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Nomi was tired. So very tired. But she could not afford to rest: the task she'd set into motion during the recent conflict at the mysterious island off Dewford was far from complete - in fact, it was only just beginning.[break][break]
So when Neffatari Nzingha had invited her to coffee, she'd jumped at the opportunity, ignoring her own exhaustion in favor of continuing to collaborate with the astrobiologist. For one, Nomi was fascinated by the knowledge that Nenet was dating Zev Harcourt; she'd been initially shocked, of course, to learn he was even dating - but after some thought, it occurred to her that the independent, pragmatic Nenet would make a good match for Zev, who's blunt, razor-edged personality made him difficult to grow close to.[break][break]
And Nenet didn't seem like the sort of woman who'd mind that, Nomi supposed.[break][break]
Secondly, she'd wanted to meet with Nenet so they could discuss the impending apocalypse weighing on Nomi's mind: Nenet was a capable scientist, her skillset would be critically important if they were going to save Hoenn.[break][break]
Nomi entered the cafe to find the other woman already there. She hastily ordered a coffee - black (she couldn't stomach the sugary monstrosities parker jones liked to order) - then joined Nenet at the table. She opened her mouth to launch into an extended greeting only to realize, quite suddenly, that Nenet was...[break][break]
"Nenet, you're hurt," Nomi blurted out, with genuine concern. "Is everything okay?"
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In the middle of sipping her own sugary monstrosity, Nenet nonetheless lifts a hand to wave off Nomi's concerns.
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"I'm fine," she assures Nomi, her voice low and reassuring. "Or will be. Just some broken bones and bruises." Her mouth quirking into a half-smile, she adds, "Being in the Rangers isn't all it's cracked up to be sometimes."
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"But you look like you haven't seen a bed in a week. Are you alright?" Nenet's eyebrow arches as she speaks, but she then winces subtly from the cut near her hairline.
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"Maybe this should be a short meeting," she teases softly while slumping back into her seat. Despite the season a wintry holiday movie is playing on one of the televisions in the cafe in contrast to the autumnal weather outside.

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Just some broken bones?[break][break]
Nomi's frown deepened, as did the crease in her brow. She took a sip of coffee, as if to emphasize Nenet's point about her own visible exhaustion.[break][break]
"You were there, too," Nomi realized. It wasn't a question. "The island off Dewford with the mysterious energy." DYNAMAX, they now knew. The same power they'd had access to in the dream of Galar - an experience that was becoming more and more real every day.[break][break]
Nomi eyed Nenet with a curious expression. The other woman was a scientist, but was she really a Ranger, too? And did she know that her boyfriend was with Rocket? Zev was decent at keeping up civilian appearances, but surely a degree of intimacy would lead to at least some of his secrets coming to light. After all, Nenet was a smart woman, and Zev was not necessarily a subtle man.[break][break]
"How did you get injured?"
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Nenet gives a nod of confirmation at Nomi's words. Her hand making an absent motion, she takes a sip of her drink to gather her thoughts before answering.
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"Near the end they set me up to stand at one of the cave entrances and someone from Rocket took exception to that. Convinced I knew more than I did, I suppose." Her golden gaze shifting to Nomi, Nenet adds softly, "I would really prefer not to talk about it."
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The injuries were enough. Nenet certainly didn't want to relive the memories that came with them. Instead, she says over the out-of-season commercial that belts out a rowdy 'Ho ho ho!' through the cafe, "Did you catch the Poipole livestream?"

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"Oh yes! It was fantastic! You did a remarkable job completing the incubation cycle for that egg and - "[break][break]
Wait. Nenet had been attacked by a Rocket? This detail regarding the origin of the other woman's injuries finally caught up to Nomi's fast-thinking brain, and she paused, taken aback. Hadn't Zev Harcourt put Nenet's name on the list of Rocket's protected entities?[break][break]
"Wait, you were attacked by one of - "[break][break]
She almost said "us" but stopped herself. They were sitting in a busy cafe, after all. This was by no means the right venue for discussing Rocket allegiances. All the same...glancing around, nobody in their immediate vicinity seemed to be paying much attention to them.[break][break]
"That's why he's having you protected now," Nomi realized, murmuring the revelation out loud. "Because of what happened."[break][break]
She wondered vaguely who could have been stupid enough to attack someone Zev cared about. Getting on that man's bad side was a horrible idea, for a myriad of reasons. They must not have known, she thought. An unfortunate mistake.[break][break]
Through her bond with Kallistatus, she telepathically urged the shiny Unown-K to come to her. Remain hidden, but come inside. I need help making sure nobody's listening too closely to us.
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And just like that a veil was lifted, and the graduate student who Nenet had a fondness for her curiosity and determination transformed into something more. Zev was indeed having her protected now, they had spoken of it and she assumed that the necessary arrangements by her husband had been made.

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Clearly they had been.

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"You know Zev," is what she says instead. It was unexpected, but also not that unexpected.

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This simply wasn't the discussion she was expecting to have this afternoon.

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"Should we go somewhere else to speak?"

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"I do," Nomi answered, and for the first time since uncovering the connection between them, Nomi considered the very impressive and undeniably remarkable fact that Zev Harcourt was one of the most dangerous beings on the planet and this woman had married him. "We work together."[break][break]
Which was a very simple and innocuous thing to say, except that Nenet would know that it was impossible for Nomi to know Zev through Slateport University. It was possible Zev had not told his wife about Rocket, but Nomi doubted it. Nenet was wicked clever, there was no way Zev's "civilian persona" had fooled her. She knew. And she was choosing him anyway.[break][break]
Which, Nomi realized with a thrill, opened all sorts of doors. Doors she hoped Nenet would be willing to enter.[break][break]
"We should," she agreed, draining the rest of her coffee in one decisive gulp. "I can take us somewhere private. Somewhere I think you'd be especially interested in going."[break][break]
She stood without pretense and gathered up her things, then waited to see if Nenet would follow her out of the cafe.
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Nenet sits still for a moment as she observe Nomi. The woman before her certainly wasn't whoever attacked her - but was it wise to trust someone in Rocket so blindly? Especially with going to an unknown location?
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She was curious.
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Taking a final sip of her coffee, Nenet neatly places the cup on the table and gathers her things. At the very least she trusted Nomi was wise enough not to lead her to harm - Zev's displeasure was surely more enough of a deterrent for that.
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"Alright," Nenet answers. Shifting carefully out of her chair, she bundles up in her coat and gives Nomi a not of acknowledgement before following the younger woman out of the cafe. "Let's go."

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As soon as she was confident Nenet would really follow her, Nomi left the cafe without glancing back. She could sense Kallistatus joining her, even though the shiny Unown-K remained invisible.[break][break]
A wintery breeze stung Nomi's cheeks as they made their way outside. Nomi walked a few paces before spying an alley off to the side of the street. She beckoned for Nenet to follow her over; soon, they were partially obscured by shadow as various citizens passed them by on their way to a myriad of mundane destinations.[break][break]
"This will only take a moment," Nomi assured Nenet, smiling pleasantly. "If you are familiar with the sensation of teleportation, this should feel somewhat similar."[break][break]
Gently, she touched the other woman's arm. As soon as flesh-met-flesh, they were both yanked from their current reality and thrust through space-time into a different dimension.[break][break]
[break]
Unown wheeled overhead, and a million twinkling galaxies winked down at them as if in greeting. Their feet met solid ground - or so it felt - but everywhere they walked, it was as if they were traversing through a rich, pink-purple sky dotted with stars. Nomi grinned, knowing full well that of all the people she had taken here thus far, Nenet would likely appreciate it the most: this was an astrobiologist's dreamscape made manifest.[break][break]
Kallistatus popped into existence, appearing beside Nomi in a burst of starlight. Its singular eye watched Nenet with genuine curiosity.[break][break]
"We can speak freely here," Nomi explained to her guest. "Welcome to the Unown Dimension."
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