The trees were a big surprise. Gabriel piloted, to give Kaa a break and because they were moving through normal space. The endless sky was deceptive though. The first tree they encountered was a hundred miles long, with a canopy at both ends. Tidal wind forces meant both ends experienced constant gale-force winds, making them look very odd. They had rivers running through seams in the bark.
There was other life as well. Fish.. if they could be called that. They were usually torpedo shaped, with wing-like fins and tri-lateral or quinta-lateral body symmetry - a sign of evolving in free-fall. There were spherical ponds and lakes, jet-streams and smaller clumps of vegetation than the huge trees.
"The metallic signature is ahead," Eli reports. "Another fifty miles or so. Big."
Deciding to make good on her offer, Tasha steps on to the bridge with the Terragen Agent in tow. In her mind, it's only a matter of time before Terra takes an interest in them in earnest, and so, she's chosen to step forward and be the first one to make the effort -- and on her terms. In this way, she hopes to prevent a curious government from storring up trouble looking in to her ship and crew, and maybe open up negotiations for later.
It would happen sooner or later, either through me, or through Gabriel. But Gabriel has enough to worry about, and I'm the owner. I just hope I know what I'm doing, the young woman thinks as they step on to the bridge.
"So how's the sky in space?" She asks as she slowly walks towards the navigation console, spreading her hands. "Wait, was that a tree?!" She leans forward, blinks, then shakes her head. "Oh, and this is Yue. Dr. Yue Sen."
Eli nods in greeting to the guest, and returns his attention to his station. "Surprisingly free of clouds," he notes. "But outside humidity is at twenty percent. Gabriel also turns in his seat to nod to Yue on their official introduction. "Captain Akkers, at your service."
"My wings are itching at this, by the way." Tasha takes her seat, bringing up a display of their navigation course and the range to the metallic object. "A survey ship?" She ventures, glancing back towards Yue for confirmation.
"Possibly," the woman says. "I don't know myself."
"Not sure you'd be very graceful out there," Eli notes to Tasha. "Without gravity, flying as you know it is likely to send you in the wrong direction. You need to learn how to swim with your wings."
"Who are we here to see, anyway? If you don't know, I'm guessing they're not with Terra?" Asks the hybrid, who then leans over and pats Gabriel's shoulder out of the blue. Turning, she then glance back to Eli and frowns. ""No flying as you know it?" That doesn't sound promising. I should have guessed, though. It's obvious now that I think about it. I just got excited."
"However, it would be nice to get outside," Gabriel notes. "Air should be moist enough for the Phins as well."
"We need more time for atmospheric analysis," Eli points out. "So far, we've found some very unusual things in the air."
"As you can see, I collect Terrans for my secret, alien-" Tasha looks back to eye Dr. Sen in a just try and debate it sort of way, " ... projects. Gabriel is my favorite, of course. Don't tell anyone." All in a very overdone, conspiratorial voice. She winks, then turns back to her console to inspect Eli's "unusual things."
It isn't clear just what Eli is finding unusual. There are amino acids in the air - she knows about those and why they're important - but these have odd little modifiers to them: L and D followed by a dash and the name of the molecule. There are numbers as well, but those are fairly even between the two sets of identified proteins.
"I see the readout, but maybe you'd like to explain in case I'm overlooking something?" Tasha asks Eli, tapping the side of her muzzle as she studies the display.
"Hmm?" Eli goes, then blinks. "Ah, yes.. it's chirality, the way certain molecules can have mirror-images, chemically speaking. We call it handedness, like your right and left hand. Usually there's a dominance of one version over the other, since mirror-proteins can have very different effects, including toxicity. Most organic life uses left-handed molecules, and has special enzymes for processing the mirror versions, which are rare. But in our samples, we're seeing equal amounts of both kinds of molecules. It could mean nothing. Just like us, one version became dominant and the other version if processed differently. In an extreme case, however, there could be two overlapping biomes here: one based on left-handed chemistry and one on right-handed chemistry."
"That sounds unusual. If we devloped favoring one side, then, why are there two biomes here? Wouldn't that mean they developed seperately and then merged together? Or, perhaps were created? Isn't it very likely for that to happen naturally?" Asks the young woman, who continues to puzzle over the readout. She wonders if she's admitting too much ignorance, but then recalls their guest is a psychic and decides avoiding verbal ignorance is probably moot anyway.
"This environment isn't like any planetary equivalent," Eli points out. "The chemistry of a gas giant is very different from that of a terrestrial atmosphere, so that's the likely cause. This biome is also immense. There could be areas based on completely different chemistries than we're familiar with."
"It's like a number of worlds all suspended in a toroid sky. It's incredible, really. I just wish I understood it better." The young hybrid props her head on her taloned hand, eying the display. So much to learn, she reminds herself as she puzzle it all out. With nothing more to add, and a lot to think about, she falls silent for a time.
Gabriel eases them through it all, avoiding the giant trees and the free-floating lakes. There's something ahead in the haze, and the radar shows it's big - clearly a tree. But also the source of the metallic signature. Once it comes into view, it's clearly a crash site, and an old one, as the tree have grown over most of the wreckage. Except for the clearly Terran spaceship next to it, anchored to the bark.
"We're getting pinged," Eli reports. "And we've been sent a handshake challenge code. Dr. Sen?" The Karnor slides his chair back to give the human access to the communications system.
"It isn't fair you're currently a better flier than me, Gabriel," Tasha notes as she watches the two ships come in to view on her display. She momentarily glances back long enough to watch the two exchange seat, then turns to Gabriel and whispers, "I hope you don't mind? I figured Terra would approach us anyway, and I thought I'd make the first move and try to be diplomatic."
"Well, since we're doing this all in secret anyway, it means we can probably keep in the shade," Gabriel whispers. "Better to work for the spies, in other words: they'll help keep us under wraps. And hopefully now know to keep ears and eyes out for news of us."
After a minute of typing, Dr. Sen reports, "We're free to approach the Beagle V now."
Tasha gives the man a nod and a smile. "That was the plan! Besides, I can't have my ship run off your money forever, I need to have this ship make its own money. If Terra wants to pay me, that's fine -- it's even better if they help us all along the way! Anyway, at this rate it was seeming like it'd be inevitable, so, at least they'll know how to approach us. Anyway, take us in." She then leans back, giving her mate room to work.
Within ten minutes, the docking clamps have done their job and the two ships are connected. Beagle V is bigger than Dark Horse, and has two counter-rotating ring sections on it. While it most like has a stator on it, it doesn't seem to be using it at the moment.
"Let's grab Herbie," Yue says to Tasha. "That ship likely has the resources for doing a good analysis."
"Alright," Tasha replies, pushing off from her chair and turning to follow along. She considers suiting up first, but decides against it until she knows what they're in for; In the same way, a diguise. "So, green this time, maybe?" She asks as they head for the woman's quarters.
"Green?" the human asks.
""Go with green next time,"" the hybrid woman repeats with a grin.
"Ah, for the fur.." Yue says, then laughs. "It probably wouldn't matter with these folks. Xenobiologists. They'd want to check you over regardless."
"It's the same where ever I go, really. I need a better disguise, just to hide from the, "Can we have your blood?" questions." After stepping in to Yue's room, Tasha walks over and picks up the coffin, waiting to see if the other woman wants to carry it as well, as it is her 'prize.' "Is it the same for you? Psychic, and, um, what you are." She peers past the coffin a moment, then asks, "Are all psychics like you? The eyes? Like Belters?"
"What?" Yue asks. "My eyes are brown. It is the most common eye color among Asian humans. There's nothing special about my eyes."
"Well, they're slanted. Like some animals I've seen. I thought maybe you were like the Karnors, but more human. That it was part of being a psychic. I've never seen anyone like you before, and well, I've met the Belters who are modified Humans, and I though ... " Tasha shrugs as much as she can holding a high tech coffin.
"Asian is ... It's not like a Belter?" The younger woman then asks, ears askew.
Both of Yue's eyebrows go up, and she breaks into laughter again. "It is an old joke that to most aliens, all humans look alike! But there are as many breeds of us as there are of Karnors - modern Karnors, that is. My particular set of features is typical of about one third the total human population, although it is more apparent on colony worlds. You're used to.. hmm. Six thousand years, starting from a mixed bag of a few thousand. I suppose you aren't used to seeing a lot of variation in humans then. They'd have been smoothed out if yours were all in one place."
"There are different breeds of Human?" Tasha asks in surprise, her own eyes widening. "I thought some of the new Karnor were nice looking, even if I don;t like what they've become. So, um, wow, different Humans too? And not just the hair and skin color? I had no idea. Well, that's exploration for you!" She gives another well-meaning shrug, then nods towards the coffin edge. "Want to help with Herbie, or should I bring him in and say he's my brother?"
"You can carry him," Yue offers. "It'll help distract from your appearance."
"I appreciate that. If I have to, I can hide behind the coffin." Up the case goes, right on to Tasha's shoulder. The udnersuit she's wearing stiffens, making the pose less painful than it otherwise would be. "Lead on, strange new Human!"
The Niss has learned a new trick. When they enter the airlock, the outer membrane turns transparent, so they can see the opposite airlock. The outer door of the Beagle V is open and waiting for them.
Tasha doesn't comment on it, but does raise her eyebrows. She follows along after Yue, letting her head the way; She decides a strange alien woman barging in with a coffin might be a little startling -- she knows it'd startle her!
It's an easy 'float' across to the new ship. The outer door closes.. and there's almost no cycling, beyond a brief bath of ultraviolet light. The inner gate dilates, revealing a corridor that looks too clean to Tasha. It's all white padding and chrome and soft lighting. A human floats before them.. and takes a moment to adjust his orientation so he's facing the same up and down as the new arrivals. His complexion is dark, and he's bald - but has very dark bushy eyebrows. "Welcome aboard the Beagle V," he says. "I'm Doctor Windar, expedition lead."
"Hello, Doctor," Tasha greets the man, adjusting the coffin so that she's holding it in both hands -- with the object quite a bit more infront of her. "I'm Tasha, and you know know Dr. Sen. Permission to come aboard?"
"Please do," the man says, and gestures down the corridor. "Right this way, ladies." He then twists and pushes like someone very familiar with freefall, and is sent drifting down the corridor.
Tasha pushes off as well, but uses the walls and even her burden to help ensure a steady flight path. As she sailrs along after both doctors, she takes a moment to look around and note her plain -- and exceptionally sterile -- environment. It's all a bit bland for the young woman, oppressively so. And safe, though she can appreciate that aspect from the many cuts and bruises she sustained over a brief lifetime of ship travel. "How long have you been in the toroid, and what is that ship that had the poor luck to crash in to one of the few trees in space?" She recalls crashing in to trees, too.
"I suppose you have clearance, based on your passenger and the alien look of your ship," Dr. Windar notes. "The Beagle V is part of the Terragens Exploration Fleet. Officially, were are verifying the galactic maps available to us from the Library. Unofficially, we look for anomalies in the charts and investigate. That's how we found this rather unique environment. As for the wreckage.." They come to a stop at the end of the corridor, and enter the moving ring section. There's a spiral path to follow, which passes through the various levels (and those levels of pseudo-gravity) within the ring. They are greeted by a strange creature: it has five legs and small central body that acts as a hub. The legs end in claws, and there's a hard, unblinking eye at the main 'hip' where each leg joins the body. A beaky sort of mouth is at each knee.. and each leg looks subtly different. It clicks something at them.
"Hi," Tasha greets the new thing, completely uncertain what to make of it. At first she thinks it reminds her of a Harrower, but somehow a Harrower that has acquired body armor. And even though the idea strikes her as very unlikely, she can't help but feel it's her best guess at this point. "One of your, um, follow explorers?" She then ventures.
Dr. Windar makes some clicking noises back, and the strange exoskeletal creatures scurries into a side room so they can continue. "We call them Jotoki," he says. "That's our approximation for what we think they call themselves, anyway. Their lifecycles don't match with anything else we've seen here, so we think they're the descendants of the crew of the crashed ship. No idea how long they've been here though."
"Descendents of a stranded crew? An old, familiar story," the young hybrid woman remarks. She glances in to the room where the creature departed, giving it a little wave as she floats by. "They remind me of Harrowers, in some ways. You can communicate with them? I take it that what you understand of their language doesn't help explain much?"
"It's difficult to master," Dr. Windar claims. "The Jotoki start life as independent fingerlings, living mostly aquatic lives. When they mature, five of them form a mating group and.. fuse their heads together. It also links up their brains, so they become intelligent. But they tend to talk with five voices at once."
"Hm, like Harrowers that way, too, if just vaguely. I admit, though, I've never met anyone like them. Well, not exactly like them, and certainly not that life cycle. And speaking of alien life cycles, where would you like this alien ... " The red woman pats the coffin. "To continue?"
At the lowest level of the ring, they're almost in normal gravity again. This is where the main bio lab is, apparently, including an isolation chamber and lots of equipment that Tasha has no recognition of. "We can start your examination here, if you want to put down your luggage," the man says to Tasha, smiling without showing teeth.
"I don't know, I think I'll miss carrying around a coffin." Tasha even manages to say so with a straight face, walking over and placing the item as indicated, then stepping away so the ship personnel have room to work. "Let me know if you need anything else, Yue," she notes as she takes up position a ways apart, out of the way and a bit farther than is strictly necessary.
"Oh.. the coffin is the artifact?" Dr. Windar asks Dr. Sen, looking between it and Tasha.
Uh oh, thinks Tasha, whose brows go up and ears askew. "You thought ... You thought I was the artifact ... Well ... " She glances at Yue, then holds her hands up. "Well, um, you figured me out. I'm the newest generation of Karnor. See, Yue? I told you he'd notice. You can't fool scientists, and look, we've confused him! And poor Herbie, being left out."
Yue is clearly trying not to laugh. "No, the coffin is the stasis unit," she explains. "There's a mummy in it."
"A mummy?" Dr. Windar asks, looking surprised. "With bandages and such?"
"No!" Yue snaps. "Just.. mummified.. Alien jerky! Dried out! Dessicated!" There are other technicians in the lab, and now they all look towards the small angry woman.
"Ohhhh, that sort of mummy," Windar says, and gestures for a pair of assistants to bring the coffin into the isolation chamber.
"That's right!" Tasha insists, floating over to gesture at the coffin in a very attention-getting way. "An alien mummy. First One, probably. Found on Encante, probably not local. Encante ruins are Old Ones era. I'm surprised you noticed me, I'm just, uh, the muscle. That's right, for Yue. Karnor, right? Yue, should I hit any of them now?"
"Not yet," Yue replies to Tasha.
"Yes ma'am!" Goes Tasha, who walks over -- and slightly behind -- the smaller woman and folds her hands behind her back in an effort to look banal. And thus, non-needle attracting.
"We could still.." Windar starts to say to Tasha, before noticing the look. He clears his throat, and the isolation chamber is evacuated and sealed. Robotic arms shut down the coffin and remove the upper piece. The figure inside is wearing a shiny silver suit with no visible seams. It looks humanoid, but the joints look swollen to twice human sized. The skin of the exposed head is leather and brown, and the face, and lips look fused into a sort of flattened beak. The eyes are closed, and the ears large.
Despite her fear of being the next contents of the isolation chamber, Tasha steps forward and peers from around Yue. Her keen eyes don't need to be closer usually, but the lightning and sterilization are making her eyes water -- and she feels safer the closer she is to Dr. Sen and her authority to overrule testing. "I don't recognize the species," she notes a second later.
"That's why we brought him here," Yue says. A scanning device moves about the corpse, and detailed internal views are being projected by a large holographic display table.
"Well, better him than me," the hybrid mutters. She shifts her attention to the display, having the now common place experience of seeing a lot of details projected and know what little to none of them mean. "And, you found him in a ship? Escape pod?"
"Not a he.. or a she," Dr. Windar notes. "A secondary heart where the genitals would normally be in a humanoid. The joints have a lot of extra degrees of movement.. hard skin.. big brain. A contradiction. It should be very intelligent, but looks like it was made for combat."
"Ruins," Yue says. "In stasis."
One of techs has a cable linked from a console to a socket behind one of her ears. "Searching the Library," she reports, her eyes flicking about.
"In stasis, in ruins ... Large brain, no reproduction ... flexible ... made for combat. Hmm," goes Tasha, who nods and taps the side of her muscle. "Maybe, not a 'natural' species, then? Artificial life form, created for combat, like the old Karnor and combat robots, etcetera?"
"Or a post-reproductive life stage," Windar suggests, looking through the glass into the chamber. "A drone is another possibility. Carbon scan is starting.."
"It's strange that it was found in stasis, in a ruin believed to be Old Ones era. That suggests that either automated systems put it there, or, it put itself there once it determined how to do so. If so, then it probably has a significant understanding of technologies largely beyond us. If not, well, who knows," the young 'Neo-Karnor' remarks.
"Some of the features struck me as.. senescent," Yue notes. "Swollen joints, withering of genitals, loss of teeth, wrinkles.."
More information is displayed once the carbon scan completes. "Well.. it appears that this fellow died at the ripe old age of.. uh.. thirty-thousand years, give or take five thousand. So yeah.. he was old when he died."
Windar notes.
Another test is begun, using a different scanning device. "Let's see where he's from at least.." the technician running it says.
"Sene- ... Oh, old. Well, dying of old age seems like a good reason to enter stasis. It may have been sranded for a long time, and used its knowledge of existing world technologies as a last-ditch attempt to save itself. The stasis musn't have been of a high degree if he died inside the chamber. If he didn't, then someone or something would have had to put him there. Which is odd, since I don't think there were others," continues the young hybrid woman.
"We're seeing high concentrations of a Thalium isotope," the technician notes. "Not one common to our region of the galaxy though. Best guess is somewhere near the galactic core, with higher radiation flux."
Tasha doesn't have anything to say to that, having little idea of what it means and not about to mention her own trip to the Galactic Core. Instead, she continues to peer at the results and hope she looks far less interesting.
"I've got something," the Library tech says. "Galactic core is the key. Lots of old myths and legends about it from the Celestials. Some describe ancient bipeds from the core. Called them Pak."
"Pak??" Tasha asks, ears shooting up. She then hopes no one notices that either, and instead continues to look pointedly at the diagram.
"They even thought humans were related to them at first contact," the girl adds.
"So.. how'd he get way out here?" Yue asks.
"Encante is not native to its current star system," Windar says, suggesting, "It could have been closer in to the core originally. Or this guy was.. like us. Exploring, checking new worlds for whatever it is they thought was interesting. It has ancient ruins on it.. that could have been the lure. He came in, explored.. decided to become part of it all at the end?"
"Humans are rather strange," Tasha admits with a hint of a grin, still studying the image and still not making much sense of it. She thinks for a moment, then suggests, "Maybe he was trying to avoid something."
Yue doesn't look pleased with either notion. "I hate dealing with core-related stuff. It's all mysticism and mumbo-jumbo and dark gods and ancient demons and all that. The Celestials are too superstitious."
"Don't rule out dark gods and ancient demons," Tasha murmurs, almost a whisper so that only Yue can hear it. "My face didn't get this way by itself."
"Well.. we know this guy came from near the core, probably evolved under heavy radiation.. and that maybe the Celestials encountered ruins or something from his civilization. Damned snakes have lost more knowledge than they've gained, if you ask me. Once you misplace your home planet it's all downhill."
"At least they don't talk about space-dragons eating ships in hyperspace, like the bats do," one of the techs jokes.
Tasha hadn't heard that the Celestials had misplaced their home world, only that it was no longer present -- which she had assumed meant destruction. She does have something to say about the other remark, though. "Space-dragons?" She asks.
"Sailors always have tails of sea-monsters," the man notes. "And it always comes down to dragons in the end. Dragons in hyperspace. Dragons in interstellar space. The Celestials were big on dragons, although who knows how much of their legends were borrowed from Terran ones and then just claimed to be ancient. So much cross-contamination that who knows which history belongs to whom anymore."
""If you want to impress someone, a dragon is a good choice,"" Tasha quotes, or at least para-quotes, from memory. This makes her think of another question, one relevant to her own alien-chasing. "Have you ever heard of the 'dragon' Ahriman? Father of the Night?"
"It's probably just Titanians grabbing ships, or someone not using the mass-detectors properly. Ahriman?" Windar asks. "Ancient demon from Terra. The Adversary. Probably the origin of whole gods versus dragons theme seen.. everywhere. At least, I think that's the origin.."
"You never know. I heard he had a conflict with other gods, by other names, and a love affair with a male god. That is, as Seth." Tasha steps forward now that she isn't afraid of being accosted by knowledge-hungry human technicians, walking up to the isolation chamber and placing a hand in the side. Here she looks up, peering in to the ancient being's face in search of her own answers.
Herbie looks.. peaceful. Almost grinning, like he died knowing something, and was feeling very smug about it.
"Still galls me," Windar mutters. "If we'd been a bit more savvy about Galactic politics at the time, we could have gotten the Celestials as Clients. Now we have to hide the Jotoki, because everyone else would snap them up in a minute."
Now there's a familiar look. All of you ancients, you gods and dragons, you all know too much, say too little, and smirk far too often. She taps what she's sure isn't glass in frusteration, then shakes her head. What were you doing out there? And why -- if you did -- did your torus fail? And ... Oh nevermind, you're never going to answer me anyway. Just ... Just rest in peace.
"Everyone wants to own everyone else ... " The hybrid woman murmurs as she watches the long departed alien. "It's all very Khattan."
"Claiming clients requires knowing where their homeworld is," Yue points out. "And that they aren't spacefaring. You need to prove they're not native to the torus, and that they really did build that ship out there."
At that, Tasha turns around and puts her back to the chamber, asking, "You're trying to protect them? Why?"
"That's what we're going to do," Windar claims, and looks to Tasha. "Why? Because. What if these are the last ones? That ship could have been a last ditch effort at survival. If so, they deserve better than ten-thousand years of servitude for the privilege of being rescued. That and.." Here the man looks more embarrassed, and doesn't finish his statement.
"And?" Tasha prompts, ears going up and tail lifting slightly. She isn't prone to shows of dominance, but her exposure to a great many Karnor has awakened her to the use and instinct of it, and she wants to know. It's important to her, to her understanding the Galactics and maybe other things besides.
"And," Yue says, "we may need them as a bargaining chip with one of the other patron races. Politics. To prevent something of ours being taken away.. like Phins or Gorillas.. we have these new ripe sapients to offer up as a bribe."
"For all we know, the Jotoki helped create the Galactic Library in the first place, and hid themselves from it for protection," Windar notes.
"So ... Slave trading then." Tasha looks between the assorted humans, from Sen, to Windar, to the technicians and then back across them. She then shakes her head in disgust at it all, turning her back on them and facing the alien. She doesn't want them to see her expression, and right now, Herbie's the most respectable person in this room for Tasha -- including herself.
"Terra doesn't have the resources to protect an alien Client species," Yue notes. "We aren't interested in adding them to our own, either. Terran Clients will always come from Terran stock. It's about family. We protect our families. Everyone does. If we have to give up the Jotoki to do that... Well, family comes first."
"It's always nice when it isn't you. But I understand. Or, maybe I don't?" Tasha scks in a breath, then exhales. More wonders, more horrors. "Well, I won't be part of helping with that. But if you want some help in proving they're not 'Client-able,' maybe I can help there."
"In any case.. nobody else is going to come looking this way," Windar says. "We've got plenty of time to build our case, and find their homeworld. These can't be the only ones. We just need a tech team to examine the wreckage and complete the picture."
"Someone wanted this place kept secret," Yue reminds everyone. "There could be a lot more 'shipwrecked' colonies in a volume this large. Wouldn't be the first time that strategy has been used to ensure survival, after all."
"A tech team ... " Reaching for her neck, Tasha grasps at the com-necklace and says, "Tasha to Gabriel. Would you, Eli and Niss mind scanning that ship? Seeing what you can find? Especially, locating data vaults and determing an astrological map, specifically, anything noted as thier home world."
Tasha lets go and turns around again, head tilting. "You know, we could always just leace them in peace. Forget we found them. Hope they can endure on their own, and find their own way. Live in isolation long enough."
"They don't seen interesting in being left alone," Windar points out. "They're curious about us."
"That doesn't mean you can't leave," tasha points out, wondering how badly she's pushing her place as a 'Karnor,' then deciding she doesn't care. "At least after you've fulfilled your mutual curiosity."
There's a reply to Tasha's request rather quickly. "It's Eli," Eli reports. "The ship doesn't use transuranic materials. There's been corrosion as well. Radiation is low, but there's some neutron transmutation in places that suggests a fusion energy source. Nothing to suggest it had faster-than-light capabilities so far."
"You aren't a scientist, I wager," Windar notes. "We'll stay and study them as long as they let us. If they ask us to leave, we will.. but by that time we'll at least be talking to them well enough to understand that. This is still First Contact and we are following the established protocols for it."
"That's not very helpful It'd suggest a child ship, or, a long interstellar flight using conventional drives ... " Tasha murmurs as she turns away from the Humans to answer the reply. "Keep looking. There are sentient life forms here, something the Humans call Jotokai. Ask Niss. Worm-like, then they bond togetehr at the head and produce the sentient adult. They've been here a while." That done, she turns back.
"Wager whatever you like. It's not that I disagree with learning about them, but I don't want the result of that to be ten thousand years of slavery, especially if it means being twisted in to whatever the others can use at the time," the young woman explains.
"We're the only ones looking at places like this," Windar notes. "The Khattans and Celestials do not verify anything in the Library, they just use it. You can trust us to look after these people's interests.. once we're clear on what those interests are. It'll take years."
"Just be certain this whole place isn't a Honeypot set up to entrap us," Yue notes.
"Well ... Alright. If that's the case, then ... Then I have nothing more to say about it. For now, anyway." Realizing she's probably blown her cover as Dr. Sen's prototype Karnor muscle -- or at least made her role far more interesting as Dr. Sen's prototype Karnor co-agent -- the young woman turns around and begins walking away from the chamber, towards the exit. She isn't sure where she's going, just that she's going somewhere, and angrily at that. Angrily, and guilty on a level.
"Take care of Herbie," Yue says, and follows Tasha. "You've got the temper of a Vartan," she notes once they're clear of the lab.
"I sure do," Tasha admits, not even trying to hide her feelings and strongly suspecting it wouldn't matter anyway. "I don't know why I'm lecturing him. I almost did the same thing. I did the same thing, for years. But I've known slaves, I talked to them. I saw what the Celestials did. It makes me mad. I just, I don't have any right to be high-and-mighty about it. But something has to be said, so it may as well be me."
"I'm pretty sure it's all fake anyway," Yue says. "That wreck, I mean. Yeah, made to look like a nascent attempt at interstellar travel.. but this system is in a nursery. There aren't any habitable worlds for a hundred lightyears. No.. someone brought that ship here, and it was set up to look like it crashed. I doubt there's anything that will tell you where it came from in the wreckage. Probably the isotopes in the metal were modified to give a false trail."
"A trap ..?" Tasha pauses, stopping in her tracks. She then reaches for her neck and, after grasping the communication device, sends, "Gabe, Yue thinks the ship's a decoy. If it is, it might be rigged as a trap. Tell Niss to be careful and be prepared to pull away from this ship."
"No more a trap than the Primus Expedition, likely," Yue says. "It's all about survival. Spread out, hide your origin, look for safe places that the wolves won't sniff out. Hide your strength, look weak.. lull the predators into a fall sense of security."
"Well, I hope so. Best to be prepared, though. I've had my paranoid hunches come true before, and I really wish I had followed my instinct," Tasha notes, turning to face the other woan fully even as she talks to Gabriel. "Gabe, you heard that didn't you? Just, um, play it safe, alright? We probably don't need to remain here much longer. Yue?" She looks up again. "Is this as far as you need to go?"
"I just need to drop off Herbie," the woman says. "I hadn't planned on staying. Not much use for me with a bunch of biologists. I might look at the wreck a bit.. I am a xeno-archaeologist, after all. I could be wrong about the wreck. It just seems absurd for a sublight ship to have found this system by chance, since it's hidden by nebulae."
"It could have been brought here by unusual forces, like topographical disturbances, but that seems like a stretch from what I remember. Well, our pilot needs to rest and I'm sure the others would like to get outside for a while, so why don't you and I go take a look at the ship? Maybe Eli will come along, too. He'd be useful," Tasha suggests. Having an idea where to go now, the young woman begins retracing her steps back towards the airlock.
They pass a few more of the unattended Jotoki. The big, armored bodies look formidable, to be sure. "This ship has been here awhile, I'm sure they've got gear for moving around in this environment, although I suspect they'll just be big folding fans you stick to your feet," Yue says. "And at least it won't be underwater swimming. Phins are nice, but being cooped up with them all the time and never feeling dry doesn't sit well with my primate ancestry."
"As a bird, I sympathize. A bird in underwater. It's almost a joke all by itself." Tasha glances at the Jotoki. She'd like to talk to them, interact with them more, but without a language she isn't sure how to do it or if she even should. Despite what she said, she knows the scientists here have things well in hand -- better than she might. It's a job for Eli, she decides, but she also considers sitting down and trying to interact at some point just to have made the effort. "By the way," she then thinks to ask, "Am I really that different from modern Karnor? Standing up to a Human blew my cover badly?"
"Well, you don't come across as a Karnor much," Yue admits. "Frankly, people in our line of work would assume you're a failed Terragens infiltration experiment - a Karnor made to pass for a Vartan."
Tasha suddenly barks a laugh at the answer. "Oh?" She looks over at Yue, then grins lopsidedly. "Why, it's almost the truth! Exept it's the opposite, a Vartan made to pass for a Karnor. According to our doctors, I'm primarily Vartan. But as a Karnor, I succeeded. So, I can't say I'm a failure." She winks, then cocks her head to the side. "Maybe I can use that 'failed Terragens infiltraitor' story, though. It's better than 'new Karnor,' though I will say my Titanian was very successful."
"Except for the color," Yue says when they reach the airlock. "Best way to hide the features you don't want noticed to make sure something else is overwhelmingly noticeable."
"Or just use a convincing glove, a feathered cowl and fake beak to go all Vartan," the woman adds, as the airlock opens for them.
"You missed eye patch, giant haliberd-tool, and my Titanese. I didn't hide with color, I hid with volume and childishness. Poor Knight, he thought I was the daughter of a Titanian woman named Bumper. When I interviewed him, I stayed in disguise! Had to see what he was like, after all." Tasha begins walking, stopping once they reach the airlock nearby. "I'm sure I'll get better at itall as I continue, assuming it still matters by then. Of course, you're a psychic so I'm not sure how to conceal myself from your kind. I've never met a psychic before, at least, not one that wasn't god-like. It must be convienent." She steps inside and then tilts her head. "All Vartan, huh? They'd let a Vartan on Terragen secret mission vessel?"
"You don't think we have Vartan spies working for us?" Yue asks, and then it's time to cross over to the Dark Horse. "Or that the Vartans have human ones? I'll probably need to introduce myself to Mr. Knight properly. He looks like he could be fun.."
"Fun to tease, sure. Unless you meant something else, in which case Gabriel in mine. Just so you know." Tasha enters her ship, stepping off through zero-G and then right back on to artificial gravity and flooring. "I think that's enough meddling and poor spy-business from me for now. You're free to go see Mr. Knight, I am going up to my deck and resting a while. Maybe, think up a better disguise. Oh, and we ahve a lounge now. Fore elevator, top deck. Why don't you invite our Doctor up there instead?"
"Is there a bar?" Yue asks. "That's another thing I haven't had in over a year: a good drink."
"yes, but our supply is limited until we can restock. I haven't had a chance to try some of the varieties, so maybe I'll also stop by and see what you two recommend. That is, unless I shouldn't. Just let me know, and I'll leave you two alone -- but I'd recommend the side rooms for that." The young woman turns and stretches, wings otu and arms up. "Anyway, I think I earned my pay! You'll have to decide wheer you want to go, too. We'll be departing on our own tasks, soon."
"So eager to be rid of me?" Yue asks with a smile, and then turns to head for Medbay.
"I thoguht you'd want to get going!" Tasha calls after the woman, then sighs as she vanishes down the hallway. Oh well, she thinks, she knows I don't mean it." She wanders off in the opposite direction, heading for the aft elevator. Humans and spies. Her head just shakes. What a pain.