Sara Asagiri-Stingray looked around her carefully and then the silver haired young woman crept along the hall of the complex that was hidden by the facade of the Silky Doll lingerie shop. She paused at the intersection then hurried along, counting down under her breath before bolting to a door down the hall. Slapping her hand on the switch it opened with a soft hiss and she raced inside. "Hopefully I dodged Sylia-momma's security scans," Sara murmured to herself as she walked over to the computer console, "or I'm going to be in real trouble later." A wry smile, "Though if I'm right, I'm in trouble already." As her fingers flew over the keyboard Sara thought about the series of events that had brought her here to this place and her plan to raid her parent's data base. It had begun with her increasing awareness of her own seclusion here, the lack of contact with anyone other than her parents or their friends. She had asked why, of course, but was only given vague answers that inflamed her curiosity more. Watching various entertainment vids ended up being her next clue. Sara hadn't realized that her accelerated aging was abnormal until she saw several science programs, then used the educational software her mother Sylia had provided to learn more. Aging to a physical age of 18 within four years was impossible for a human, she discovered, and that her appearance was outside the normal range of human variation. Sara was determined to learn even more, but several lock-outs installed on her personal computer blocked her despite her best efforts. Asking Priss-poppa about it seemed pointless too, it was likely her parents and their friends were all involved in keeping something from her. She had also become more aware of the level of surveillance in their home, and suspected her parents of spying on her. So, studying the security and what she could observe of her extended family's activities, she devised a plan. "Here we go," Sara murmured as the files began to come up. Clicking on Sara Asagiri-Stingray brought up a series of sub-files, including medical data, a journal by Sylia and other things. Opening the medical file Sara skimmed the facts, swiftly digesting that she was a hybrid of two humans and a boomer. She hesitated over the journal, then clicked on a random entry. "Journal 12," Sylia Stingray was sitting at her desk, her clothes a bit messy and looking visibly tired. "Sara took her very first steps today. Priss was ready to jump in to help out but our little girl managed it just fine, going from me to her with barely a stumble." She smiled wryly, "It's only been a few weeks from her birth and Sara is already developmentally a year old... but I worry that her accelerated aging could be harmful." There was a sound of a child crying and she winced, "More later." "Well, that was interesting," Sara blinked. She had been worried that her mother really was some kind of mad scientist, but instead she sounded like a doting parent. It was all kind of comforting, really. "Journal 22," Sylia Stingray looked pleasantly tired, "we let the other Knight Sabers know about Sara..." "Knight Sabers?!" Sara stopped the recording a moment, her eyes widening as she swiftly put the pieces together. Her mother, Priss, their friends... they were the Knight Sabers. It all fit, and she felt a thrill of excitement knowing she was related to two of them. "...the reactions were understandably mixed," Sylia finished as Sara continued playing the recording. "Linna and Nene were both rather annoyed that I kept Sara's existence a secret, not to mention being worried that she might be a revival of Galatea, but I think we calmed their fears," Sylia explained. Sara left the file, then looked up Galatea in her mother's files. "Her sister?" she murmured as she read, "The first boomer..." "Journal 33," Priss Asagiri looked extremely pained, her spiky brown hair falling in her eyes, "I swear I'm going to kill that kid." "Priss!" Sylia scolded as she appeared on the screen, "it's not her fault that she walked in on us and Nigel." "I've never been so embarrassed in my life," Priss groaned, running a hand through her short, spikey hair. "Tell me about it," Nigel grunted. Sara giggled, sitting in the computer chair. It HAD been pretty funny, her stumbling in through the unlocked door, Priss, Sylia and Nigel in a tangled mass on the bed all looking at her with eyes large as plates. Then they had madly scrambled for blankets and clothes while Sylia tried to hustle Sara out of there. "Journal 40," Sylia smiled, "I've brought the new boomer-hardsuits online, and as an unexpected side effect Sara's gotten some new playmates. Minerva, Silvie, Athena and Nike have developed a strong bond with the child, and she seems to enjoy having them around. I find myself with mixed feelings, however. I'm wondering, has Sara bonded with them because of her basically friendly nature, or does this have to do with some latent boomer trait?" "You and me both," Sara admitted. "Journal 44," Nigel had a unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. "I think Sara makes a better assistant than Mackie did," he shrugged then signed off. "Thank you." Sara murmured, noting that the last Journal link was just a few days ago. "Journal 50," Sylia said, looking at the camera, "Sara's reached the physical age of seventeen. Her rate of aging has slowed to near normal, and I think her mental development is equal to that..." Sara smirked, "If not better." "...if not better," Sylia finished. "She's remarkably perceptive and precocious, with a intuitive grasp of people and their inner workings. Sara also seems to be more and more self-aware, of both her situation and her unusual nature. I've resolved to reveal some of her origins, as soon as I can determine the best way broach the subject." "I'll be..." Sara murmured, tilting her silvery haired head to the side. "Continuing with the theme of difficult discussions," Sylia looked amused, "Nigel, Priss and I are debating on who gets to give the birds and the bees talk to Sara, as well as how much detail we should go into." She looked pained, "For such seemingly tough people Nigel and Priss are being remarkably chicken." Grinning, Sara had to fight back a laugh at that. In fact Priss HAD tried to explain sex to her a few days ago, in a extremely embarrassed way. "You see, when a man and a woman love each other," Priss said uncomfortably, "they sometimes want to..." "Have sex," Sara had nodded politely. "Oral, missionary or something more exotic?" she asked curiously. "Eh?" Priss had looked at her in shock. Sara shrugged as she explained, "Nigel doesn't change the access code often enough for the adult filter on the entertainment system." "And you've been watching...?" Priss asked weakly. "There was one called Susie's Sex Show that I found pretty informative," Sara admitted, "and the late night movies were entertaining." She looked up at Priss curiously and asked, "Did I do something wrong?" "No, not really," Priss sighed. "Any questions?" she asked wryly. "I think I have a pretty good grasp of the basics," Sara said agreeably, "but if I have a problem, I'll ask." "Remember," Priss said to her with a unusual degree of gentleness, "if you need anything, ask me, Sylia or Nigel." "I will," Sara promised. "Now," Priss said, "there's something else I have to take care of." Striding out of her daughter's bedroom Priss roared out, "Nigel! Do you have any idea what you've been exposing our little girl to?!" "Poor Nigel," Sara murmured, sitting there in the computer room and remembering the lecture he had gotten. Quickly making a decision Sara logged out of the computer, closing up the files as well as erasing all traces she had been there. Checking her watch and carefully timing her movements she retraced her steps out of Sylia's secured wing of the Knight Saber's headquarters, reaching her bedroom in time to grab a few hours of sleep. "Morning," Sara said sleepily as she entered the kitchen, the sound of breakfast cooking and the usual morning scents greeting her. "Good morning," Henderson nodded, the old English butler settling the small table. At the stove Athena efficiently cooked the eggs while keeping a eye on the bacon, the boomer giving Sara a pleasant smile. Both Priss and Sylia were at the table in their usual robes, sleepily drinking from cups of coffee. "Morning," Sara said, giving both of her parents a kiss on the cheek. "Yo," Priss flashed a sleepy smile. Sylia covered her mouth to hide a yawn as she said, "Morning." "Is Nigel still in exile?" Sara asked curiously as she sat down. Priss laughed, "No, he's good. He's just working on rebuilding some bikes for his shop." "That's good," Sara said, feeling some relief as she quietly added, "I'd hate to think I got him into real trouble." "Here you go," Henderson said as he and Athena delivered steaming plates of food. Sylia hesitated, then pushed her plate aside. "Sara, there's some things I've been meaning to tell you..." she said seriously. "Yes?" Sara smiled inside, feeling fairly certain she knew what was coming.
Back to Moments in Time Index - Back to Bubblegum Crisis Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction