RavensDagger

  Chapter Twenty - Ancillia Traditions

  People don't do things like they used to.

  And this wasn't just the pints of the eion, because even they were touched by the ges.

  Marriage was a strahing in an age where space travel was more on. So was friendship and unity. It was hard to build a sense of closeness with a group when that group might be literal worlds apart.

  Some ma well enough. Religions with soft, easily selble tes and a stant sehat you'd find like minds wherever you go. Others failed and flopped, or became insur little societies, with all of the petty infighting, arguing, fug, and drama that one might expect.

  Dating in the curreury was plicated.

  Ivil was aware of this, aware of the challenge, and generally didn't care. She'd dohe impossible a few times throughout her career, usually at the behest of others. This wasn't impossible, merely improbable, and so she figured it would be signifitly easier.

  Or so she was telling herself while pag the interior of her .

  The door slid open, and Sonic re-entered.

  "So?" Ivil asked.

  The Tech Maid adjusted her outfit slightly, then o Ivil. "I have spoken to Miss Sterlingworth and secured a time and pce for a meeting."

  "Oh?" Ivil asked. She was impressed. After the initial pnning phase (which really just boiled down to the two of them determining that Ivil would ime above all else te things) they had gone on to try and think of ways in which Ivil could i with the others.

  Twenty-Six and Missy were the simplest. The first because she was always w on the ship, and the tter because her duties as first-mate would ehat there were opportuo talk. Daily meetings would no doubt occur duriime as well.

  That left the final, and trickiest, potential. Aurora Sterlingworth. The Phobian was well within her rights to lock herself up in her and remain there for the erip, which would, of course, make versation with her entirely impossible.

  So Ivil had sent Sonic out to rectify that.

  "What did you e up with?" Ivil asked.

  "Tea, ma'am."

  "Tea?" Ivil repeated.

  Soniodded seriously. "A small course, to be served in approximately two hours. Including some small finger food from the kit. Sterlingworth cims to have a few things from Phobos to serve, and I have Martian tea."

  "Yht tea?" Ivil asked.

  Sonic shrugged. "I enjoy it? Tea making is an important part of the rites and rituals of a Tech Maid."

  "I suppose so," Ivil said. "Just the three of us then?"

  "Yes ma'am," Sonic said. "Seeing as how your cover story is that of a Martian professor, it will be entirely acceptable for you not to be aware of all of the s that e with this kind of mi."

  "s?" Ivil asked.

  Sonic paused, then nodded. "Yes? The rituals?"

  "Ah."

  Ivil didn't care much for that kind of thing. She barely aowledged even the military's s and formalities, and she spent most of her time onboard navy vessels and on military bases. Things like saluting and addressing people in the correct way, filling out the appropriate forms and so on. Those were for others to worry about.

  And now that was ing around to bite her. She didn't want to look inpetent. " you teach me the basics?" Ivil asked.

  "Certainly," Sonic said. Her fngironic voice itched up, faster.

  "You sound genuinely excited about teag me."

  Sonic simply nodded. "I did mention that I put a lot of weight on my faith. My disguise might suggest that I'm pretending to be a Tech Maid, but I have studied this, and I do care about my religion's traditions. It'll be a pleasure to teach you about them. Especially since... well, no offence, ma'am, but you are something of a religious i. While I... respeore as a person, it'll still be o have you be more aware of the Adeptus Ancillia's traditions."

  Ivil kept her expressioral. She didn't need Sonic seeing her ge. She was aware that the Tech Maids of Mars held her in a certain regard. She'd always found it somewhat disturbing to be idolised by the order. "Very well, we don't have much time, so let's just cover the basics?"

  Sonic moved deeper into the room, theured to the wall where a fold-dow of chairs and a small table were still pressed up and out of the way. "May I?" she asked, and at Ivil's nod, she lowered the seats and table, then sat. "Our rituals may seem somewhat are and bizarre from an outsider's perspective."

  "Yes," Ivil agreed.

  "But there are reasons for every one. Some are shrouded in a small amount of mystery, and some are traditions which have evolved over time and whose true utility is questio best, but for the most part, all of the traditions of the Ancillia have a reason to exist."

  Ivil sat across from Sonic, gesturing for her to go on.

  "There are mas and traditions which I won't expin now, owing to how little time we have."

  "Do I his background?" Ivil asked.

  "That is a fair question. I think that giveioween teag you the meical part of the tea making ritual, and teag you the why behind it, I'd rather have you know and uand the underlying reasons for the ritual."

  "Ah, I see. I might not carry them out correctly, but at least I'll be ag in good faith. And it won't imply that I'm entirely aware of the Adeptus Ancillia's entire... thing."

  "Exactly. It's better to have to act as someone unfamiliar but respectable, than someone who knows the ins and outs of a tradition. If quizzed, then you holy say that you're only ag out of respect, rather than admitting that your entire knowledge is limited on how to act during a single, peculiar ritual."

  "I uand. Go on," Ivil said.

  Soniodded. "The Ancillia exists to support people with Cores, such as ourselves, and Miss Sterlingworth, and... maybe Missy?"

  Ivil nodded. "She has a couple," she firmed. "I don't know what they are, but they're smaller, subtle."

  "Good to know. In any case, the Ancillia supports core users in several ways. inally by ing and pig up after the users, taking care of their teieeds, and providing information and teological resources. Heech Maids. As the rew into something closer to what it is now, those areas of supprew as well. Every ordained member of the order is taught the basics of psychology, especially with regards to the issues that a core-user might have."

  "Ah," Ivil said. "So things like body dysphoria and the like?"

  "Dysphoria is on, especially as someone grows in power." Sonic gestured to herself, to her doll mask. Ivil doubted there was anything approag a real fader that mask, and the way Sonic moved something hi how she might not even have a human form anymore. "There are other issues. Narcissism is ood swings, difficulty eg with peers and normal people. The tea making ritual is desigo notice these issues before they fully form."

  "So it's a psychological test?" Ivil asked.

  "Without the long chair and sterile enviro of a psychologist's office," Sonifirmed. "It's also just a way to keep in toud probe at difficult questions without seeming crass or rude about it. And it helps form es between the members. The ritual itself gives everyone something to do, even if it's just the ritual itself and partaking, which keeps you busy and prevents some of the awkwardhat might be present otherwise. Within the order it's actually sidered one of the best ways to meet someone."

  "Romantically?"

  "Yes," Sonifirmed. "Or just casually, or professionally. The goal is to assess another's mental state, which as you imagine, is important throughout most facets of life."

  Ivil nodded along. She was still uain of what this ritual looked like, but she supposed that Sonic wasirely wrong when she said that knowing the purpose of it would help more than knowing the motions. Anything desigo help her learn more about one of her potentials, while iing with them face-to-face, would be quite valuable.

  "Dress code?" Ivil asked.

  "Business casual," Sonic replied. "There's a certain standard of dress expected of a Tech Maid, but that requirement iseo guests and others. Though I imagihat you wouldn't want to appear sloppy."

  "No, of course not," Ivil said. She stood, then walked over tgage. "Right. In that case, I think I have some business attire in here."

  "That should do," Sonic said. "I should head out and prepare the venue. We'll be having tea in the upper observatory room. I think it's teically the ship's server bank as well, but this is hardly a luxury ship with dedicated rooms for this sort of thing."

  "We'll make do," Ivil replied. She was actually looking forward to this.

  ***

  RavensDagger

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