Tasha didn't get enough sleep. At least it didn't feel that way. Especially when Remiel called her in for a checkup. This involved proving she could move all of her joints properly and also required a pint of blood. When she finally got to sit down, the doctor began asking questions. "You've traveled through the Gateway several times now, and I'm curious if you've begun to build up resistance to the disorienting effects or had any odd thoughts or dreams or feelings instead?"

"Uhh," begins Tasha in the cry of the half-awake and blood deperived, " ... um, no, not really." The young woman reaches up and scratches at her nose; The dry, cold weather seems to always make it itchy. "I don't get nauseated anymore? But, it wasn't ever that bad, not like D-Space."

At that, Tasha snorts. Her last adventure had so much peculiar magic in it she half expects her motehr to materialize in a puff of it and smack her around for the association.

"Oh, lots." The young woman admits a moment later, folding her arms behind her head and laying back, looking ceiling-ward. "Lets see ... I had a magical serpent on my arm that was supposed to dehydrate plants or turn them to stone, I had ... urm ... " She stares upward for a long moment, then she just shakes her head and mutters something about, 'channeling a ghost,' before pressing on. "And then I sat on a Sifran machine ... and ... " There's another lengthy pause, wherein she sits up and holds her head, ears back and expression strained.

"Do I have to answer these?" The hybrid then asks, sounding like she'd really rather be elsewhere about now.

This gets one of Remy's eyebrows to raise. "You should feel comfortable telling me anything, Tasha. Is this about some trauma you've experienced?"

"I don't feel comfortable telling myself any of this," Tasha admits, hand sliding from her head to clutch at an ear, while her opposite hand does the same for the other. "I killed Blackwings, didn't Gabriel tell you? My old lover, Blackwings. Now I see her, I think she's some sort of Nora-like ghost in my head, because of what the Templar necromancer did. And the there was the ... The ... T-the vision. From the machine."

"Let's start with Blackwings," Remiel suggests. "You aren't the sort to kill without a good reason, I think. What was your reason?"

"Uh ... " Tasha glances around, searching the room a moment before answering, "I, um, I didn't want her to ... to ... " A deep breath, exhale, and, " ... To be tortured. To die broken." She rolls her gaze towards Remiel, head tilted, still clutching her ears. "She didn't deserve it, but I loved her. She was a horrible person, cruel, she'd do anything for herself, but still ... I-I loved her. So I killed her. For me, for her, and because the world needed it. I couldn't let her go! It was me ... Or ... Or them. The Knights. The gallows, at least."

"I take it this relationship goes back to before you became a better judge of character," Remiel says. "Or.. were you just swept up in a whirlwind of charisma?"

Tasha makes a face at the question, suspecting she's being teased. "I didn't have anyone, okay?" She responds, a touch of anger in the defensive reply. "I was just Tasha the Drover. Anyone who wanted me only wanted certain things, and Blackwings wasn't any different. But she was rich, and powerful. She had her own ship, she was amazing with a sword. She used me, but at least she gave more than the others. And I ... " The young woman's hands fall in to her lap, upturned, where she stares at the for several seconds before admitting, " ... I admired her. I loved her."

"Past tenses there," Remiel points out. "Are you still the same girl she used then? Would you still be that girl if you'd stayed at her side?"

"I don't know. Probably no-" Tasha begins to answer, and answer honestly, but when she thinks on what future she might have had if she stayed with Blackwings she's drawn to the other prolem she mentioned. Suddenly, as has been happening with increasing frequency, snippets of the vision she had connected to The Oracle pop in to her head. A peaceful cabin in the woods ... Hakeber's stunned, dead eyes ... and ...

And her, older, worn, giving orders on the deck of Dagh's Chibix. The recollection causes a strange expression to wash over her face: First she's a bit wide-eyed, then she seems to stare at the wall, far away; Finally she grits her teeth, looking weighed down, and smelling more than a little of fear.

"It would have been different," Tasha finally says with clear certainty, at odds with her expression and scent.

"There's an old Terran saying: Never meet your heroes," Remiel says. "Few of them survive adult scrutiny. And as children.. well, we always outgrow them anyway. Or, sometimes, we just become our own heroes when we weren't looking."

"Nora wanted to be a hero to herself," Remiel admits. "But.. we all have issues living up to our own standards. I'm sure you've felt that you've failed goals that only you set for yourself."

"Nora never let herself relax. She promised herself at graduation that she would never fail. Never. She blamed herself in the end." Tasha turns and looks at the hand on her shoulder, then to Remiel. "I know. ou have to step over a lot of bodies to be a success. Sometimes they're your bodies." She watches the man, studying his face, then asks, "Remy, how many times do you think we've been here?"

"Three or four times," Remiel says. "I wasn't really keeping count. You aren't the only one I council after all. But it isn't something that just.. stops, Tasha. We will still make the same mistakes because they're in our nature to make. We are flawed. Our brains evolved for efficiency over.. accuracy. Even Karnor brains. We get the baggage of wolves and humans." He taps the side of his head with a claw and grins.

Tasha smiles at that, but then the smile fades. "That's not what I meant, but thank you Remiel. You're a good man." She then studies his face again, a moment longer, and explains, "I also killed a man named Ibrahim Warloq, a Khattan spy. He was part of the invasion force that was left behind after the Trade Lord's plan failed -- You'll hear about this later during my debriefing. I tried to bargain with him, but in the end, he was too dangerous to let go. So I killed him, too. Before he died he told me about an artifact in the room, which he called The Oracle. Blackwings said it showed her her death. Warloq said it showed him the Sifran holdings, power. And for me ... It showed me ... "

" ... It showed me my other lives. Like topogoric, like a broken mirror. My other lives. All the failures, the lost lives. I think ... I think I've been doing this a long, long time, Remy," the young woman concludes, sounding distant, eyes wide.

"Don't become lost in such things, Tasha," Remiel advises. "You will find yourself unable to act or make a decision. Don't assume that all choices lead to new realities, and that you just happen to inhabit one of them. Focus on the reality you know."

"Why did it show me that, though?" Tasha asks, focusing more on Remiel now. "What does it mean? There was ... I think it was a wall. A wall I was trying to climb. I saw the other possibilities, the deaths. My deaths. But they were all for soemthing. What does it mean?" She bites her lip, then says, "Therew as more. A blue dragon. She gave me advice, because I wanted advice. I, uh, me. The all-of-me-me. It was good advice."

After scratching her nose again, Tasha then says, "I'm okay. Really. I am. I just wish I knew what it meant. It's, um, hard to wrap my head around, but maybe I don't need to? The blue dragon said I shouldn't try so hard to do everything myself. I can have a ship without being the captain. I'm not good with people, I know. Blackwings is dead. Warloq too. It was for the best, if not in the best way. I know. I know."

"A blue dragon?" Remiel asks. "All of that death.. and your ghosts. You hold on to those, don't you? Nora, Blackwings.. even yourself. Have you ever tried to.. let them go?"

"She said she knew my father." Tasha notes, tilting her head in a 'you don't think it's true do you' sort of way. She then considers the question, and, ears back, admits, "I don't know. I mean, I do know, it's just ... Um ... " Her head shakes. "At first I wanted Blackwings to leave. But the longer tI thought about what happened, and the more I realized I'd never see her again, the less I wanted her to go. Maybe Nora is like that, too? I don't want to let go. I don't want to ... To never see them again."

"People leave us, no matter how much we want to hold onto them," Remiel says. "You have real, living people around you. So you should ask yourself if you really need the dead as well. As for your father.. uh.. did you know him?"

"Can't I have everyone?" Tasha asks, ears slowly gong askew, suggesting she already might know the answer. And deep down, she suspects she does. As for her father, she replis, "No. Mom said he was some sort of noble, but I think she was lying; To me, and herself. It made it easier."

"Who was he in your mind then?" Remiel asks. "Is there ghost in there that you made to stand in for him?"

"He's never there. Not even as a ghost. I think I know more about people only Nora has met. Speaking of which," and here Tasha tilts her head the other way, "Was there ever a graduation ceremony where a man -- a Human man -- talked about Karnors as ... Renewing the link between Humans and canines? Everyone was so stiff. Maybe I don't envy her, after all?"

"You want to believe in perfection, I think," Remiel says. "So did Nora. And now you do know something about your father: he associated with a blue dragon apparently. I didn't know Sinai had dragons."

"It does!" Tasha notes, looking a bit more alive for it. "I've met a few. Most were pseudo-dragons: Lord Yama, AIs, and the like. But there was one, the one that raided the Temple of Ahriman. It was, uh, also a ghost." But then she turns her ears forward, saying, "But do I need to know who my father is? I spent my whole life resenting him. I have you, and Eli, and Gabriel. I have Mel."

"Then you should be able to let go of your resentment," Remiel suggests. "If you hang on to too many things.. Well, let's look at Nora. When you sort of had her in your head, did you feel a need to please her or try to rise to her standards?"

"All the time," the young woman admits. "It was driving me a insane. But, I did accomplish a lot while doing it. It lead to the recreation of the JEF, helped me gain influence in the Pit and elsewhere, and it's probaly part of why I hae Gabriel and Katie. So, it wasn't that bad. Was it?"

"Probably, uh, both," Tasha admits, ears splaying out. "But I couldn't keep doing it. It was too much, all the time. I'm not Nora, even when I thought I was. I got tired. And when I was in the tank ... I ... um ... " She releases a sigh, then shakes her head. "I forgot. I know the encoding requires reinforcement, so, I think it faded. But I don't care. being Nora was driving me crazy. It's all harder now, but at least I'm sure it's me."

"And when you were with Blackwings, who were you then?" Remiel asks. "Or with Katherine, for that matter. Another powerful, successful woman.. but do you feel used by her?"

"Katie and Blackwings are different. Blackwings is cruel, vicious and abusive. Katie is kind, gentle and supportive. I thought Katie might use me, but she didn't. That surprised -- I remember. It's why we're still together, too." The young woman bites her lip, then asks, "Do you think my past will endanger her? Her career? Katie, I mean. I aslo asked if she'd come with me -- to the stars. Do you think that was a mistake?"

"Your past is on another world, and your present with her is still known to only a few," Remiel points out. "But for a real answer, just ask her. Tell me, do you know her.. ambitions? What she wants? You've invited her to join in yours, but do you know what it would cost her?"

"I thought about that!" Tasha insists, perking up -- ears, eyes, and posture -- and leaning forward. "I considered what the blue dragon said, and I thought about the request after -- I was drunk at the time, right? So: Katie loves technology, and what better way to see more of it than in space? From what I saw, it never ends. I could spend a lifetime trying to figure out just what I saw my last trip. Katie likes being a star, the center of attention. Maybe in space, she could be an even bigger star than here? Everyone loves Katie, so the Galactic world should too. Katie also likes driving, vehicles. And there are so many vehicles out there. Reading? Endless! Adventure? Also endless. She wouldn't have to live under the 'women can't do this' rules of the Expedition, either."

"So.. quite seductive," Remiel agrees. "If it can still be as meaningful as what she does on Abaddon, I'm sure she'll agree."

"What?" Goes Tasha, who had been expecting a torrential downpour of how she was wrong and doesn't understand people. "Really? I'm ... right?" And so Remiel is treated to an ears-askew look of disbelief.

"You thought about what Katherine enjoys," Remiel says. "You can't make the decision for her though. But.. don't pressure her, is my suggestion. She does important work here, and is very aware of that. I've spoken with her, and get the impression she'd rather not do it if it wasn't so important."

"Well ... Um, as it turns out, my having a ship and going in to the stars may be a lot more important than it was last time we talked about this. Remy, um ... " Tasha looks around again, then leans in closer, scootching forward, and whispers, "Remy ... Lord Yama isn't what we think. He's older. he didn't exactly ask ne to do this, but I was already, and I'm the only pilot left, so ... Well, he thinks the Sifrans are waking up, Remy."

"I don't suppose there's anyway to get a second opinion on that?" Remy asks. "You were connected to their vision-device, did you meet any of them?"

"No. But see, Remy ... Lord Yama is the last Thennenin. He was there, last time. Last time the Sifrans ... annhiliated everone. That's why he exists. He knew Ahriman, creator of the Naga," the young woman confides.

"No," Tasha says, leaning back. "Only that he knew them through their actions, not their heart. That's my job, he said. So that's my task, which I had already been doing: Find the Progenitors and warn them. Try to know them. If you need more proof, then look at this world. It's waking up. The new Forbiddin Zone, the increased magic, Abaddon waking up. One by one. He said it was triggered by an Exile, and that the appearance of the Expedition happened just when we could make a difference. So I'm going. I would have anyway, but this makes it more than my curiosity."

"And there's something out there to help you with that?" Remiel asks. "Something specific?"

"The Progenitors themselves, and their works. And, uh, money. Because I still have to pay for it all. I'm sure there are other things that will help along the way ... or ... " Tasha tilts her head, not quite able to suppress the grin forming across her muzzle. "Or did you mean my ship? Dark Horse! A ship, Remy!"

"Uh, well, it's a Titanian name, so ... It's really just what they call the, uh, blob -- that's what Bumper called it -- in the center. Bumper said it's made of hammer-metal, which is a kind of, um, how to explain it ... It's kinetic. The more it moves the easier it moves, and it has other properties besides. There's a Dark-being inside it, the 'horse,' and it's asleep -- so i need to wake it up. Otherwise it's hollow, and, she said it was a million to a billion years old, so First One or even Old One era. She said it might just be part of another ship, the drive unit, exposed. It sounds like it'll need a lot of work," the hybrid explains, gesturing as she does. She even make a kind of blob creature using both her hands and her fingers in squishing motions.

Tasha then pauses, then says, "I didn't explain that very well, did I? The ship is made of hammer-metal. It's hollow. There's a Dark life form inside that's dormant and I need to wake it up. It's a very old ship."

"I'm really excited," she then offers by way of apology, grinning and shrugging.

"So.. something so alien it's beyond even the Titanian's ability to figure out?" Remiel asks. "Built by an unknown race an unknown time ago, before any of the current civilizations or even your Progenitors showed up." The man looks lost in thought for a bit, then suggests, "I would hold off on recruiting a crew for it just yet, until you manage to actually make it work and provide some sort of life-support."

Tasha nods to this. "Hokay," she goes. Then she glances across the room at the clock, nodding her head towards it. "Should we continue later? I need time to hook my datapad to the projector and change in to uniform now taht the tests are done. You'll just be hearing all about this there, and, probably without me being all excited about it."

"Is this just for us?" Remiel asks. "I know the Templars were involved, but that's not exactly our jurisdiction."

"Just us. I don't want to scare the world. Not yet, anyway," Tasha notes as she rises. She walks over and picks up her coat, sliding it on and already missing the warm, wet weather of Sinai. "Shojo may join us. I need to meet with Miss Riddle, as well, so I should get going so I can return in time for settting up the debirefing. Sorry, Remy."

"Well, I always have you to fix my mental damage, don't I? Oh!" Tasha reaches in to her bag -- which she calls a bag and not a purse still -- and pulls out a familiar black box. This, she hands to Remiel. "This is Caspar's surgical kit for the neural studs. We recovered it from the Temple of Ahriman. Since I won't be around, I'd like you to work with Eli and Harmonia so that Eli can become her captain. I think it'll work out well, for both of them."

Remiel raises his eyebrows again and accepts the box. "I assume he won't be needing the tattoo part," he notes. "This will take some looking into."

"Well, I did the smashing and ghost-negotiating, so I'll leave you to the medical and Eli-convincing phase of this mission. Good luck, sir!" Tasha salutes, then winks. "There's also going to be some samples coming in, in a few days or weeks -- it depends how long V-Industries needs! Annnd, what am I forgetting? Oh, the tooth ... Lets save that for the debrief. Can you have Eli bring a optical drive decoder for multiple formats? Thanks!" She steps back, then drops her saluting hand in a wave. "I really think I'm beginning it get it all, now, so thanks Remy. See you soon." And with that, she's off!

Riddle Smith's Office
The door to the Ambassador's office has the familiar Star and Anchor of the Expedition, instead of the barred Star and Anchor of the Templars, despite being in the Winged Citadel. It's high up in the administration wing, and so has a window-wall looking out and down into what was once a hangar, but is now the general entrance hall of the Citadel. There are framed photographs of various people, and some architectural drawings of some of New Zion's buildings, possibly dating back to the construction of the city.

Comfortable looking boots are set next to the desk, while Riddle's bare feet are up on her desk. "Well.. I'm impressed," the human tells Tasha. "You don't have your tail between your legs! Clearly I am losing my touch at being scary. I'll have to work on that. How'd things go, aside from probably costing me some favors with the Sinai Knights?"

Tasha finishes moving the rest of her body in the room, what with having only peeked her head in so as not to overly expose herself to thrown things. "Well," she begins, spreading her hands. "We learned a lot. The mission was a success, and, we also managed to, uh, destroy a pirate vessel and kill the Warlord of Kilamanjar -- who was a Khattan spy involved with the attempted invasion. So! It was successful, and, I think they appreciated my help ... uh ... " She scratches her head, the clear shaven-side. "Well, after it was all done anyway! Hey, um, do you think I could have Shojo?"

"Hey, not like-" tasha stops herself, then sticks out her tongie befroe explaining, "Well. You see. I learned some interesting things during my mission, very interesting. And now, I need to pursue them -- which means soon I'll be leaving again. But this time, I'm returning to space -- to Galactic space. I've been offered a ship, and I need it. I also need people to join me. A small party at first, to secure the vessel and to get it running. Shojo is what I need for the landing party, and he's interested the idea, so ... I'd like you to release him from his service."

"Sorry.. did you say release him?" Riddle asks. "You don't just leave the Knight's Templar. If he wants to join you, he'd need a proper mission assignment." The woman sits up finally, putting her feet back on the floor. "Which I could give him, of course. I may have some mail to deliver."

"Well, we don't know what the situation will be. I never know what will need to be done, and I just came back from killing a warlord. I don't want Shojo to be burdened by the choice of his oath or his duty to the ship and our mission, because that could just get him killed." As Tasha talks, she turns and walks over to the door, kneels down, and picks up a glass bottle which she delivers to Riddle's desk without a word about it. "Also, um, you can come too if you want."

"Oh my, you need to practice more at bribing officials," Riddle says, still smiling. "I'm just an ambassador though. However.. I may give you a shopping list. I'd love to have my own secure hyperwave node. Difficult to be secretive when everything has to go through the Silent-Ones after all."

"Fine, fine. Lecture me on bribery while also complaining about following the rules. I could just go get Mel and step on your office, you know!" Tasha waggles her finger at the Ambassador, then promptly sits herself rigth down on the woman's desk and lays her head on her hand. "But, threats and bribes and rules aside, this is important. Also, who are you talking to that needs that kind of communicaton gear? Are you in contact with Terra?"

"Tasha honey, I'm a spy," Riddle points out. "I'm a trained Terragens Agent. Of course I want to keep in contact with the homeworld.. especially if our little haven here is no longer as isolated as we hoped."

Tasha blinks at this, ears perking. "A Terragens Agent?" She asks, wondering if anyone is what they seem.

"Yup, there aren't many of us," Riddle notes. "And I'm not the only one you've met, either. Are you going to be picking up a Terran ship on this trip?"

The young woman peers at the older for a long moment, seeing hew in a new light, then answers, "No. It'll be an alien craft, older than the current sentients. That is, the New Ones. And since I'm already clueless, by Terragen, you mean the Terragen uplift council?"

"Well.. it's all part of the government, really," Smith explains. "That's certainly part of it. We mainly look after the interests of our people."

"Well, as a spy, how can yo be a Knight too?" Tasha asks, getting comfortable and ears perked. "You aren't telling them everything I do, are you? Do they know about the JEF? Gabriel?"

"How could I send them a message?" Riddle asks. "The Silent-Ones have the only communication system that could do it.. and I have no idea what relations are between the two Galactics right now. And remember, I am the Expedition ambassador to the Knights Templar, not an actual Templar myself. All ambassadors are spies. You should know this from working with the PHTO."

"I really don't know a lot," Tasha admits, shrugging and wagging her tail even as she looks put upon. "Well, here you go, Miss Treachery: The Titanians will give me a ship. It's alien. I'm chasing after some things, and it's important. Maybe globally -- maybe galactically. Or maybe not at all. I don't know yet. But, it's important enough I need to go. I'd have gone anyway, of course, but now there's a 'good' reason. Also if you can contact them at some point, House Khomen is likely the ones responsible for the failed invasion."

"We know that from the Silent-Ones," Riddle says. "Didn't you ever wonder why Gateway trade is limited to Gateway City and a special area outside of New Zion? We aren't about to let Khattas anywhere sensitive on Abaddon."

"Oh. That makes sense. I had wondered if the Khattan Trade Emirate had an agent within the Emirate. You probably also suspect that the Emperor of Nagai may be an agent as well, then." Tasha reachs up and rubs her forehead; Her life has become increasingly complicated. "But, um, anyway ... I could use Shojo. Oh, and who is the other agent? Is it Mr. I? He always seemed like some sort of agent."

"The Emperor on Sinai?" Riddle says. "Doubtful. He was assassinated by Khattan agents, who stole his brain, cloned him a new body and tried to brainwash him into being their servant and a living 'miracle' of their fake god. They never got to the brainwashing part. He's probably still a bit peeved with the whole thing."

"I really wouldn't be a very good agent if outed other agents, by the way," Riddle points out instead of answering.

"Uuugh," goes Tasha, recoiling. "His brain?" She touches her own head, then shakes her head. She then blinks at the second comment, and nods. "Well, can't fault me for trying, can you? I'm an explorer, I wouldn't e a good explorer if I didn't ask questions and stick my nose in other peoples' business! Well, so, can I have Shojo or not? I have a debriefing in um ... " She glances at her datapad. "Fifteen minutes, and I need severn to get back and hook up the projector, so that gives me two minutes to convince you."

"Wait, you need him for the presentation?" Riddle asks. "As in, for an hour or so right now?"

"Yes, but there's no point if he's not joining me. It's a JEF high-levek debrief, after all. He's with me or he's not. I can always get him when I return, though. If I return. You know how it is." Tasha raises her brows.

"I wouldn't take anyone who didn't. It's important, but it has to be something they'd want to be part of. It's dangerous, and we may not be home much. There's a lot to take on, if they come with me," is Tasha's reply.

"Hmmm," Riddle goes, tapping her fingers on the desk. "I can't send him along without an actual mission plan. Where you're going, what you're going to be doing, and a risk assessment. You don't even have your ship yet, so that is a complete unknown still. You don't need him for getting that part in order though. Make sure the ship is workable and safe, what it can and can't do, then decide on what follows."

"Alright, well, that's about what I had planned to do anyway. At least you know ahead of time, so it won't be a surprise." Tasha sits up, then pushes herself off the desk and turns to face Riddle. "That's about all I had to say, then! I should get going."

"I'll want plenty of details too," Riddle says. "Especially about contacts you might have on the outside."

"I don't know ... " Tasha notes, head tilting. "This seems like a lot to give for his help. I like him, but I can find others who can do what he can do. I'm not sure I want to be providing information without knowing how it'll be used. There's far too many spies, secrets, and other plots around me, and it's making me nervous."

"That's good, you're supposed to be nervous," Riddle says. "Come see me when you want to really learn how things get done in the spy business."

"I'd do that right now, but I have to deal with the debriefing business. And I'll be late if I wait much longer, so, thank you! I'd better get going, see you soon Miss Treachery!" And then Tasha turns and heads to the door, pausing there to slide tow more bottles in to the room, which she explains as, "Just in case," and then she's off.

"And don't tell Rapatia about any of this!" Riddle calls after Tasha as she escapes. "I'll do that myself."

"She'd just beat me up for last time, anyway!" Tasha calls back as she escapes in to the hallway.

Given the intimacy of the presentation, everyone has simply crammed into Eli's room, since it has the needed equipment. Still, it isn't much of a crowd: Eli, Remiel, Gabriel and Tasha. There aren't enough chairs, so Gabriel and Remiel sit on the bed, while Eli uses the one roller-chair so he can move between the different pieces of equipment likely to be used.

Tasha's in unform, looking uncharacteristically civilized and well-groomed given her recent string of adventures. She's standing beside the project, which is currently illuminating the wall with a large selection of bullet points, painted images, and actual images of artifact. "Thanks for coming, everyone. I know this is a bit unusual, but what we found on our expedition is important, so, I'd like you all to hear it first so we can decide what to do -- and what to share."

She turns to the projected image and, picking up her halitool, points at an old, familiar image: Casper, the hiding place of Lord Yama. "Lord Yama isn't a threat to us. He destroyed the Expedition to prevent an even greater disaster, fearing we'd awaken the wrath of the Sifras, the Progenitors, or both. In fact, he thought it was very likely. In actuality ... " She points at nother image, one she had to dig up: The Naga homeworld, from record, " ... He is Thennenin, their way of 'spitting in the eye' of their destroyers. He confirmed what we;ve suspected: The Sifrans are responsible for the death of a majority of the Old Ones, and the First Ones. he also thinks they're waking up."

"Because Lord Yama can percieve them, and many other things. He was created to oppose them, specifically so. But we don't need his insight: We already know something is happening. There have been several new Forbidden Zones on this planet, magic is increasing, and there have been other events like Abaddon waking and attempting to use me to kill everyone. The Sifras are hostile to all other life in the universe. What I don't know is why, but that answer will have to wait. They were only defeated -- or at least brought to a stalemate -- by one group: The Progenitors. Lord Yama would like me to find them," is the cadet's answer. She turns and points to the Origin Markers. "Our best leads right now are: Arcadia, the Hall of Souls; Varta; and the Naga homeworld. There's also Dr. Moraeu, who may be like them, so understanding him may help understand them. I'd like the JEF to prepare a mission using the Bellerophon to the Hall of Souls. I will recover the ship the Titanians promised me, in the mean ti

"We need a lot of spare parts," Eli points out, looking to the others. "I'll need to get them out-system, if compatible parts still exist."

"I can take care of that." Tasha says with a smile. "If not, I can try to find a replacement. That's after I have my own ship working, anyway. I can't promise anything yet, since I don't know if it'll work."

Eli smiles, but says, "I had hoped to come along. How exactly do you expect to get an alien ship working without a scientist?"

"The same way I always do? Stumble around and wing it." The young woman taps the spike of her halitook against her head, winking. Then she leans the impliment back and admits, "Then again, it'd be nice to have someone who knows what they're doing, and taht someone isn't me! So welcome aboard. Remiel will have something to discuss with you later, too, if he hasn't already." She then looks around and asks, "Any other questions or thoughts?"

Gabriel has been quiet so far, but finally speaks. "Things are quiet. Ongoing projects have enough momentum to carry through on their own. I want to go too. I think I can help with finances."

"I don't see why not," Tasha notes, head tiling. "I'll need help picking a crew, and, well, my experience in Galactic space is limited. Right now, my allies include teh Dainty Mauler crew and possibly other Titanian vessels and holdings, and, the Free World of Encante. But even so, Miss Riddle reminded me of how little I do know, so I can use all the help I can get. I'll be bringing Mel along too, to help. Besides, the ship will need a captain."

"Mel?" Gabriel asks in surprise. "How are we going to transport him? In one of the Mauler's fish-bays? Are the Titanian's on board with that?"

"He's a Titan. They're called Titanians. I'd have to look at them very skeptically if they turned down the chance to see a big Titan," the cadet answers, grinning. "But, he may need some work done. Right now, he's only viable for atmospheric movement, and that won't help much in space, if I need to do work on the hull, move parts, and so on. Don't you think?"

"We'll have to secure a power source," Gabriel ponders. "I've no idea how prevalent Khattan-tech Titans are in the current era. Before packing him up, I'd like to make him a new suit. Something to disguise him."

"Harmonia already offered to provide one of her reactors as a power source. In addition, we have the topogroic stators, and, we can probably re-use fuel based thrusters or else rely on something Harmonia can provide. As an apology for taking her things, I've also arranged for Eli to become her new captain," explains the hybrid woman. "We could also borrow some of the parts from the Themis-Skoll, which are still stored on Sheol. If I remember right, there's more than enough to repair the Themis-Skoll and have parts leftover, so we could use he faceplate and other random parts for a disguise."

Tasha thinks a moment, then says, "If needed, we can re-use the Melchior's reactor, topogroic, and other added equipment and processing power to help get the ship functioning, so we won't have to start from scratch."

"That's a lot of kludging," Eli notes. "We don't know how to integrate other systems with Melchior, beyond having them be actual manual ones. A broomstick thruster pack, for instance. Using Themis-Skoll parts is also a bit sensitive - we don't want him to look Terran. There is plenty of hull scrap available in Expedition City though to make him look.. uh.. Titanian. Anything but what he is."

Tasha makes a face at the idea of 'uglying-up' her Titan, but then she scratches her neck and shakes her head, looking away. "I guess. Whatever the mission needs!" She looks a bit sullen for a moment, then says, "I'll need a disguise too. Before, I disguised myself as a Titanian, so I can probably do that again. The rest of you will probably have to do the same thing."

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I think I did ... " Tasha lays her halitool aside, then picks up her datapad. She flips through a number of menus, then switches the projector to display her debriefing notes from her trip in to Galactic space. "As you can see, current generation Karnors are, how did you say it Gabriel? Domesticated. To me, they look a lot like Gallee and Gallahs, with a hint of Karnor. According to the Phin and Terrans I talked to, they underwent a number of revisions since your generation."

"What would you suggest?" Gabriel asks. "If we're too distracting.. well, that can be advantageous too, especially when you need to do things that others won't notice."

"Being a Titanian is a good choice," Tasha notes, reaching up and pointing at her own face. "No one was surprised I was one, after all! A lot of it is expectation and fear. Everyone I met expected me to talk curtly, in broken sentences, and like I was brainless. They also expected me to be dangerous an savage, even if I wasn't doing much. If you just follow that, they'll assume the rest. Easy! But you're also right, we're oddities. If you stand out maybe we can use it as a distraction. I was able to get a lot of information just being a predictable Titanian Titanian, because no one seemed to think I'd have any use for what I heard."

"That could work for some situations," Gabriel admits. "But I need to be able to be a Karnor too in order to access any potential funds."

"Potential funds?" Tasha asks, head tilting. "You're not a Terragen Agent too, are you?"

"Miss Treachery. Um. Miss Riddle. She's not in active contact though, but asked me to get her a hyperwave transmitter node so she could be, as part of the deal to recruit Shojo. Maybe she can help you," the hybrid woman tells her mate.

"Doubtful," Gabriel notes. "Besides, this would be the spacers fund. As you know, interstellar travel can play hell with time. So the Terragens military set up a special bank to ensure that just because someone vanished for fifty years because of a hyperspace burp, they wouldn't come back to find they'd been declared dead and all of their savings redistributed."

"Really?" Tasha's eyes widen. "I guess it must happen enough that it became an issue. Well, that's good to know. Maybe we can make use of it. But, wouldn't you need to tell them who you actually are?"

"Depends on the scanner," Gabriel says. "I need to enter my military ID number, a passcode and a genetic sample. The sample should still be unique.."

"The Elite had a lot of sperm and eggs harvested before we left," Remiel notes. "We could each have a thousand kids and who knows how many descendants."

"Hmm, other Gabriels?" Tasha's muzzle creases in to a grin. Then she shakes her head. "No, one is fine enough for me. Well, lets hope it works. I won't be able to pass myself off as Nora then, so it'll be up to you two, to handle the funding. As far as I know, there's no 'help Tasha explore the universe' fund, so I'll have to make due with what I have with me, and the ship I'm to be given."

"And this Outpost Caltrop you've been to," Gabriel notes. "A bit of a gray economic zone, would you say? Everything for sale, few questions asked? If they do business with Titanians.."

Tasha nods her head, seeing where Gabriel is going. "They do, at least some of them. The Khattans were largely hostile to me, but the Trade Library was willing to do business with me and purchase information. There were elements of the Confederates dealing directly with Bumper, and, it seemed like others might be willing to trade, as well. If you look like Karnors and we look like Titanians, we could possibly play that to our advantage, using expectations and such, to help us along. They'll probably assume we -- uh, the Titanians -- kidnapped you or you're some sort of underworld figure. Dealing with Titanians is one thing, but working with them is another. So be careful how much you associate with us after we're docked. We'll also have a, um, somewhat unwilling contact by the name of Artist Kem, and his Phin girlfiend -- um, friend. She doesn't like me. The Niss is with them."

"At some point we'll need to acquire a Vartan shuttle," Gabriel points out. "Along with all of Eli and Fred's toys.."

"A Vartan shuttle? Toys?" Tasha asks, looking between the men like she missed something.

"Oh, that. But why a Vartan shuttle? For Varta, later?" The young woman then asks.

"You wanted to visit a Vartan colony world," Gabriel reminds. "Taking an obviously alien ship in would not be very subtle."

"Oh. Sorry, Gabe. I think I'm still tired from the journey home. That makes sense." Tasha nods, then turns to glance at her presentation. "There's still more left, by the way. Should we finish up teh debrief, then work on the details later?"

"We'll get buried in minutia if we don't press on," Gabriel notes. "What else did you dig up?"

After flipping through menus and returning to where she was, Tasha turns back to her presentation and picks up her halitool, pointing. "After I was done speaking with Lord Yama, we pushed in to the ruins. We were able to recover two items:" Both items are displayed, clearly actual images taken of the objects rather than paintings. Tasha then fishes the tooth-like data crystal from around her neck, and turns to hand it over to Eli. "The first is this tooth, a datacrystal belonging to teh Cult of Ahriman. The second is the kit for installing the interface nodes for Casper's pilot, which I gave to Remiel for Eli's use."

"It only hurts for a few hours," Tasha promises, smiling. "And with it you'll be able to become Harmonia's captain."

"Oh, you like her! Don't try and hide it. Besides, she created that avatar because I didn't realize she was just appearing as my firewall-avatar." Tasha waggles a hand Eli-wards, then insists, "Don't worry! It'll be great. Besides, think of how much it'll help your research! And the tooth, don't forget the tooth."

"It'll have to be sandboxed and decrypted, could take some time," Eli notes. "Can't risk anything nasty getting loose."

"Well, um, good." The young woman nods, then turns to her presentation. "What else ..? Oh." She points to a new section, which displays several after-action reports. The part she doesn't explain, instead allowing the men to read it for themselves.

There a time and date for both, in RTR. The first one reads: Sword of Golgotha encounters Dagh's Chibix on patrol while we were on board, and engages. Dagh's Chibix crew captured or killed; Captain of Dagh's Chibix killed by me against orders, self-destructs ship. Locked in solitary confinement for one day. Ritual was used to gain dead captain's memories, through me, linking her to Ibrahim Warloq, warlord of Kilamanjar -- attack on Kilamanjar authorized.

Attack on Harrison's Hold: Town taken with little resistance. Shojo and I part of landing group.

Attack of Harrison's Hold Fortress: Fortress raided after bombardment. Shojo and I part of landing party. Located Warloq, engaged in single combat after dialogue. Killed Warloq with help of Lancer Axe. Fortress razed.

Despite what she says, there's actually more, even if she seems to have forgotten it: A lengthy description of Ibrahim Warloq, The Oracle, and the agent's ties to a Khattan trade house.

"You seem to attract mission-creep like a flame attracts moths, Tasha," Gabriel notes with a smirk. "At least there's a lead to follow up on out there."

"A lea-" The young woman blinks, then nods. "Oh. That's right: We were able to interrogate the ghost of Warloq for additional information, and we learned a number of other interesting facts, like that Aelfin are somehow related to Sifran devices, as is their language, and Warloq's contact on a particular station." She then glances at the men. "That's about it! You'll all recieve a copy of this for reading, of course. Me ... "

"Me, I think I'm going to take a nap after this. I am beat." And thus concludes Tasha's report on her most recent adventure.