Chapter Text
“Yor! That was incredible!”
Yor’s new acquaintance ran up and excitedly grasped her hand. She was positively beaming. In contrast, the rest of the women around them could only glance at each other in disbelief. Yor wasn’t sure how to respond to the excitement of the woman in front of her. The others’ incredulous reactions were more what she was used to in situations like this.
“Bwah! W-was it really?” Yor asked, unsure if the woman was being sarcastic. She could never tell, so she regularly misinterpreted jabs as compliments.
“Was it really?! Yor, I’ve never heard of a woman—actually, forget woman, I’ve never heard of anyone doing something like that! Have any of you ladies?” her acquaintance addressed the room of shell-shocked women, who all affirmed her assertion.
“I-It was nothing, honestly! An accident is all. I’m terribly sorry,” Yor apologized, waving her hands in front of her face in embarrassment.
The other woman finally looked at her with the same disbelief as the others. “You hit a volleyball through the ceiling. That’s not nothing, Yor!” She pointed to the gaping hole left in the gym’s roof. Insulation was still snowing on the bleachers, and a mangled beam took the opportunity to give way with a loud crash. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you hit it into space!”
How mortifying! She only wanted to be polite and accept a stranger’s request to repay her kindness. Now everyone here knew what a freak she was. Surely one of them would report her to the secret police. Housewives weren’t supposed to hit volleyballs into space!
But it wasn’t her fault that they made the balls so light. Even holding back, she had to flick them with one finger to not send them flying. So, when her teammates encouraged her to give it her all on a serve, catastrophe was inevitable.
Seeming to sense Yor’s discomfort, her acquaintance took her hand again with a gentle smile.
“Really, it’s fine, Yor. But, I see that you’re embarrassed, so let’s move on. We have plenty of balls left to keep playing, and don’t worry about the hole. I’ll have it taken care of.” Yor almost allowed herself a sigh of relief, but the woman continued. “However, there is something I’d like to discuss with you later. I’m sure you don’t mind,” she finished with a cryptic smile.
“R-right,” Yor replied. It was a relief to be past her mistake, but the woman’s implications worried her.
Yor certainly wasn’t expecting this.
After a few more sets of volleyball with mercifully few incidents, she and the Lady Patriots Society had settled down for a conversation over some tea. Her acquaintance, Melinda—who she learned was Damian’s mother (also first lady… whatever that was)—didn’t bring up whatever she wanted to discuss during their conversation with her friends, so Yor assumed that she had forgotten about it by the time she offered her a ride home.
“Yor, do you have any interest in the space program?”
“Huh?” After the awkward conclusion to their conversation on Anya and Damien’s friendship, Yor expected to spend the rest of the ride home in silence. “Oh—Um… Not particularly. But my little brother, Yuri, was always so excited about it when we were growing up! He heard about the first satellite launch on the radio and couldn’t believe it. He became obsessed with all things space-related, and when we went stargazing, he would point out as many planets and constellations as he could name,” she said with a nostalgic smile.
“Eventually I saved up enough to buy him a small telescope for his birthday. He was so grateful that he cried and told me he would go to space when he grew up so he could tell me all about how beautiful it was up there,” she giggled. “Oh! I’m sorry for rambling! What I mean to say is that complex things like that aren’t really my speed… A-are you interested in it?
“Hmm. You could say that…” Melinda hummed, looking out the window. She turned to face her. “And no need to apologize. I enjoy learning more about you, Yor. How about little Anya, then? Do you think she’s interested?”
“I’m not sure. She loves spies because she thinks they’re cool. Perhaps she would feel the same way about space people,” Yor contemplated, holding her chin.
Melinda gave her an amused look. “In any case, I have a fun idea your family might enjoy…”
That’s how she now found herself standing at the entrance to the Desmond Space Center with her family in tow.
“Mama! Papa! That building is sooooo hue-mon-goose!” Anya exclaimed, pointing to an imposing, rectangular tower some distance away.
“That’s where they assemble the Orthos rockets. It has to be tall enough for them to stack the pieces,” Loid explained, fascinating both Yor and Anya. She was always impressed by his breadth of knowledge. The way he always had something to say on every subject reminded her so much of Yuri.
“Woah! Do we get to go watch them make the rocket ships?!” Anya asked, hopping up and down and panting in excitement.
“We’ll see. It’s impressive enough that Melinda could get us a tour beyond the visitor complex. She must still have a lot of connections from her time as First Lady,” Loid responded. “Speaking of. Here comes our generous host now.”
Yor spun in the direction of Loid’s gaze to spot Melinda exiting the back of a large, black car. She quickly spotted the Forgers and practically sprinted over. Well, as much as she could sprint in heels. Although her personal servant, Nola, if Yor remembered correctly, was less enthused with having to match her lady’s elevated pace.
“Yor!” Melinda squealed, once again grasping her hand in excitement. “I’m so glad you could make it! I hope no one gave you any trouble on your way here. The space program is very secretive, so they’re always on the lookout for spies,” she whispered conspiratorially.
“Oh! No trouble! N-none at all, Melinda. Thank you for inviting us!” Yor was still getting used to Melinda’s intensity. “You were right; Anya was very excited when I told her about this trip! Right, Anya?”
“Anya wants to take a rocket ship to the moon!” the little girl shouted, hands raised in the air.
“Haha, I don’t know about that, but I’ll see what I can do about getting you a look at the rocket,” Melinda said, leaning over to pat Anya’s head. “But before that, I actually have someone I was hoping to introduce your mother to, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh? Yor only mentioned a tour,” Loid spoke up.
“Ah yes… I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I had an alternative motive for inviting her here. Why don’t we head inside, and I’ll explain when we get there?” Melinda said, already marching to the entrance of the nearest building.
Yor glanced at Loid with uncertainty, but he merely shrugged and picked up Anya to follow along. Melinda navigated them through a maze of halls to an office with a placard displaying the name Dr. Leitz. After a few knocks, a lanky man with thick glasses and a greying, slick back haircut poked his head out.
“Melinda!” His face lit up. “It’s so good to see you in person,” he said, fully emerging from his office.
“It’s been too long, Sal,” Melinda said, pulling him into a brief hug. Turning to face the Forgers, she initiated introductions. “This is my dear friend Sal T. Leitz. He’s one of the top engineers in the Ostanian Space Administration!” She turned back to her friend. “Sal, these are the Forgers, and this—” She dragged Yor away from the others. “—is Yor Forger, the woman I called you about.”
Sal extended his hand with an affable smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Forger. Melinda tells me you're quite the athlete.”
Yor instantly tried to refute the claim. “O-oh, I don’t know abou—”
“Mama’s the strongest in the world!” Anya interjected proudly, throwing her arms around her mother’s leg.
“Ha ha! Melinda told me something similar, little lady,” he addressed Anya with a kind grin. “She was so impressed, in fact, that she asked me to make something for her.” The engineer momentarily retreated into his office before emerging with a hefty wagon in tow. Resting in the wagon was a large metal sphere, about the size of a beach ball, with few mechanical bits and wires sticking out, their functions all a complete mystery to Yor.
Kneeling beside his contraption, he explained, “ This is a model of the Putniks 1 satellite. Not functional, but Melinda requested I add some of my own instrumentation. She’s hoping to confirm a quite unbelievable theory she shared with me.”
“Oh—Um… Do you want me to throw it?” Yor asked, glancing between Sal and Melinda.
“As long as you don’t mind,” Melinda said, cupping Yor’s hands. “I know your display in front of the Lady Patriots made you uncomfortable, but really, it’s not something to hide. Like I said back then, you’re incredible, Yor! Why shouldn’t you show off this part of yourself?”
She knew this had to have something to do with their volleyball game. Why did she have to expose herself so badly?
Wait, did she expose herself? Even now, Melinda gave her the option to back out. She wouldn’t do that if she was trying to use her abnormality to get her arrested. She may not be the best at reading people, but Melinda had been nothing but supportive and understanding since they met. She seemed like she was genuinely excited about her strength and wanted to boost her confidence about it.
Is this what friends do?
Yor turned to Loid for answers. He looked to be fascinated with the metal ball, his eyes darting between the exposed components. Perhaps he grew up infatuated with space just like Yuri. He sensed her gaze and met her eyes in an embarrassed jolt. She hoped he could see the plea written across her face.
Putting on a comforting smile, Loid slid to her side and rested a steady hand on her shoulder.
“I don’t see any harm in that. Do you, dear?” She squeaked at the term of endearment. “Of course, there’s no pressure if you’re not up for it, but having a friend encourage you to build on your strengths can be incredibly uplifting, don’t you think?”
Melinda nodded in agreement with an expectant grin.
Maybe it was harmless. What if the suspicious thing would actually be to turn down this request from her friend?!
“I’ll do it!” Yor declared, fists clenched in determination. If this is what friends do for each other, then she’ll be the picture of a perfect friend!
“Splendid!” Melinda cheered, taking Yor’s hand. “Lead the way, won’t you, Sal?”
Fifteen minutes later, they stood in a barren field adjacent to the large building Anya pointed out when they first arrived. The ground was patterned with tire tracks and a few scorched craters.
Sal explained, “OSA uses this lot for vehicle and lander testing, so any dents we make won’t be a problem.” He pulled his wagon over to a small concrete pad and addressed Yor. “Once we get out of your way, throw this instrument as hard as you can. Then, I’ll measure the distance from this pad, and we’ll repeat that a few times. Then I can recover its data, and we’ll figure out just how accurate your daughter’s claim was.”
“Okay, Dr. Leitz. Y-You said, as hard as I can?” Yor asked hesitantly, taking her position on the pad.
“Yep! Like I said, don’t worry about damage. We want the most accurate results possible. I think our rovers could use some more difficult testing terrain anyway,” Sal laughed, retreating to stand alongside the others.
Yor didn’t think that was a good idea, but if he said so. She took a deep breath and heaved the metal ball from the wagon.
“You can do it, Mama!” Anya called from her perch on Loid’s shoulders, her volume only irking him a little.
That’s right! Anya and Melinda were so excited about this. All she had to do was throw a ball. She threw things all the time, squishier things admittedly. Regardless, she’d give it her all!
Yor raised her knee to her chest before gracefully extending her leg and pulling back her arm. Metal creaked in her grip, her fingers denting the ball as she paused at the apex of her wind-up. In an instant, she shifted her weight and launched the device with all her might, the concrete pad shattering with a powerful crack where she planted her foot.
The projectile shot off faster than any of her observers could track, leaving a perfectly straight trail of light in its wake. A circular hole blew apart a distant cloud, and moments later, a massive gust of wind buffeted the group as air rushed to fill the trail left by her throw. Anya would have been swept away if not for Loid swiftly grabbing her ankles before she flew off.
When the wind died down, Yor turned to find her spectators subject to varying degrees of shell shock. Anya and Loid recovered quickly and rushed to check on and extract her from the pile of debris she created. Melinda was a bit slower to recover but soon regained her senses with a delighted squeal.
“See! What did I tell you, Sal!” she shouted, shaking her stunned friend by his shoulders, oblivious to his terrified, unfocused eyes. “Isn’t she perfect?!”
“I… I can believe it…” Sal whispered, barely shaken from his astonished daze. “Th-that shouldn’t be possible!”
“I know! She’s incredible!” Melinda replied, abruptly casting him aside. “Yor! Come over here! I think Sal has an offer to make you.”
Yor made her way to the pair, hoisting an excited Anya on her hip.
“Oh! D-Do you, Dr. Leitz?” she asked, nervous about where this was going. The last time someone made her an offer after seeing her strength, she wound up becoming a contract killer. Although it would be surprising if the space agency hired hitmen.
Sal ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. “Mrs. Forger, I think you could be an amazing—no, invaluable—asset to Ostania’s space program!” he explained in awe. “Please, allow me the chance to work with you. Even if you just try it for a few months! Whatever incentive you need, I’m sure I can get it for you.”
What could she say to that?! She didn’t really want any incentives. The Forgers certainly weren’t struggling like the Briars had been as children. And she wasn’t sure if she was comfortable with the attention working for the space agency might bring to her. How embarrassing would it be for a client to recognize her! She would need to be even more wary of letting witnesses escape.
But she didn’t want to disappoint him either. Not many people witnessed her freakish strength and didn’t judge her for it. Only her family members came to mind at the moment. It would be a shame to push potential new friends like Sal and Melinda away.
“I would, but wh-what about my job at City Hall?” Perhaps she could get out of it without outright rejection. If she had a good excuse, maybe they could still be friends.
Her hopes were quickly dashed.
“That won’t be an issue,” Sal chuckled dismissively. “I would only need you here for a couple of days a week. The state will be happy to excuse your absences once they see what you can do. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if you never had to work at City Hall again.”
Dang it. Of course, something like this would take priority over her normal job. What else could she try?
“I don’t know…” she began, searching for another excuse.
It could be an opportunity to better her country. She could be part of making a better future for Anya. For so long she used her strength to tear out the rotten parts. What if she used it to build up the beautiful parts instead? It could be a pleasant change of pace… Was that worth the risk of exposure?
“It would be super cool for Mama to be in the space agent-see!” Anya cooed from her hip, staring up at her with wide eyes. “Then Mama would be really important, and everyone at school would want to be Anya’s friend!”
“B-but I would be away so often! I can’t possibly leave you two alone like that,” Yor protested. But her heart melted at her daughter’s words.
She didn’t want to disappoint Anya as well, but how could she expect Loid to accept her shirking her home duties every few days? Loid already did so much more than his fair share. Surely being there for her family was more important than whatever she’d be doing for her country.
Yor jumped as the man in question cleared his throat to catch her attention. Maybe she was distracted, but she never noticed how sneaky he could be before.
“Your strength is something to be proud of, Yor. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I don’t want you to miss out on our account.” He gently eased Anya out of her arms before giving her a nudge towards Dr. Leitz, stifling any attempt at protest before it began. “If you want to use it to help people like this, I think that’s wonderful. I’d be happy to pick up the slack when you’re busy.”
Grateful tears welled in Yor’s eyes, and she clutched her heart. She’d never had so many people encourage her before. If her family and new friends were all rooting for her to take this opportunity, who was she to say no? She enthusiastically faced Dr. Leitz to announce her decision.
“I’ll do it!”
Yor woke up in the middle of the following night.
“Oh my god! I forgot to ask Shopkeeper!”