Chapter 17

Later that day, Doc is mixing up a new batch of rolls as they are running low. He has a holo playing from a projector near the main counter. He has a ritual playing so he can learn while he bakes. So far, he has seen nothing he can't do. He is working when Adair comes in, looking for him. They see the ritual playing and stops to watch it.

"How is it going?" They nod to the holo Doc is watching.

"Well, seems pretty straightforward, and I've seen it quite a few times too, so it's not that bad. And luckily for me, Brigit is doing the actual work. So yeah. I think I'll be fine." He continues mixing. "What's up?"

"What, I can't just spend time with you?" Adair answers with a smile, and Doc stops mixing.

"You want to spend time with me?" He asks in what is an uncharacteristically small voice for someone in such a large frame.

"Yeah, you noop." They answer by tossing a previously made and rolled out ball of dough that will soon be a roll at Doc. "That is if you want to spend time with me..."

"Of course I do!" He looks down, blushing, even though his dark skin doesn't show it. "I just, well, I've never been with someone who isn't.."

Adair interrupts, "someone who isn't a man or a woman?"

He looks up and made very intense eye contact, and it feels to both of them as if an energy connects his brown eyes to their deep blues. "No, I was going to say black."

Now it is Adair's turn to blush. It spreads from their blonde hair and disappears down their shirt. "Oh. Yeah, that's not a problem for me. We're taught from an early age in the Blessed Accord to respect and care for the human no matter who they are."

They walk around, entering the kitchen proper and sidles up to Doc, who, having finished mixing rolls, sets the bowl down on the counter. "What about you? How were you raised?" By now, they are right next to Doc, thighs touching as he looks down at Adair.

"Well. Where I'm from, they teach us to take what we want." He reaches down with both of his large, strong hands and lifts Adair to the floured counter and presses against them, his hands sliding up their back and with one hand on their lower back and one slipping into their hair, he continues, "And so." Losing himself inch by inch as his face gets closer to theirs, his brown eyes question, seeking permission. Finally, as he registers the slight nod, his thick lips engulf Adairs, and in that moment, for both of them, time seems to stop.

#

A few days later, Brigit sits on the couch. She has finished the ritual and is going over the finer points with Tyche. It surprised her at how quickly she has accepted that Tyche is a, well, a person. Brigit usually goes over this stuff with Adair, but they have been busy with Doc lately. And while she misses her friend, it thrills her they seemed to have found someone with whom they click.

"So I thought since you are, well, since you are a -you- now. I think I'm going to give you duties."

Tyche says with a laugh, "You mean besides monitoring every system on the ship and waiting to help crewmates as they need?"

Brigit smiles and leans back, stretching. "Yeah, besides that. If I can trust you to monitor things while we're in ritual, which of course I can, we don't need to have anyone on the bridge, and then everyone can take part."

Before Tyche can object, she says with a start, "Nettles! You're an 'everyone.' I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply."

"It's okay. Everyone will take time to get used to it, even me. That being said, I thought on Blessed Accord ships that job fell to the Greenman? I wouldn't mind being Greenman in the ritual as it is fitting since the Greenman's job is to keep off all cowans and eavesdroppers and to protect those in the circle. But shouldn't you talk to Cali first?"

"Hmm, you make a good point." Brigit closes her eyes and thinks. "What would you recommend?"

There is a series of very faint popping sounds that Brigit has learned meant that Tyche is thinking. It is the AI's version of 'um'. She waits.

"I think if you explain it to Cali, she'll understand. My first thinking was that she could still be Greenman, and I could play a part." Tyche takes a moment before saying, "But then I realized that it would be too much. You are already changing so much with your ritual. You don't need an AI that wants to be spiritual in the mix." They drop that thought and move on like nothing happened, "So I'll play Greenman and make sure the exterior of the ritual is secure. And I'll monitor for anything that might interfere."

Brigit decides she will unpack that little nugget later. But, for now, she has to do this ritual. She wants it to go off without a hitch. "Okay, I'll ask Cali, where is she right now?"

"She's in the workout bay, climbing by herself," Tyche replies. They watch as Brigit leaps up, and right before Brigit gets through the door, they call out, "Wait! I was kidding."

Before Brigit knows what she is doing, she shakes her fist in the air like she is some 140-year-old yelling at kids in her mushroom patch. "Why you..! Where is she really?"

Tyche chuckles a little before saying. "She is talking to Rory in the tech bay. That is what I have taken to calling the little nook where they build things. Sorry, I know it was mean, but. Well, it was also funny.."

Brigit can't help but smile. It was funny. She shakes her head in astonishment as she walks out the door.

#

"See if you wire it like so. You can string together a longer string of lights." Rory says to Cali as they both look up as the Captain's approaches.

"Hey cap, what's up?" Rory asks.

"I need to talk to Cali. Would you mind giving us a moment, Rory? It's nothing big, but, well, I'd like a moment."

"No problem, cap." Rory heads towards the kitchen and says over her shoulder. "Find me in the lounge, food, I need, hunger I am."

Brigit leans against the workbench, oblivious to how her ship suit is showing off her thighs, and Cali tries not to look, but she's weak. She blinks, looks up, catches Brigit staring at her cleavage, smiling before slipping over to the workbench, gracefully weaving her way around parts and part bins. "Okay, out with it. What's got you so bothered? Or should I say who?" Cali easily flirts.

Brigit blushes. "No, it's not like that, um, not that, never mind. It's the ritual. I know you really enjoy doing the Greenman part, but I wondered if you wouldn't mind doing the Maiden part. As you know, you would essentially be my assistant in the ritual. Technically, we don't really need it, but I kinda like it. So Tyche is going to perform the job of the Greenman."

"That's interesting. This ritual is going to have several firsts, isn't it?" Cali asks, not needing an answer. "Yeah, that's okay. At some point, I was going to have to come inside the circle, anyway. So it might as well be now. And really, what better Greenman could you ask for than the entire ship? No cowans will sneak up on us!" Cali says with a smile.

"So, since I'll be doing the role of Maiden, is there anything-" she slides closer, their thighs touching, sparking electricity. She leans in and whispers, "-anything at all that the High Priestess needs her Maiden to do for her?"

Brigit gulps, and then shakes her head, blushing bright red.

"It's not like that! You know that's not what it's about!" She smacks Cali's shoulder but didn't bother moving away.

"I know, but it's fun to make you blush." Cali presses a little harder against Brigit before standing up and walking away. She gets around the corner, and then Brigit notices her hands on the corner of the wall, followed by her head peeking around. Cali's sparkling green eyes shine as she says before disappearing back down the hallway, "It's cute."

#

The crew quickly grows accustomed to the humourous, friendly voice of the ship's AI, Tyche. However, at the moment, she has a solemn, matter-of-fact tone. "The area is clear--no cowans in the vicinity. The ritual may begin. I will not desert my station." Tyche read and watched lots of rituals and put that together themself. They rather like it.

A multi-layered dress of blues and whites adorns Brigit, making her appear as if she is floating in the clouds. Her brown hair is braided and wound around her head like a crown. She looks both nervous and full of anticipation. She nods to Cali to continue. Cali, wearing a long voluminous flowing white gown with a slight train, seems to flow into The Grove. Her grace catches everyone's eyes as she disappears into The Grove to cleanse it for them.

While they all wait, Brigit looks around, making sure everyone is ready. She looks over at Doc. He looks splendid in his simple robe, which shows off his impressive chest. He looks a little embarrassed to be showing bits of himself, but Brigit can see that Adair doesn't mind. She keeps catching them glancing over at Doc and looking him up and down, clearly undressing him with their eyes. Brigit teases them. "You gonna make it through the ritual before jumping him?"

Adair looks between Brigit and Doc. "I don't know, cap, I don't know." They laugh. "Just be glad we're not doing this, Skyclad. I'm pretty sure that not only would Doc and I not make it through the ritual, but you and Cali also wouldn't either," they tease right back.

Brigit blushes and continues her survey. She looks at Rory, who looks like she fits the part of the scribe perfectly. A person could theoretically wear what they wanted for the part of the scribe, and Rory has elected to go with a plain brown robe with a hood that hangs down behind her shaved head. The tattoos are even more striking next to the simple robe. She is holding her old-fashioned pad of paper and fountain pen.

And finally, Adair will be the one to lead the ritual. They have elected to wear a superbly dark robe. Adair has the hood up, and it is a deep hood. They must have worked together with Rory and Tyche to adjust ship lighting because no matter where they move, it shrouds their face in shadow in such a way that their face remains hidden.

Cali calls from within, "The Grove is cleansed. All who wish to work are welcome to enter."

Adair answers from within their dark robe. "We will cast the circle momentarily. Please make your way inside so as not to break the circle. For once we are in, the circle will be unbroken." They giggle from within the hood, which, given the theatrics, is kinda creepy, "Last chance to use the bathroom, folks."

And with that, they walk in, the dark robe causing light to shift around them as they make their way to the altar. Adair picks up the Athame as the rest make their way in and around the ship tree. Finally, Tyche announced, "shutting door and monitoring environs for cowans."

The grove looks positively magical as Brigit enters, the last one to do so. The lights are almost off except for a facsimile of the sky on the ceiling with a faint glow and star points of light. When Cali came in to cleanse, she set up the altar and set out the candles. There are four around the Ship Tree, the glow of which does a fantastic job of lighting up the trunk and the lower leaves. Darkness combines with flickering light to cast great shadows against the tapestries to make it look like the woods and figures have come to life. The other four candles are at the diagonal points from the cardinal points of the four inner candles. The candles and the ceiling glow provide enough light to see. Most of them have memorized their lines, but she allows tablets if any of them get stuck.

When they are all in, Adair announces, their voice clear and loud from within the folds of the hood, "We are all gathered here on the cross quarters to do work. We have agreed beforehand on what that work will be. But first, we invoke the elements."

Adair walks over to the right side of the ship. The place they have designated as 'east'. "I call on the spirit of Air to cut through the fog of self-deception so that our work can be honest and beneficial," they draw a figure in the air, then cross their arms in front of themselves, the Athame pointed at the floor, and the hood bowed in prayer for a few moments.

Adair walks to the back of The Grove, to the door they came in. They raise their arms again, pointing the Athame, "I call on the spirit of Fire to give us the passion for the work and the energy to send forth our thoughts to the universe." They make another pattern before again bowing for a few moments.

Then they walk to the west, raising the Athame, "I call upon the spirit of Water to teach us compassion, to lend the full force of our feelings to our work tonight." Then, after completing another symbol and prayer, they move to the north.

This time, Adair doesn't go all the way to the 'north'. Instead, they stand on the north side of the tree, and with one toe in the dirt, they extend their body, pointing the Athame to the north, parallel to the ground, their other arm raised to connect above and below. "Last but not least, I call upon the spirit of Earth to help us ground our energies, the work we do today, and ourselves. Keep our feet on the ground while we soar through the sky."

This time, the moment for prayer that Adair performs is a little longer, and then they speak. "I have called the spirits here today to aid us in our work, and the first evidence of this aid will be the raising of the circle. Everyone, please stand around the Ship Tree; make sure your feet are in the dirt. Ground-and-Center. When you have grounded and centered, take your neighbor's hand. For our circle, like all of our work, begins with us."

They all close their eyes and arrange themselves around the Ship Tree, toes playing in the dirt. After a while, the room is silent, with just the faint sound of the ventilation able to be heard as it moves the air, creating flickers from the candles and adding to the ambiance.

They are all holding hands except for Adair, who is walking around the outside of them, seeming to cut the air with the Athame, while they recite, "I have summoned the Air. I have summoned the Fire. I have summoned the Water. And I have summoned the Earth. The elements will follow me around this circle. You will draw on your Ground-and-Centering and send your energy to me and the Elements. We will bind the circle and create a safe space. A space where we can work energy and miracles can be made manifest."

Adair says this three times as they walk the circle. They can feel the energy flowing from the others into them and out. The odd thing, something they haven't felt before, is when it leaves their body, it is ordered into the particular element. They can see it forming into a fiery strand, a watery strand, a rocky strand, and a smokey strand. Those strands braid together, spinning more and more and more rapidly. Finally, Adair flings the Athame out on the third revolution, and the circle launches to the walls and sticks there. It bounds them and their energy into a safe bubble.

Adair walks to the altar, sets the Athame down, and walks backwards to the tree. They sit with their legs crossed, back to the tree trunk, and watch the High Priest and High Priestess call the Gods down.

Brigit walks forward, appearing to be riding clouds, and turns to address both the room and Somewhere else. She holds the cornucopia and recites the Charge of the Goddess, "If you seek to find me, know that seeking will come to naught if you don't seek within yourself, for if you do not find me within yourself, you will never find me. For I have been with you from the beginning, and I am that which is attained at the end of desire."

After she finishes the Charge, the group is sufficiently feeling the energy, and she was feeling more attuned to Deity. She calls on the specific Goddess for this ship's coven, "I call on you, Tyche. Join us. Please aid us in the work that we will do tonight. We know that your luck is with us and seek your good fortune." When she finishes, she walks over to the wall and turns her back to the wall, facing the Ship Tree and the group of them, her blue-green eyes seeming to stare into the distance.

Doc takes this hint to step forward. He raises his hands - he doesn't have to do this, but it has always helped him visualize what he's doing. He recites the Charge of the God while they all watch. As he finishes, Adair looks on proudly, as Doc has studied for some time to make sure he wouldn't have to cheat with his tablet. "Seek me with pride and humility, but seek me best of all with love and strength, for this is my path. Walk it with purpose and dance boldly. Hear my call on long nights, and we shall stand together as one."

Not even thinking about why he does what he does, Doc walks over to the wall across the altar from Brigit and stands similarly.

Almost as soon as Doc finishes and stands against the wall, Brigit steps forward, and when she speaks, her voice has a depth to it that is not usually there, like it is coming from Elsewhere. "Greetings, all of you. It has been some time since someone has called Me to visit like this." She looks around, seeing both inside and outside the ship, and then she turns and saw Doc. "Oh! Agathodaemon. It's been so long since they've called both of Us together!" She floats over, and while it was an illusion with the dress like clouds before, this time, she did float, just above the ground. Rory subtly slips her cheat-tablet out to check the gravity and sighs when it is fine.

Doc turns at the voice and sighed a happy sigh. "My love!" He holds open his massive arms, and Brigit/Tyche enters them, and he envelopes her. As they watch, jealousy strikes Adair. Not that Doc is hugging Brigit because they knew it isn't Doc or Brigit right now, but at the fact that he gets to experience the god being him firsthand.

"My love, it's been too long." He pushes a strand of hair away, and that's when he notices the others watching.

"We have an audience." She turns to address the room. "You were about to start Work, correct?"

Adair steps forward, "Yes, Goddess. The principal work that we want to accomplish as the veil is thinner right now is that Electra seems to have chosen one of our crew, and he would like to ask her what she needs from him."

Brigit/Tyche furrows her brow. "Well, isn't this a predicament? Agathodaemon would have to leave for Doc to talk to Electra." Adair doesn't have time to be astonished that, of course, Tyche knew which of them wants to talk to Electra because Adair knows how this can work. And as soon as they think it, Brigit/Tyche turns and says, "Ooh, good idea!"

Everyone else looks confused and ultimately would have to have it explained later, as currently they watch as Doc shakes for a moment like he got a full-body shiver, and Adair stiffens. Their voice took on those same otherworldly characteristics that Brigit's did. "Oh wow, it's been so long since someone has invited Me into a mi dyadikó." They turn and look to Brigit/Tyche. "Come on, my love, they have work to do."

They release Brigit, and Adair sits down on the dirt next to the tree, a little rough. "Wow, it's very full in here. Haven't done that in a while." says a voice that is like Adairs, but not like Adair's, like the voice that came from Brigit, but not like that voice and like the voice that came from Doc, but not like that voice.

"Shh, my love, let them work." Adair/Tyche/Agathodaemon says.

Almost at the same time that they say that, Brigit stands up straight, and her eyes crackle with lightning, and when she speaks, there is a raw power behind her voice as she talks to Doc. "Caleb. You are wondering why I chose you. And yes, I chose you. Tyche has assured me you will be very useful to me. It is very fortunate. And also, my follower likes you very much. It seems like you are finding that out."

Adair would blush if they weren't busy containing two deities at the moment.

She continues, "There is trouble coming to your planet. You will help to prevent that trouble. And when all is said and done, the Blessed Accord may well have five planets. That is NOT the goal." Lightning sparks out of her mouth at the word 'not', "but should it happen, that would be a good thing."

She closes her eyes for a moment, as if thinking. When she opens her eyes, she rattles off a list of demands of Doc. Rory furiously writes in the corner, her usually boring job eventful today.

"This is my charge to you. Continue learning. Continue loving. When you can intercede on your planet's behalf, do so. When you can send messages home, do so. I want them to know how well you are doing and how much the old gods can help them. I have taken enough of your time today." Brigit/Electra glides over to Doc and gracefully extends arms, hands, and fingers in a twirling motion. She takes the medallion, lifts it to her lips and kisses it. There is an audible zap of energy, and she tucks it back into his shirt. "Keep that close."

Suddenly Brigit is standing there near Doc. She blinks, and before she can do anything, Adair slump as both deities leave their body and both Brigit and Doc straighten up. "Well, my love, it is time we must be away. But," Doc/Agathodaemon look at the rest of the crew, "I think we'll be back before too long."

Brigit/Tyche addresses the crew. "Be mindful of what Electra charged Caleb. He will need you all to support him. Until next time."

And then they are alone. The crew can all feel the - not absence - but decrease in substance in the room after Deity had left.

Adair sits up and yawns. "Let's close. I need to sleep for days. We'll talk about what happened later." They look at Doc and Brigit, who are still hugging. "Well, at least you don't have to worry about releasing the God and Goddess."

At Adair's words, Doc and Brigit realize where they are. "Oh, heh." Brigit smiles and hugs Doc and whispers, "Good job today."

Doc and Brigit take their places, and Adair takes the Athame from the altar and heads to the north. "Thank you, spirit of Earth. I release you." To the west, "Thank you, spirit of Water. I release you." To the south, "Thank you, spirit of Fire. I release you." To the east, "Thank you, spirit of Air. I release you."

Adair sets the Athame down and walks deosil three times, undoing the circle. When they finish, they head to the altar and addresses them all with the traditional words: "The circle is open but never broken. May we merry meet and merry part and merry meet again."

With that, Tyche - the ship - brings up the lights. Not full-on, but about 30%. "You all clean up, please. I'm spent. I need sleep." Adair says as they shuffle out, so low on energy and lost in thought, processing what had just happened that they almost forget their ship shoes.

"Same goes for me, and probably Doc here too." Brigit heads for the door, followed by Doc.

"No problem, we got this," Rory says, as she is already extinguishing candles.