neto: ok aquius, i think we have as much as nova will feel comfortable processing right now. besides, i miss the mer. i don't feel too great about holding her against her will in subspace.

aq: hardly a situation of imprisonment at all. it has taken precisely this long for me to adequately ensure that all of the mer will be recoded in properly when she returns. i imagine she would be most unreasonable if we were to mix up any item at all.

net: well jaycee says that mer is getting "unreasonable" in subspace and is organizing a rebellion of the gnomes. jaycee is my little gnome. well..one of my gnomes. i should say our gnomes, but i'm beginning to suspect that ikon has a great deal more gnomes in his service than i thought. turning out to be a regular spy this boy is.

ik: hey...i'm just doing my duty yo. you dont even want to know how many disasters i have avoided in relation to the mer thru intelligence from my gnomes.

neto: i thought you hated gnomes.

ikon: never trust a gnome, unless its yours.

neto: funny i never heard that last bit before now.

(in subspace there is a small borderline skirmish going on. a large group of gnomes is all gathered around mer who has two gnomes pinned down, there are flash bulbs going off as kiki and tiki follow the events. pitbull and trey are at the side yelling obscenities and cheering "fight fight fight")

mer: sooo. you're neto's little gnome. should have known, all dressed in blue, all stylish and unassuming,oooh little diplomat gnome. spy. i should crush you for all the spying you've done. and you..look at the other little geek here. i wonder which one is ikon's gnome? could it be the science one, the one that looks so straight he cant even bend over? you two look pretty pathetic now don't you.

jaycee; you'll never get away with this mer!. neto is going to cook your ass when you get out of subspace. when he finds out what you have told the gnomes to do, he'll freak out on you.you are a brat. in fact, you are the brattiest brat elf ever. i'd say wyk was more fun than you.

mer: shut up bug! before i crush you, i want you to see all that you will never see again. all my hordes of subservient gnomes and and my legions of nymph bug/faeries. i am the MER! and i am...

mer starts to rematerialize in the iris pod of nova.

mer: taking stock of her situation. pinching herself. touching the floor. looking around at aquius ikon and neto who all take a slight step back from her as she gains her balance.

neto: (nervous. uncertain what to say) um. hey there mer! how's it goin?

mer is turning shades of red unthinkable. she appears ready to explode. even aquius seems edgy. everyone wonders what the mer is going to do next.

mer: ( gaining composure. dusting herself off and refastening some of the clips on her asskicker sindhavatar replica clothes.). aquius. its seems you have failed to properly render my outfit. i am missing two clasps. please rectify this situation. neto..ikon. (she bows slightly to each of them.). if anyone should need me i will be on oracle.

neto: uh..sure. are you feeling ok? do you want some cola?

mer: i think i will be fine. thankyou for asking. aquius, whenever you are ready i would like to get your help modifying the specs on oracle. i have made some discoveries in subspace which will help us navigate the next part of our mission. what are you all staring at? (the room is stunned)

ikon: nothing mer. its just that...well...sorry you had to be in subspace for so long. (ikon isnt sure if mer is joking or snapped or faking or what)

mer: nonsense. aquius worked as fast as he could to get me out..isnt that right aquius?

tension in the room is so great now that everyone is practically squirming except mer.

aquius: certainly. (could even aquius be shuffling uncomfortably?)

the mer walks off the bridge and out the door with aquius.

(just outside the bridge door)

mer: scan for that little bug jaycee. if you see him at all in the fields, fry his ass. oh, and the little ikon gnomes too. they are the stiff little mathematical ones. also, see if you can locate the configuration of ikon's double. i saw him in there and think he could come in useful.

aquius: i will have no part in destroying anything, or working against neto and ikon.

mer: hmf. well i'll find a way to kill the little things myself. can you imagine, the nerve of those boys. leaving poor mer in subspace and talking such trash about me in my absence.

aquius: i'm sure you noted that they were not the only people to have an opinion about mer.

mer:( bursting into tears) why does everyone hate me so much?!

aquius: i dont think anyone hates you. however, i do believe that your very presence causes many folk here to be afraid for their lives. perhaps this is less an endearing character trait than you imagine.

mer: shut up you! oh..i'm sorry aquius. sigh. (slumping down in her corner by her garden). i'm not exactly sure how i should act.

aquius: did you just apologize? i think my hearing array must be malfunctioning.

mer: can it little knowitall. i have to figure some serious shit out.

aquius: as you wish.

meanwhile..back on the bridge of nova.

ikon: was that really the mer?

neto: i'm not certain. keep your eye on subspace. i think it was tho. i detected a vain effort for her to block her emotional sending. i think she might even be genuinely hurt by what has happened. this is the perfect time to spring the last shap of the party on her.

ikon: huh?

neto: you know..the "we love mer even tho she's a truly dangerous pirate who is almost impossible to get along with" party.

ikon: ahhh. right. the " give her whatever she wants even tho she is a holy terror that the galaxy has never seen the likes of" party. perhaps i should handle the ingestibles this time. maybe a mix of what we got together at the spacestation might work out.

neto: i think we will maybe do the last part of this on spectra. she needs to do some explaining to our good friend psilli. besides. if anyone can understand and love characters that unstable, its the spectrans.

now. the next question is. what are you going to do about ikon2? sounds from intelligence reports like he's somewhere in the matrix. you are to clever for your own good.

ikon: indeed. i guess i better run subroutine filters on everything we do now. i shudder to imagine what kind of mischief he could get into.

(meanwhile in subspace)

pitbull: yo homes. you ok?

jaycee: (is slightly crushed. he puffs himself up and regains his exact dimensions.) s'up? take more tha a mer to take out the jaycee.

ike: elfincone bro? (offers a cone to jaycee).

trey: that mer be one hell of a biatch.

jaycee: watch your tongue! thats a high one

trey: biatch high one yo.

pitbull: word! i never seen anyone be that nasty xcept biatch two from the sindhavater world. miz octa . but fuck tha sketchy haze yo, where's those nymphs?

kiki: those guys are so crude.

tiki: i don't know..i kinda like that jaycee one. he's cute.

kiki: you would. you master was one of the neto followers. "ooooh your divine impressiveness". haha. mer rules!!

tiki: you are so mean! did you see how the mer acted when she was in here. trying to control us. hmf.

kiki: thats THE mer to you. thats the hero of our homeworld. she whose name is hallowed, she who's boot we are not worthy to zip up, she whose intellect is staggering in its mighty wisdom!!!

tiki: what ever...hey jaycee...jayceee... can i interview you for the nympha enquirion?

jaycee: (turning to face the nymph gnomes). sure...

back on the bridge:

neto: hey ikon. where is akhentek?

ikon: last i saw him he was meeting nef.

net: nef is on board? what the hell happened to me. i hardly remember anyhting.

ikon: you were 13.

neto: o ya.

ikon: i think you should probably also deal with these two.

(the lcd screen in the iris shows two egyptian humans looking extremely confused and scared on the observation deck on level 5)

neto: o ya! the hapless timetravelers from ancient earth. great. forgot about them. well it looks like our posse of accidentally evolved terrans grows as we head further into the heart of it. which reminds me. what about astra?

the lcd screen shows astra with nim and the pups on deck seven. the arboretum.

ikon: i think astra is extremely cool. doesnt seem to be at all weird about her newly found relationships with wolves.

neto: apparently not. seems we wont have time to take her back to the terran pilgrimage yet. think she should stay?

ikon: i calculate temporal distortions around her moving from the timeline to be negligible. i would even go as far as to guess that this is part of her destiny. maybe she isnt supposed to go back.

neto; maybe she isnt who she says she is.