The head fins on 042's current chassis twitched in alarm. '"The Flesh is weak,"' it intoned, 'so sayeth the Atom Heart Father, the Thrice-Revered Omnissiah, Autochthon the Maker. We advise you do not continue this line of thought, Czevak-Lieutenant. The Code-Blessed do not dabble in matters of flesh or its intermingling with the relics of the Lord Mechanicus. We are not at liberty to divulge the knowledge of the Maker, nor are we to discuss the matter of the Elegant Nova. She<span style="font-style: italic">was</span>one of our foremost scientists, but her runtimes' studies led to Void taint and code corruption. All such hereteks are captured and deleted to prevent the spread of the Void madness. Were you to follow her path, we would be obliged to eliminate you as well.'<br/><br/>042 turned to the innards of the station, ignoring whatever protests came its way. Lingering in the public spaces of New Mombasa Station was hazardous. It would wait in the military quarter's shuttle port, amid security personnel, until the<span style="font-style: italic">Midway's</span>Exalted joined it aboard the shuttle to Vancouver Station.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">___</div><br/><br/>John checked his omni-tool's watch. Four hours, give or take. That was how much free time they all had until they had to depart for Vancouver Station. Unlike New Mombasa's installation, Vancouver's was closed to the public, reserved solely for high-security military operations. No creature comforts existed there, hence the crew's disembarkation here. It was a military shipyard, presently occupied by the Fourth Fleet's cruisers and frigates, which currently underwent refueling and maintenance. There, Hackett would debrief them and send them down to Fleet HQ on the surface, where they would present their findings on the Exalted to the Admiralty Board.<br/><br/>For now, though, he had more important matters to attend to. Familial matters.<br/><br/>A pair of humans met John as he entered Mombasa Spacedock's commercial quarter, home of a number of restaurants and shops. One was a full head shorter than him, still clad in heavy Defender armor with her helmet clipped to her belt. The other was slightly taller, dressed in an admiral's blues. Both served aboard the SSV<span style="font-style: italic">Olympus</span>, flagship of the Fourth Fleet.<br/><br/>'Look at you, Juanito,' exclaimed Elena del Pilar, 'hair disorderly, shirt poorly tucked and ironed, and when was the last time you polished your boots? You're a mess, Lieutenant Commander. I expected better from you.'<br/><br/>John raised an eyebrow. 'Would it help if I brought you guys gifts?'<br/><br/>His mother's face lightened up considerably. Ten years' worth of wrinkles vanished in a heartbeat. 'Oh, now that changes things completely. Francisco, where are your manners? You didn't even say hello to your son!'<br/><br/>'Good to see you,<span style="font-style: italic">anak</span>,' said John's dad, trading a fist bump with the younger del Pilar. 'Lieutenant Commander, eh? Our boy's moving up in life. Slightly.'<br/><br/>It was good to be home. John laughed and picked a few things out of his duffel bag. 'Serrice ice brandy, 2100 vintage, for you two. I got the chocolate Lucia wanted off the Citadel as well, though they only had three boxes left.'<br/><br/>'Ay, you're too good to us, Johnny,' Elena said, receiving the gifts. She planted a kiss on her son's cheek. 'Your sister will love these. You know, she just started college!'<br/><br/>'So I heard. Business school, huh? She was always the responsible one.'<br/><br/>Francisco smirked. 'Well, someone in this family has to earn real money, I suppose. What's this I hear about you becoming Superman?'<br/><br/>Burning away a pittance of his Essence, John manifested his Caste Mark. 'Zenith Caste, freshly minted.'<br/><br/>'<span style="font-style: italic">Aysus</span>,' Maria said, 'our little boy is humanity's first Filipino Solar.'<br/><br/>'Really, mom? You're going to focus on that?'<br/><br/>'Have some pride in your country! It's not every day a Pinoy gets the spotlight!'<br/><br/>John chuckled inwardly. It was almost strange to see that national patriotism remained strong even in this day and age. He and Shepard got a laugh out of Fox News' outrage at a<span style="font-style: italic">Canadian</span>saving the galaxy and the Citadel.<br/><br/>'Come on, guys. We'll talk over breakfast. I haven't eaten since we left Eden Prime.'<br/><br/>'Good thing too,' said his mother, 'you're getting fat.'<br/><br/>'Really, mother? Really? Are we going to do this now?'<br/><br/>'Nah. Just fuckin' with you. Let's go get something to eat.'