Grummian Maintenance Thread (Closed)

[Northrop-Grumman]

This thread is intended to serve as a repository of various single posts or short stories that I find myself inspired to write. It will tie up loose ends from historic threads of mine, explore Grummian history I’ve only hinted about in passing, or just be little snippets of life from particular characters.

I’ll add an index here once there’s a few more posts.

Also, no one else should be posting here, so please reach out to me in a TG if you have a question about anything.

[Northrop-Grumman]

This story is only intended to be a short story, probably no more than 4 posts, and is a continuation of this other thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=478530

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Slender fingers deftly twisted the elf’s golden hair into a bun, ensuring that it could not be as easily grabbable by an adversary. Her revolvers and “modern” clothes had been stored away inside the trunk at the end of her bed. She was back in her homeland now – a comparatively primitive society on another planet in a backwater part of the galaxy. This meant that she had to look the part to blend in. No mass-produced clothing with synthetics, no gadgets, nothing that would draw anyone’s attention to her. That meant going back to basics, to what she lived with for most of her life. And she was ok with that.

Siri started lacing up her boots when her pointed ears picked up metal scraping against metal as her home’s front door unlocked and creaked open, followed by the sound of meandering footsteps and idle whistling in that other room. Siri’s lips curled up in amusement as those same feet approached her bedroom door.

The door swung open, and an ‘older’ human woman stepped through, thumbing through some paper documents. Their eyes briefly met. The other woman’s widened, caught off-guard by an unexpected person in this house and stumbled back from where she came. A crash sounded as chairs toppled over and a decorative bowl slid off of the dining table.

The elf peeked her head out through the doorway and saw the woman sitting on the floor, furniture a mess around her and her fingers running through brown, yet greying, curly hair. “Siri!” she exclaimed, still in a daze. “I…didn’t expect you to be here! You normally let me know when you’re coming by!”’

“It was sudden,” Siri answered, helping the woman up, who already started fussing about the state of the place. “I hadn’t had a chance to.”

“Are you staying here long? Are you just stopping by? What’s going on?” came the rapid-fire questions.

Siri shrugged. “I’m going to be hanging around for a while. It’s a vacation for me, I guess you could say.”

“Oh! I wish I could’ve known. I didn’t get a chance to go to the market…and now, I’ve made such a mess!”

Siri shrugged again and waved it all off. “It’s fine. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure I can manage.” She reassured the woman and embraced her. “It’s good to see you, Shelley.”

While Siri tended to be off-world for the vast majority of the time, her old home and belongings mostly stayed behind, but leaving them for such long periods would have invited decay or theft. So her friend volunteered to regularly check up on the place, make sure that no one had broken in – though the protection spell should have made that more difficult – or whether regular upkeep was needed. Naturally, Siri ensured that Shelley was well-compensated for it and reimbursed for any necessary expenses, like taxes, repairs, and the like.

“The same with you.” Shelley wrapped her arms around Siri and squeezed her tightly. “Sarusa told me about Jack. I’m really, really sorry for your loss. He was a good man.”

“Thank you,” Siri responded, pulling herself back. That topic still tended to cause pain for her. It was gradually improving but it was never something she liked to discuss all that much. “’I trust your family is doing well?”

“Oh yes, Oliver is still working as a butcher. Long days, certainly, but he still likes doing it and it keeps him busy…and out of trouble. Why, he came down with a sickness few years ago and needed to be on bedrest for a week and we were both driving each other crazy!” She shook her head. “And our grandson, Marcus, I don’t think you’ve ever met him. Well, he helps my husband here and there. It’s good to have the help. But oh, he’s getting to be a bit much sometimes.”

“Oh? How so?” Siri cocked her head.

Shelley frowned with worry. “He and a bunch of his friends have taken to playing pranks. It started out harmless enough between the three of them, but then they kept going further with it, and they’ve been messing with strangers out on the main road, getting them all riled up. There’ve been complaints made to the town guard, and they’ve talked to them, but it doesn’t seem to have stuck. I think they’re bored with being around here.”

“I see.” Siri nodded thoughtfully and then shrugged. “I suppose it could be worse. They could be out there robbing people blind, or doing weird sacrifices, and the sort.”

She then noticed that Shelley was looking increasingly uneasy and realized that she really needed to change the direction of this conversation. “Sorry…that’s not helping. I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure it’ll all work out somehow. Look, you know, maybe I do need your help. I haven’t been around in a while and could use someone to reacclimate me to the won. Are you free this morning?”

Shelley’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Oh yes!”

⁂

As the sun settled beyond the horizon, twilight blanketed the forest, casting the land in gradually dimming light. The trees appeared as silhouettes, the detail of their individual leaves and bark disappearing into shadow. Amongst them, three older teenagers – two human and one elf – waited behind a cluster of bushes alongside the main road leading out of their little town.

“Are you sure you got this?” asked Marcus impatiently. “You’re not going to, like, almost burn down the forest again, right?”

Opening an eye, Kelton sighed deeply and shook his head. “I’m not! It’s just an illusion! There’s no fire in this whatsoever! It’ll be fine! I just have to have no distractions!”

The elf, Halrion, rolled his eyes and whispered between clenched teeth. “’Would you two just shut up? Someone will hear us.” He peeked over a bush and noticed a small light appearing in the distance. “Like him. Someone is coming, so get ready.”

A solitary person about six feet tall made their way slowly up the road towards the three. All facial features were shrouded by a hood, and the individual carried a staff with a lantern hanging from the end, swinging with every step. They were otherwise unremarkable and unrecognizable, no real accoutrements other than a simple belt and a satchel of belongings. Upon nearing the teenagers, the person’s head jerked suddenly to the right, hearing something moving in the shadows.

A vast serpent, eighteen feet long and at least a foot wide, slithered out from some shrubs. The hooded figure fearfully screamed, started taking some steps backward, and tripped up their own feet. The person screamed yet again, and they hit the ground hard.

The initial amusement amongst the teenagers started fading when the person did not move or make a sound after a few moments. They stepped out from behind the bushes warily and gradually approached the person, not sure of what all to do. Did…we just kill someone? Kelton thought worryingly.

“Mister, are you ok?” Marcus asked.

The person groaned, their arms and legs shifting around beneath their robes, as they attempted to get back up on their feet.

Halrion couldn’t think of what else to do and thought to try to defuse the situation if this person arose angry. “We apologize. It was just a prank.”

The figure stood, turning towards the teenagers. Dark, clawed hands pulled the hood back, revealing glowing red lights buried within the otherwise empty eye sockets, pointed ears, and two horns jutting from both sides of its skull. What available space was taken up by an assortment of varying sized mouths of sharp fangs. Another set of arms with the same type of claws reached out from the sides of its robes.

A deep, growling, otherworldly voice emanated from the motionless mouths. “You!”

The three teenagers’ eyes widened, their faces paled, as the realization sunk in that they had made a very poor choice this evening. They appeared like they were screaming their lungs out but no sound left their lips. All they could do is race off together into the forest behind them. Immediately, the creature dropped onto all six of its legs and darted off after them.

Marcus kept turning his head as he ran, trying to keep ahead of this thing that was chasing them. As he did so, he did not pay attention to where the others were and started veering off in a different direction. But the creature kept after Kelton and Halrion. They, however, were not used to running this much and this fast as the fear pushed them harder and harder. The pair also kept looking behind them as this thing kept pace. With the darkness deepening and their attention not on where they were stepping, Kelton’s foot landed awkwardly on a rock, twisting his ankle, and sending him tumbling into Halrion.

As they lay upon the ground, the pair realized that they were caught and huddled together, shaking. Fearful of what this thing might do to them. The creature slowed to a walk, circled them once, its glowing eyes just staring at them. It then approached and brought its head close to the two. Close enough that they could feel humid, putrid breath against their faces.

“P-please…don’t…” Halrion squeaked.

The creature tilted its head and then released a deep rumbling laugh. It raised one of its claws and flicked both of their noses in succession.

“It’s only a prank,” it replied.

Before their eyes, the creature appeared to melt, turning into some sort of black sludge, and disappeared into the darkness.

⁂

A considerable distance away, Marcus slumped down against a tree, his heart pounding like it would eject itself from his chest. He glanced behind him on either side of the tree, seeing nothing but the outline of the forest beyond, and took deep, steadying breaths. I hope they’re ok. No screams or any other unnatural sounds could be heard from where he sat, only the light wind rustling through the leaves.

“Splitting off from your friends was risky and could have been rewarding,” a feminine voice came from above. He barely had a chance to look up, when an elf dropped lithely, catching and swinging from each branch to the next as she made her way down, and then hit the forest floor in a crouch. She stood and conjured a hovering orb of glowing light, so they could more clearly see one another.

“Of course, you did run deeper into the woods, instead of heading back into town. That was a mistake,” Siri remarked, ever the critic. “Your other unwise choice was forgetting that ground-level is not the only direction you can be attacked from.”

“Who are you?” the boy asked uncomfortably, eyes darting back and forth to see if he could somehow get away from this strange woman. “Did you see that…thing out there? It attacked me and my friends.”

She tilted her head, considering his first briefly and then completely ignoring it in favor of his second. “Oh, that? They’re perfectly fine…well, I’m sure they won’t be sleeping for a few weeks…” She paused. Or months, maybe. “But they’ll be fine.”

The implication of Siri’s words caused Marcus to press himself back against the tree, as he started to push himself back up onto his feet. “Uh…that…creature was…yours?”

“You could say that.”

“W-what was that…thing?”

Siri took a step forward, causing Marcus to flinch. “A lesson. It’s one thing to play these sorts of pranks amongst friends and family, people you know and people who know you. It’s another to wrap innocent bystanders up in this. What did they do to deserve this?” she demanded. “Besides, you all should be thinking about yourselves. You’re lucky you did not do that to someone who actually wanted to hurt you.”

He looked down ashamed; it felt like he was being scolded by his mother. “I’m sorry…”

“Mmhmm. It’s not so fun being on the other side. Now, is it?”

“No…it’s not,” he admitted.

That was enough of a lecture for one night. She had made her point in multiple ways and there was no need to belabor it. Besides, it was getting ever darker out here. “I trust you will be able to find your way out, or do I have to escort you?”

“N-no, I’ll be fine. The road is over that way.” He shook his head, gesturing behind him, and Siri nodded, glad that, at least, he knew which way to go. Of course, she wasn’t going to just let him wander off without keeping an eye him, making sure that he did get home, but she did not see a need to state such.

“Very well. Stay out of trouble, please. If I ever catch you all out here again…” she said, leaving the consequences unsaid.

With merely a thought, the glowing orb fizzled out, returning the surroundings to darkness. As Siri walked past him, Marcus could almost swear that he caught a glimpse of those glowing red eyes.

[Northrop-Grumman]

Siri had never been a devout follower of a mortal, much less any supernatural being. That did not mean that she believed that gods did not exist; there was certainly proof that they did. But just having that sort of power did not inherently make them worthy of her worship. As a child, she attended the temple with her family as one did, unconsciously going through the motions, not being all that aware of the doctrine of her parents’ faith. It was just a ritual that one did. But after her parents’ untimely death and the chaos that unfolded in the aftermath, her attendance faded. Sure, she kept it going for a little while, but after lapses of a week or two here and there, leading to a month or two of not going, and then years. Eventually, she stepped attending all together. It wasn’t as if she had lost the faith; it was never there to begin with.

The elf managed to avoid religion over the centuries, until she found herself marrying an off-world human and being thrust into the role of a co-leader of a nation that was still heavily religious, on a form that she had never experienced – Christianity. Still, this exposure never converted her to a believer, and she doubted it or any other one would. But as leader, she found herself invited to services from village churches with only a couple dozen worshipers to metropolitan cathedrals with thousands. She had a respect for what they did, witnessing the good that they could impart to the community and brining comfort to those in trying times. Of course, with that came the extreme, fanatical elements, those that attempted to plunge the country into a civil war over their fervent beliefs. One might think that’d sour her on the topic and radicalize her against religion, but she realized that this is who people were. If it wasn’t a religion, it’d be countries. If it wasn’t that, it would be race or species. People would do remarkably shitty things for the loosest of justifications. If you eradicated religion from the universe, people would still find a way to otherize and kill each other.

Beyond all that, she found incredible difficulty in placing herself as subservient to another being in this matter, giving up free will and bowing down, literally or not, to someone else. One of the things she had learned over a lifetime was that divine intervention was sporadic, erratic, and what you wanted did not necessarily align with the grand plan. Because of that, she learned you could only truly rely on one’s self. The gods would not help you or they would not help you without exacting a certain price. Besides, she hated being told something was fate or prophesy because someone wrote some vague saying or parable thousands of years ago. What utter nonsense!

These ponderings returned to the deepest recesses of her mind when her absentmindedly wandering eyes noticed someone leaving the temple. She pushed herself off of the stone outer wall of the building’s complex and waved to them. “Sarusa!” she called out with a smile.

Another elf, remarkably similar in appearance to her older sister, immediately stopped in her tracks and came running over. “Siri!” The two readily hugged each other. “I didn’t expect to see you! What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I’ve been wanting to get away from everything for a while, so I figured I’d take a vacation.”

Sarusa quickly examined her sister. “You do look tired.”

“Yeah, I feel it…” Siri answered with an exhausted nod. “It’s been a while since I’ve gotten away from all that. After the funeral, Arielle’s death, and Alak being in the hospital, I’ve never really stopped. Just been going and going.”

“Well, you deserve some time away. It’s about time you started looking after yourself.” Sarusa paused. “How is Alak, by the way?”

Siri gave an exasperated sigh. “He’s handling it from what I can tell. He misses her, really misses her, and it doesn’t help that they were deep in planning their wedding before that mess happened. So, he keeps getting ads and other crap related to that being sent to him. I can intercept most of it, but unfortunately not all of it. He’s at least talking about it though, not bottling it up, which is progress. And we’re talking more in general, too.”

Her sister put an arm around her shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. “I’m sure he’ll pull through. He’s a good kid.”

“That he is.” Siri smiled. “What about you? How’s the healing thing going?”

Sarusa likewise sighed. “I’m never not busy, which is both fortunate and unfortunate, if you think about. The temple is starting up a sponsorship to pay for those who don’t readily have access to care. I’ve signed up to help. We’re going to be sent out into more of the remote areas. There’s people out there with all sorts of maladies who are to far to get treatment.”

“That’s awfully generous,” Siri remarked. “How long will you be out there?”

“They’re saying about 6 to 8 months. Some of these places really are remote, after all.”

Siri nodded and the two bantered while they walked, catching up on everything that had happened since the last time they were together. Cavernous streets within the temple district, with enormous stone buildings rising up on either side of the roadway, gave way to the shorter, residential buildings on the city’s outer edges, which then faded away beyond its defensive walls.

Amidst rolling hills, an old tired, unpainted house perched upon a hill. Surrounding it was a small wooden fence and an assortment of outbuildings for managing a small farm. It was here at this fence that Siri would stop when walking her sister home in the past. She never dared to venture beyond it, which Sarusa always accepted. The two would say their goodbyes, and the older sister would leave. But as the pair approached the fence, Sarusa noticed that Siri’s chattiness had tapered off and became nonresponsive or give one-word answers. And when she said goodbye, Siri did not answer.

Sarusa turned to find the older elf frozen at the gate, palms resting upon the flat pickets, and staring off at the looming home. She seemed lost in thought, no longer really listening to anything around her. Sarusa placed a hand on the other’s shoulder. “Siri? Are you alright?”

Siri blinked once, then her eyes met her sister’s. “I want to talk to them.” She sighed, nodding towards the house.

Now, it was Sarusa’s turn to freeze. Never had her sister ever expressed a desire to do this. Never had she even asked about the people who lived there. “You…do? Are you sure?”

“No, I’m not sure, but I need to talk to them. Please.” Concern washed over Sarusa’s face as she considered why her sister would even ask for such a thing. What was wrong? Did something happen? Did Siri have some sort of terminal illness? What was going on? Siri immediately picked up on her sister’s worry and shook her head. “I’m not sick, and I’m not dying,” she stressed.

“Alright…” Those worrying eyes watched as Siri unlatched the gate and stepped through onto the property, following along. As the two approached the house, Sarusa remarked, “You know, you can come in…if you want.”

Siri glanced up towards the front door, the one that she stormed out so long ago. The fact that she had gotten even this close to this place was shocking to her, but pushing it further wasn’t an option. Her stomach was already twisted in knots. “No, no.” Then came a head shake. “I…can’t. It’s best that I don’t.”

Sarusa didn’t say anything further, simply nodded, and headed into the house. Meanwhile, Siri stepped up onto the wraparound porch and started pacing it uneasily. Her mind raced. What am I doing here!? Are they even going to want to see me? I wouldn’t blame them for not wanting to. I wouldn’t blame them for yelling at me to get off their land. What am I doing? Can I even do it? Ugh, why am I like this?

She uneasily sat down in an old rocking chair and the memories came flooding back in – the screaming, smashing things, the anger and rage, the emotional instability of an immature, grief-stricken young girl. All things that had plagued her those many years ago and weighed heavily on her mind. She crossed her arms across her chest and clutched both forearms, trying to keep herself together.

The screen door’s springs creaked open towards the opposite end of the porch as an older couple stepped out – a pair of elves about the same height. The husband, Vierath, looked out towards Siri with an expression of utter confusion, while the wife, Nalaeya, beside him furrowed her brow with concern.

“Siri?” Vierath said gently. “This is a surprise.”

Siri rose from her seat and stepped forward. She could see them subtly tense when she came closer, but there was little she could do about that. What she could deal with was someone peeping in on this situation. “Sis, I know you’re listening, so you might as well come out, too.”

The younger elf sheepishly stepped out from behind the screen door too and settled into a position between her sister and the couple.

“I…” Siri froze up, looking away. Why is this so damned hard?! Seriously, I’ve faced death. I’ve had the eyes of billions on me. Why do I have so much difficulty with saying this?! She rubbed her face in frustration and grumbled under her breath, feeling everyone staring at her. This was never going to be easy, and she could not stand the awkward silence, so she just said it. “I’m sorry.”

That admission was enough ease her into continuing. “Nothing I say can take away the hurt I’ve caused you both. I’ve said…and did…really awful things to you, things I can’t take back no matter how hard I want to. You don’t deserve the pain and anguish I’ve caused. You never did.

“Our parents entrusted you with our care after they died. And…instead of being grateful that we had someone who loved us as their own and gave us a roof over our heads and food to eat, I lashed out. I thought that you were trying to replace them, and when Sarusa started calling you mom and dad and you accepted it.…to me, it felt like their memory was being wiped away, like they never even existed.

“I was wrong. I was so very wrong. I’ve seen how my sister has turned out; and I’m proud of who she’s become. It wouldn’t have ever happened if it wasn’t for you two and the love and care that you’ve shown her. I’m not asking for forgiveness; it’s not something I’m entitled to, nor is it something that I deserve. I know ultimately the words don’t mean much, but…I just wanted to let you know.”

After finishing saying everything that had been on her mind for ages, Siri respectfully bowed her head and stared making her way down the steps. There was no more that she could say, and nothing more that she could do to make a difference. Meanwhile, the couple looked at one another briefly, before Nalaeya nodded to Vierath, an unspoken understanding between the two.

“Siri,” he started softly. “It indeed hurt at the time, but Nalaeya and I both recognize that you were going through a great many things that a young girl should never have experienced. You were trying to cope with the loss of your family, and we were not as sensitive to that as we should have been. We all could have made better decisions after we lost them, but we didn’t.

“Regardless, you’re a different woman than the one that left here those many years ago. She would not have been standing before us, saying what you just did. Even more, Sarusa has told us of your life, and your parents would have been proud of you. I know talking to us is not going to be easy, but our door is always open.”

Nalaeya then spoke up. “I agree, and perhaps it is time for a fresh start. Would you care to stay for dinner?”

Siri considered it for only a brief moment and simply nodded her head, turning back towards the house.