Breakfast

“An empty headed imbecile” Brittany sneered, waving a dismissive hand as she settled back into her chair and crossed her legs
Cass idly pulled off a piece of her pastry and popped it in her mouth, chewing as she in turn settled back into her chair and eyed her progenitor
The two of them were seated at a small glass table in a busy Adachi coffee shop, surrounded by the relentless early morning bustle of the multitude of wageslaves grabbing their breakfasts on the go
“How’s this going to work?” Cass asked suddenly “Me and the STCP, I mean; it's run like a military organisation and you know what I think of those”
Smiling faintly, Brittany leaned forward to pick up her espresso
“Do you think Marilyn worked well in that environment to begin with?” she asked, settling back into her chair again and taking a sip
“Who?”
“Marilyn Monroe? - The woman you killed for the time drive”
Cass grimaced
“A device that can move the Dwarf through time?” she asked rhetorically “It was worth killing for. She knew the risks”
“Actually, she didn’t” Brittany breezed “But We did; We gave her the mission, knowing full well you’d kill her for the drive - No matter though, her backup is up and performing well”
“Figures” Cass scowled “You didn’t answer my question”
Pursing her lips, Brittany regarded her progeny in silence for a moment; other than her short dark hair and green eyes, the two women were identical, and were attracting no small amount of polite interest from the salarymen as they queued for their morning coffees
“We're giving you a taste of what the STCP do” Brittany said eventually “Paradox engineering at the moment; it's all safe stuff, and it’ll give you an idea of how we work and what we do. After that... We'll see; there are any number of more dangerous tweaks you can make to the timeline and there are another few sentient species we need to create as well”
“I don't want to be part of this” Cass said bluntly
“But you are” Brittany shrugged “You're subsumed in it. It's what you are and what you will be - and the sooner you accept that, the better”
“Come on” she smiled, suddenly standing in a swish of long blonde hair “Let’s go and do something - You'll like this one”
"No" Cass shook her head and remained seated "I feel tired and grubby. I look like I’m doing the walk of shame in this outfit at this time of day, and I want a shower and a night's sleep"
"It won't take ten minutes, We promise” Brittany soothed “And after that We'll take you to Claridge’s in the 1930's for a couple of days" she smiled and held out her hand "Deal?"


The time gate crackled open, materialising in a dimly lit, dusty train carriage, soporifically rocking back and forth as the train click clacked on the tracks, amid the distant smoke and putter of the steam engine at the head of the train
Emerging alongside Brittany from within the depths of the gate, Cass glanced around the bare timber walls and floorboards, taking in the numerous wooden boxes and crates, piled high around the cargo truck
“So, what’s to like about this?” she asked dryly
“Wait” Brittany held up a hand "Three, two, one..."
A collection of crates phased into existence nearby
"Transmed?" Cass frowned, reading the writing stencilled on their side
“Indeed” Brittany smirked “We're pretending there’s a consignment of Hymenoptera DNA in there”
“Why!?”
“Manipulation”
“Why?”
“This…” Brittany breezed, gesturing vaguely towards the crates “is for the sole benefit of your Mister Chrysler; to sow the seeds of suspicion in his mind, and to drive him from our organisation's ever loving embrace, and into yours”
"Thanks for nothing" Cass sneered and lapsed into a brooding silence "What you're doing is wrong" she said after a moment "Jay... Nobody deserves to be treated like this!"
"This is history" Brittany shrugged, her smile close to mocking "You know: He does have feelings for you..."
Shut up" Cass snapped; a hard edge to her voice as she defensively folded her arms in front of her and turned away "That’s bullshit. I want to go. Now"
“Of course” Brittany smirked, stooping to haul a tarpaulin over the crates as a time gate howled into existence behind her “Next stop, the nineteen thirties...”