Silence
Anonymous Me
Anna grinned. "Oh I don't think that it would be all your fault. There is someone in your house who has seemed to instigate trouble more often than others." She sort of figured that Star knew exactly who she was talking about. From the first that she could remember Killian had been a trouble maker. He loved to make things exciting no matter what was going on. Even if things were already too exciting he found a way to make the kids think it was all a game. It was not difficult to sense that little bit of fear from Star. Fear that perhaps Claire was digging too deep. That was a valid concern. The girl had likely gotten herself into some sort of icky stuff.
Star smirked. "Oh yes. Killian is still very much a child himself. But I love it."
With the comment from Star she was brought back to the conversation and Anna continued with her little line of thought. It was far more pleasant than thinking about what Claire might have gotten herself into. In fact it would be interesting to see what was out there. "That's who I meant." A smirk came to her face and she leaned forward a little to see Killian had practically squeezed the air out of her husband. "And I'm sure he won't grow out of it."
"Probably not." Star chuckled. She glanced over ar Kato. "So, after 20 years, can you say you're glad you stuck with him?"
Taking a deep breath and looking about thoughtfully she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh I guess." Still she was hiding a bigger smirk. "Had that man in bed with me once and I couldn't get enough of him after that."
Star laughed. "Anna! Still so naughty." She winked at her friend. "Never lose that. He needs you to keep him young."
"I know. While I get old." Anna glanced at the floor for a moment and then her friend asked about the aches. "Not very much helps anymore. Bullet wounds are a real nasty thing to deal with down the road."
"They've got some new experimental procedures to help with old wounds like that." Star suggested. "You might have Kato look into it for you. You've still got several decades to go without having those wounds a constant pain in your side."
Shaking her head and chuckling a little Anna rolled her eyes. "You act like I'm going to be around for a long time yet. How about you? No problems with the injuries? It's all still making that gradual healing? Kato is getting older, but not quite as fast as we all thought." Chippeqouti blood was strange. It seemed that injuries improved with time and the body naturally healed itself and regenerated damaged or missing tissue.
Star shook her head. "I have some aches from time to time if I sit too long or do a repetitive activity. But most of it has healed fully. And...if I do have a bad day I just grab one of Belen's incredible blankets and nap with it. That thing does wonders. I wonder if it only works on chips or if it would help you."
Almost instinctively Anna started to laugh. "I did steal one of those blankets one time when we lived with your parents to try out. It smells good, but I think it might be a Chip thing. Put it back on his side of the bed. You know he never noticed those sorts of things."
"You mean Kato?" Star chuckled. "That man has tunnel vision, I swear. Some things he see's all the details of while the rest of life passes him by. Hopefully he's grown out of that. That would have been so irritating for me if Killian was like that."
"Mr. Goggle Eyes. Yes that would be my man." Anna giggled a little bit. "Its a good thing he doesn't mind my nick names for him."
Star chuckled and shook her head, finishing up her cake. "Oh, lord. I could eat cake all day. You'd better take some home with you when you leave."
"So I can get fatter than I already am?" Anna chuckled and served another piece of cake up. "Kato does notice that kind of thing and if I gain even 2 ounces he reminds me that it makes back pain worse to have extra weight. Such a nerd."
"Aw, well. He's just trying to look out for you." Star smiled. "Killian only cares if I start looking like a bippen." She snickered.
Almost choking on the cake in her mouth Anna covered her mouth until her eyes watered. "Oh my gosh. Did he actually say that?"
"Oh yes." Star nodded, still smirking. "Remember that one year where I got the bone shakes and could barely move? I probably gained about 20 pounds. And one day, he rolled over in bed and looked at me and said, "You're looking a little like a Bippen." She laughed. "So I made sure to be careful after that."
Anna's mouth dropped and her eyes got wide. "That's practically calling you fat. Wow." Snickering a little she shook her head. "Sometimes I think you've got to be a saintly woman. I would have probably lost my temper. You were so miserable with the bone shakes and it was impossible not to gain weight."
Star shrugged. "I was rightly pissed for a few weeks, but after I began feeling better I knew he was right, and I didn't feel that great with all the extra weight either anyway." She took a sip of juice. "I've learned to take most of his 'painful' comments in stride with the fact that he absolutely adores me and doesn't really want to hurt me. He...just doesn't have that much tact."
"He never did." Anna thought for a moment before she said anything. "I went to him once thinking he didn't care about Kato and I. Probably the best thing I could have done and it seemed to be the biggest mistake of my life at that point." Briefly her face turned red with shame. "That day I missed coffee with you I was running away. Went up to tell Killian cause I thought he would just tell Kato and that would be it. I didn't want to leave Kato wondering if something happened to me so I needed someone to pass on the news and I didn't think he would try to stop me." Raising her eyes she looked at Star. "He listened very nicely and then told me he would tell Kato the dumbass reasons I was leaving and then proceeded to tell me I had a god complex. I was so mad at him for weeks and then I cried at you only a few days later."
Star smiled softly. "Good for him. He tells people what they need to hear. Not what they want. Much needed in a day and age where everyone is overly polite for fear of ruffling feathers." She glanced over at Claire and Robert who were talking on there own. She sighed softly. "You know Claire is starting to ask questions. Doing her own research even into our pasts. I'm terrified at what she'll uncover."
The little woman winced at the thought of Claire looking into her parents. "You saying that you'd like me to do a little hacking tonight to find out what kinds of records she's hacked so you know what to expect?"
Star looked at her awkwardly. "If you could. I need...I need to get ahead of this. It...it would be better if she heard about us from me and Killian rather than from some other scources who don't know the whole story."
Nodding her head Anna sighed. "Well if she's already started to dig you might not be ahead of it, but at least you'll know what to expect. Do you want me to send you the links?"
"That would be helpful." Star nodded. "And, don't say anything to Killian yet. I'm not certain how he'll react."
The fact that Claire had started to dig was bad news and Anna was a little nervous. She had only witnessed the time Killian ripped the arms off that Gillick, Kafus and it was horrifying to say the least. "I know what you mean. Does he still have nightmares?"
"We both do, from time to time." Star shrugs. "They are far less frequent though. Usually we'll encounter something that triggers it before hand then there will be a week or so of nightmares, then...it passes."
Anna took a deep breath. "Well then lets just say for now that you enjoy your day and I'll get cracking tonight when I get home. You'll have something tomorrow morning. So you enjoy your day and if you must, put things off for a day with Claire. Tell her you need time to talk with Killian about this stuff. I'll hack her pad and see how much she's read of the records."
"Thankyou, Anna. You're a good friend." Star gave her a quick gentle hug. "Don't forget to enjoy yourself too. It is a party after all." She grinned and raised her cup.
Accepting the hug she smiled carefully and then picked up her cake again. "Of course I will. I'm going to eat everything unhealthy I can till Kato comes in here and then I'll eat carrots like a good little bunny."
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Talking about the clinics was always a bit odd in Killian's mind, but he was trying to be nice and learn more about them. The journal was about the only thing he kind of kept up on and that was only due to Star reading helpful hints from the doctor section aloud. Personally Killian would have been just as happy to find those helpful tips out by accident or by personal experience. Still it seemed his wife was insistent on learning what they didn't already know and he was having to learn all this stuff about himself and humans.
More than likely the only reason he had learned half the things he knew was because of all Star's funny rules about his nights to help the kids with homework. Killian remembered sitting up at night and pouring over the kids school books so he would know what they were going to be asking him about. Reading had become somewhat easier and his spelling improved as well. Kato had been talking briefly about the clinics all that time and Killian suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be listening and he heard the part about Kato retiring. Not having Kato at the clinics would be so different. It was true that he didn't go with Star very often because they were both pretty healthy these days, but he still thought it was strange that Kato could be thinking about quitting.
Before he could ask Kato about why he would be retiring he was asked about the fleet and Killian shrugged, "Eh its just about the same." Somehow he forgot that he hadn't ever described what the same was. "We just make the transports and once a month I go along on the risky route. A few smugglers and privateers watch the less traveled routes. Nothing terribly exciting." While he was thinking about it Killian continued. "Why are you retiring? You can still work at the clinics with uh...Jacob. Just because he's working there doesn't mean that you have to stop."
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By the time they got home Anna was a little sore, but she was managing alright. It was a good enough excuse to go sit in their room a little earlier than usual. "Honey I'm gonna go lay down for a bit. See if I can get some pressure off my back. You and the boys just go out riding or something I'll be fine." Anna gave him a look when he started to pry. "Star asked me to look into something for her and I don't want you to be peering over my shoulder. Nothing dangerous for us. I promise." By the time she had her men shuffled out the door she was starting to worry a little. It might depend on what Claire hacked.
That girl was her father's daughter. Constantly getting into things that she shouldn't be. Sitting down in their room Anna pulled up a small screen on her tablet and tapped in a few codes till she got the device running the anti-encryption program she set up. Only in a matter of minutes she pulled files from Claire's tablets and log ins from multiple sites.
Seemed that the girl had gotten herself into a lot of different things. Maybe stuff that she wouldn't have known about without some kind of help. There was no one online to help her and at least not that it showed. That was a little disturbing. Claire had to be meeting with someone in person. How else would she know about these sort of sites. They were hacked records from the Gillicks. It wasn't just the records that the Gillicks made available there were things that they wouldn't likely release. Records that described the living conditions in the games and the protocol. These records were very damning for the Gillicks and they had done their best to cover the scandal of the games and make it disappear. Something that had almost been accomplished because survivors didn't talk about it. So who had an incentive to bring this all up and to the light of day? That was the real question.
Anna dug as far as she could into the record only to come up empty handed. After nearly an hour of that she started to open the files one at a time until she came across an odd looking one. It was titled differently than the others. When it came open the screen filled with images and then gradually the sound of gunfire started and she realized it was a film of the games. Near the front of the camera they were focused on Killian.
He had become the face of the games for a time and this was during the height of it. Those few short months and the Gillicks had kept records to see how the Chippeqouti fought. Anna started to feel sick part way through. There was so much blood, but she needed to know how much Claire had watched. A sickening taste filled Anna's mouth and she forced the acid back down her throat while she gazed at the screen. It was horrifying and watching the killing and suffering like this...it was almost indescribable. She couldn't believe that Claire had made it this far. Then it came to the center of the field, a part that Anna had never witnessed because they stayed close to the wall as Killian directed that day.
In the middle she watched as the unmistakable figure of Killian bludgeoned many men to their death and then turned to break a child's neck. It was with such force that she could see the neck stretch slightly and then the head begin to disconnect from the body. Finally it notified her that Claire had gotten no further. Anna stopped the video there and she closed her eyes. There was no relief from the images in her mind. There were several other files that contained video feed and each equally disturbing in their own way. Carefully constructing a report for Star and giving her the video time clips, then sent the message with the instructions not to watch or read before bed. Reading about it was one thing. Seeing it was another and it brought all the horrifying details to life.
One of the last clips had showed Killian leaving the game. Escorted out with blood dripping from his body. He wiped what he could off his face with equally bloodied hands and then went to his cage to sit. His eyes almost completely lifeless.
Just to be sure that Claire didn't watch anything further Anna put tags on all of the information so she could inform Star if there was anything further they should be aware of Claire watching or reading. Anna put her pad away in the drawer and left the notifications on if there was going to be any other activity from Claire that indicated she was searching deeper. That night there wasn't anymore looking into the files for which Anna was grateful, but she couldn't sleep. Waking up frequently she would be pouring sweat and then she would wipe her face.
Reaching over she carefully squeezed Kato's hand. "Its not pain baby. I just have bad dreams is all." Eventually they faded into twisted horrific images and she couldn't quite imagine how she was going to tell Kato what had happened. She couldn't tell him what Claire had gotten into. No doubt Star was going to be having issues as well and Claire needed help. At least Star knew what was going on now.
Star smirked. "Oh yes. Killian is still very much a child himself. But I love it."
With the comment from Star she was brought back to the conversation and Anna continued with her little line of thought. It was far more pleasant than thinking about what Claire might have gotten herself into. In fact it would be interesting to see what was out there. "That's who I meant." A smirk came to her face and she leaned forward a little to see Killian had practically squeezed the air out of her husband. "And I'm sure he won't grow out of it."
"Probably not." Star chuckled. She glanced over ar Kato. "So, after 20 years, can you say you're glad you stuck with him?"
Taking a deep breath and looking about thoughtfully she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh I guess." Still she was hiding a bigger smirk. "Had that man in bed with me once and I couldn't get enough of him after that."
Star laughed. "Anna! Still so naughty." She winked at her friend. "Never lose that. He needs you to keep him young."
"I know. While I get old." Anna glanced at the floor for a moment and then her friend asked about the aches. "Not very much helps anymore. Bullet wounds are a real nasty thing to deal with down the road."
"They've got some new experimental procedures to help with old wounds like that." Star suggested. "You might have Kato look into it for you. You've still got several decades to go without having those wounds a constant pain in your side."
Shaking her head and chuckling a little Anna rolled her eyes. "You act like I'm going to be around for a long time yet. How about you? No problems with the injuries? It's all still making that gradual healing? Kato is getting older, but not quite as fast as we all thought." Chippeqouti blood was strange. It seemed that injuries improved with time and the body naturally healed itself and regenerated damaged or missing tissue.
Star shook her head. "I have some aches from time to time if I sit too long or do a repetitive activity. But most of it has healed fully. And...if I do have a bad day I just grab one of Belen's incredible blankets and nap with it. That thing does wonders. I wonder if it only works on chips or if it would help you."
Almost instinctively Anna started to laugh. "I did steal one of those blankets one time when we lived with your parents to try out. It smells good, but I think it might be a Chip thing. Put it back on his side of the bed. You know he never noticed those sorts of things."
"You mean Kato?" Star chuckled. "That man has tunnel vision, I swear. Some things he see's all the details of while the rest of life passes him by. Hopefully he's grown out of that. That would have been so irritating for me if Killian was like that."
"Mr. Goggle Eyes. Yes that would be my man." Anna giggled a little bit. "Its a good thing he doesn't mind my nick names for him."
Star chuckled and shook her head, finishing up her cake. "Oh, lord. I could eat cake all day. You'd better take some home with you when you leave."
"So I can get fatter than I already am?" Anna chuckled and served another piece of cake up. "Kato does notice that kind of thing and if I gain even 2 ounces he reminds me that it makes back pain worse to have extra weight. Such a nerd."
"Aw, well. He's just trying to look out for you." Star smiled. "Killian only cares if I start looking like a bippen." She snickered.
Almost choking on the cake in her mouth Anna covered her mouth until her eyes watered. "Oh my gosh. Did he actually say that?"
"Oh yes." Star nodded, still smirking. "Remember that one year where I got the bone shakes and could barely move? I probably gained about 20 pounds. And one day, he rolled over in bed and looked at me and said, "You're looking a little like a Bippen." She laughed. "So I made sure to be careful after that."
Anna's mouth dropped and her eyes got wide. "That's practically calling you fat. Wow." Snickering a little she shook her head. "Sometimes I think you've got to be a saintly woman. I would have probably lost my temper. You were so miserable with the bone shakes and it was impossible not to gain weight."
Star shrugged. "I was rightly pissed for a few weeks, but after I began feeling better I knew he was right, and I didn't feel that great with all the extra weight either anyway." She took a sip of juice. "I've learned to take most of his 'painful' comments in stride with the fact that he absolutely adores me and doesn't really want to hurt me. He...just doesn't have that much tact."
"He never did." Anna thought for a moment before she said anything. "I went to him once thinking he didn't care about Kato and I. Probably the best thing I could have done and it seemed to be the biggest mistake of my life at that point." Briefly her face turned red with shame. "That day I missed coffee with you I was running away. Went up to tell Killian cause I thought he would just tell Kato and that would be it. I didn't want to leave Kato wondering if something happened to me so I needed someone to pass on the news and I didn't think he would try to stop me." Raising her eyes she looked at Star. "He listened very nicely and then told me he would tell Kato the dumbass reasons I was leaving and then proceeded to tell me I had a god complex. I was so mad at him for weeks and then I cried at you only a few days later."
Star smiled softly. "Good for him. He tells people what they need to hear. Not what they want. Much needed in a day and age where everyone is overly polite for fear of ruffling feathers." She glanced over at Claire and Robert who were talking on there own. She sighed softly. "You know Claire is starting to ask questions. Doing her own research even into our pasts. I'm terrified at what she'll uncover."
The little woman winced at the thought of Claire looking into her parents. "You saying that you'd like me to do a little hacking tonight to find out what kinds of records she's hacked so you know what to expect?"
Star looked at her awkwardly. "If you could. I need...I need to get ahead of this. It...it would be better if she heard about us from me and Killian rather than from some other scources who don't know the whole story."
Nodding her head Anna sighed. "Well if she's already started to dig you might not be ahead of it, but at least you'll know what to expect. Do you want me to send you the links?"
"That would be helpful." Star nodded. "And, don't say anything to Killian yet. I'm not certain how he'll react."
The fact that Claire had started to dig was bad news and Anna was a little nervous. She had only witnessed the time Killian ripped the arms off that Gillick, Kafus and it was horrifying to say the least. "I know what you mean. Does he still have nightmares?"
"We both do, from time to time." Star shrugs. "They are far less frequent though. Usually we'll encounter something that triggers it before hand then there will be a week or so of nightmares, then...it passes."
Anna took a deep breath. "Well then lets just say for now that you enjoy your day and I'll get cracking tonight when I get home. You'll have something tomorrow morning. So you enjoy your day and if you must, put things off for a day with Claire. Tell her you need time to talk with Killian about this stuff. I'll hack her pad and see how much she's read of the records."
"Thankyou, Anna. You're a good friend." Star gave her a quick gentle hug. "Don't forget to enjoy yourself too. It is a party after all." She grinned and raised her cup.
Accepting the hug she smiled carefully and then picked up her cake again. "Of course I will. I'm going to eat everything unhealthy I can till Kato comes in here and then I'll eat carrots like a good little bunny."
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Talking about the clinics was always a bit odd in Killian's mind, but he was trying to be nice and learn more about them. The journal was about the only thing he kind of kept up on and that was only due to Star reading helpful hints from the doctor section aloud. Personally Killian would have been just as happy to find those helpful tips out by accident or by personal experience. Still it seemed his wife was insistent on learning what they didn't already know and he was having to learn all this stuff about himself and humans.
More than likely the only reason he had learned half the things he knew was because of all Star's funny rules about his nights to help the kids with homework. Killian remembered sitting up at night and pouring over the kids school books so he would know what they were going to be asking him about. Reading had become somewhat easier and his spelling improved as well. Kato had been talking briefly about the clinics all that time and Killian suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be listening and he heard the part about Kato retiring. Not having Kato at the clinics would be so different. It was true that he didn't go with Star very often because they were both pretty healthy these days, but he still thought it was strange that Kato could be thinking about quitting.
Before he could ask Kato about why he would be retiring he was asked about the fleet and Killian shrugged, "Eh its just about the same." Somehow he forgot that he hadn't ever described what the same was. "We just make the transports and once a month I go along on the risky route. A few smugglers and privateers watch the less traveled routes. Nothing terribly exciting." While he was thinking about it Killian continued. "Why are you retiring? You can still work at the clinics with uh...Jacob. Just because he's working there doesn't mean that you have to stop."
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By the time they got home Anna was a little sore, but she was managing alright. It was a good enough excuse to go sit in their room a little earlier than usual. "Honey I'm gonna go lay down for a bit. See if I can get some pressure off my back. You and the boys just go out riding or something I'll be fine." Anna gave him a look when he started to pry. "Star asked me to look into something for her and I don't want you to be peering over my shoulder. Nothing dangerous for us. I promise." By the time she had her men shuffled out the door she was starting to worry a little. It might depend on what Claire hacked.
That girl was her father's daughter. Constantly getting into things that she shouldn't be. Sitting down in their room Anna pulled up a small screen on her tablet and tapped in a few codes till she got the device running the anti-encryption program she set up. Only in a matter of minutes she pulled files from Claire's tablets and log ins from multiple sites.
Seemed that the girl had gotten herself into a lot of different things. Maybe stuff that she wouldn't have known about without some kind of help. There was no one online to help her and at least not that it showed. That was a little disturbing. Claire had to be meeting with someone in person. How else would she know about these sort of sites. They were hacked records from the Gillicks. It wasn't just the records that the Gillicks made available there were things that they wouldn't likely release. Records that described the living conditions in the games and the protocol. These records were very damning for the Gillicks and they had done their best to cover the scandal of the games and make it disappear. Something that had almost been accomplished because survivors didn't talk about it. So who had an incentive to bring this all up and to the light of day? That was the real question.
Anna dug as far as she could into the record only to come up empty handed. After nearly an hour of that she started to open the files one at a time until she came across an odd looking one. It was titled differently than the others. When it came open the screen filled with images and then gradually the sound of gunfire started and she realized it was a film of the games. Near the front of the camera they were focused on Killian.
He had become the face of the games for a time and this was during the height of it. Those few short months and the Gillicks had kept records to see how the Chippeqouti fought. Anna started to feel sick part way through. There was so much blood, but she needed to know how much Claire had watched. A sickening taste filled Anna's mouth and she forced the acid back down her throat while she gazed at the screen. It was horrifying and watching the killing and suffering like this...it was almost indescribable. She couldn't believe that Claire had made it this far. Then it came to the center of the field, a part that Anna had never witnessed because they stayed close to the wall as Killian directed that day.
In the middle she watched as the unmistakable figure of Killian bludgeoned many men to their death and then turned to break a child's neck. It was with such force that she could see the neck stretch slightly and then the head begin to disconnect from the body. Finally it notified her that Claire had gotten no further. Anna stopped the video there and she closed her eyes. There was no relief from the images in her mind. There were several other files that contained video feed and each equally disturbing in their own way. Carefully constructing a report for Star and giving her the video time clips, then sent the message with the instructions not to watch or read before bed. Reading about it was one thing. Seeing it was another and it brought all the horrifying details to life.
One of the last clips had showed Killian leaving the game. Escorted out with blood dripping from his body. He wiped what he could off his face with equally bloodied hands and then went to his cage to sit. His eyes almost completely lifeless.
Just to be sure that Claire didn't watch anything further Anna put tags on all of the information so she could inform Star if there was anything further they should be aware of Claire watching or reading. Anna put her pad away in the drawer and left the notifications on if there was going to be any other activity from Claire that indicated she was searching deeper. That night there wasn't anymore looking into the files for which Anna was grateful, but she couldn't sleep. Waking up frequently she would be pouring sweat and then she would wipe her face.
Reaching over she carefully squeezed Kato's hand. "Its not pain baby. I just have bad dreams is all." Eventually they faded into twisted horrific images and she couldn't quite imagine how she was going to tell Kato what had happened. She couldn't tell him what Claire had gotten into. No doubt Star was going to be having issues as well and Claire needed help. At least Star knew what was going on now.