duo's had before Quatre had forced him to leave the control center...Heero suddenly stood, understanding what was going on.
"I'll be in my room. Thank you for the meal, Quatre, and the explanations."
Quatre had only opened his mouth to answer, but Heero had already left the pantry. The two systems by the door studied the third at the table.
Quatre smiled. "It seems like you two weren't satisfied alone," he said softly.
"Duo mentioned asking me to short circuit you," Trowa answered smoothly. "And you yourself stated that Wufei was always involve."
"You listened in?"
"Had to keep you safe, in case the Hydran tried anything." Wufei slid his hand around Trowa's waist. "I rather love your hair, Quatre, and Trowa's hair too. Don't lie to me. Involve me in some short circuiting...now."
Quatre moved closer to the other two systems, sliding his own arm around Wufei's waist. "My system...could use a reboot."
~*~
Heero lay down on the bed, pulling the comfortable blanket over his legs as he tried to digest the information Quatre had offered him. So Duo was a complete Arian, and had turned three empty shells into systems and part Arian. Arians left Adua to travel, and generally could not be left alone for a long period of time.
He tried to count the details of Arian personality that Quatre had mentioned. They liked to eat. Liked to sleep. Liked to create, and were proud of their achievements. Liked sex. Didn't lie. Had changing eye colors that would tell the others what they were thinking, what mood they were in. Dark, Heero now knew, meant lust.
Adua. Arians. He couldn't use these as reference; these were their own terms, just like how Heero called himself a human while the others had called him Hydran.
Mentally bringing up the maps he had seen so many times, he tried to figure out where exactly Adua was. Quatre mentioned they had been ninety-one rotations away from Adua when they found him, and Heero had been three days from Earth. That meant Adua was approximately ninety-four days away from Earth. But how could he judge that distance without knowing how fast Leo could travel in comparison to human spacecraft? Heero briefly considered that he'd physically feel a difference if the traveling speed was drastically different, but then he decided that may not be an accurate estimation. It seemed that Arians were capable of much more advanced technology, so much that Heero would not be surprised if they could not feel themselves travel at a high speed.
Still, he mentally tried to catalogue the items on the map based on what Duo had pointed to in the control center. But no matter what he tried to figure out, he couldn't seem to remember other stars or planets so far away. It could be that Earth did not even know of the existence of Adua.
And he still didn't know what to do. Maybe Adua was in a completely different galaxy. But then the other planets, or stars, other space civilizations may not welcome him either. Thus far, Duo and his crew had offered hospitality to him without even considering that Heero may possibly harm them all, even if he were in the minority at the moment.
He thought back to the descriptions Quatre had given him. Quatre had said they were cursed as Arians. The characteristics of their personalities certainly seemed flawed; gluttony, pride, lust. That was already three of the seven deadly sins! And sleeping for half of a rotation, that was twelve hours! Inability to control their eating or desires; would that be an inability to care for their own well being? Did that mean sloth was a part of their personality too?
The light above him still attracted him; he touched it again, reveling at the cold surface. He was suddenly reminded of comics, where a character's epiphany was illustrated as a light bulb being lit up.
His scientific mind took over. Arian's only measured time by rotations, which was roughly a day in human terms. Quatre hadn't exactly mentioned how long Arians had existed, but even if it had been a century or two, how had they survived when all they did was sin? Between overeating, sleeping too much and indulging in too much sex, how had they found time to create things to be proud of?
Quatre had not even finished giving a general overview of Arians. What if they were cursed, as Quatre said, with the other sins as well?
TBC...
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