Sheol Observation Post
Like the cities of Abaddon, the Sheol Observation Post is based under a Life Dome - only a much smaller one, perhaps a hundred meters across. It's still a Sifran artifact though, especially the gate-pad at the very center, which looks like a pool of mercury about eight feet across contained in a raised rim with glowing veins of crystal radiating outwards. Fiberoptic cables are held in place against various places along the rim, running to a cobbled-together looking opto-mechanical device.

Sleeping on the base is an acquired skill. The day-night cycle is only a few hours as the moon orbits Abaddon several times a day, and is tidally-locked so one face is always facing it. This means that 'day' is when the base is facing the sun, and that is also a rather noisy time. Most of the systems depend on solar power, and come alive when the light is available, including the environmental systems. The water condenser and air conditioner make the most noise, but at least lower the humidity during the day and also cool down the base. It still stinks though.

There is plentiful coffee though, which everyone on the base drinks. The food is all compressed, low-residue and high protein 'chunks' or 'rolls', so most of the flavor for a meal comes from the coffee. At least the blandness doesn't distract the crew from their actual work - which seems to involve looking through telescopes and other instruments and doing lots of calculations by hand (although they do have a mechanical calculator and a few computers, they are hardly ever used). The goal is to generate the minimum amount of detectable 'digital cognizance' signals as necessary.

Tasha feels a bit sticky, but then that's likely true of everyone with fur. Someone has thoughtfully rolled out a hand-drawn 'map' of this part of Sheol, which mostly notes landmarks and distances.

If the living in cramped, smelly quarters with bad food and a lot of men felt familiar, the day-to-day (such as day is) business is decidedly outside Tasha's experience. Mathmatics were never her forte even when Fred's teachings were still alive and well in her head, the injury she sustained and the recovery period having undermined much of her training as she languished in the recovery tube leaving her with even less to contribute here than she might have otherwise had. All in all, she feels apart from the business here -- but she has her own tasks to take care of and the keeps her from feeling useless.

Studing the map infront of her and seated by the edge of the dome where she can use natural light to read, she considers what next to do. Her goal being to obtain topography of the region surrounding the Kampfengruppe capital, it's easy enough for her to trace the landmarks from known sectors to where she recalls the capital to be. From there she starts jotting down the available observation points and the travel times between thme, creating a rough round-trip plan that provides a bit of leeway in case troubel should crop up along the way. If I can't make all these points the first trip, there's always a second and third attempt. I have days here, she reminds herself. Nodding, she rolls up her plan and stands -- it's off to find the Naga.

Scutes happens to be pulling open some crates and writing down the contents in his ledger. He doesn't even notice Tasha's approach - but then everyone here seems to be in his own world, regardless of what they're doing. Nurple the Vartan, for one, hasn't moved at all since Tasha left her quarters. He just sits cross-legged in front of a chalkboard, staring at the gibberish scrawled over it.

Tasha is glad to be forgotten; In this city of the socially awkward, to be uninteresting is to be accepted or at least out of mind and thus comfortable. Or so she thinks. "Scutes," she bids Naga ashs eh walks up beside him, "I've studied the map provided -- thanks by the way! -- and I've got a basic trip plan and itinerary worked up. I've noted the observational landmarks and the target sectors. There's some leeway for problems and additional photography as well. Take a look." The itinerary is held out for the man to take.

It takes a moment for the Naga to stop what he's doing, and look at Tasha's notes. It's almost like he can't see them because he's holding his own ledger, and more than one thing to look at is one too many. Eventually, he says, "Ah.. yesss. You will want the planetary telessscope then, correct?"

"That's right. I'll need to borrow some of the personnel here, as I can't use the equipment myself," the hybrid woman replies, taking her itinerary back and folding it in her hands as she talks.

This last part causes Scutes to pay more attention, and actually look at Tasha. "What? You need help? Who do you need?" he asks in surprise.

Tasha gives a little shrug. "Someone to operate the camera and handle telescope alignment. I'm a pilot and field operative, not technical personnel." She then thumbs back over her shoulder, out in to the shadowy wasteland. "One or two people should be enough. I can carry the equipment."

Scutes looks around at the others. "Ferb can asSemble the sscope," the Naga says, and flicks his tongue. "Nurple is good at keeping things focused and fine adjustments and such. Others would work, but those two can fly like you."

"The plan took in to accoutn land travel, so we'll have that much more time then." Tasha glances back, looking between Nurple and Ferb for a moment before turning back. "That's if Nurple will be okay? I wasn't expecting him to be comfortable with travel outside the dome or me."

"Nurple is.." Scutes starts to say, then pauses and flicks his tongue a few times. "He doess not like sSurpriSes. But once sSet on a goal, he will not sStop until told to. He haSs Vartan condition.. uh.. enrapturement.. I think."

"I thought that was a Silent-Ones condition," Tasha says with a lopsided grin. She then gives the serpent a thumbs up and notes, "Whatever it is, I'm sure I can handle it. Best to give me the overview though, then I can collect the both of them and fill them in on our mission."

"Ferb isS superssticious," Scutes explains. "About numbersS, mainly. You can ignore hisss quirks eassily enough - they do not interfere with his work. If you cannot convince Nurple to go, I can take hiss place. I am the only other one with patience."

Tasha nods to this; she's worked with ample amounts of unusual people, even beings who might not appear to be people at all. "I understand. I'll go talk to them now. If we head out within this coming window, we'll be leaving in half an hour-ish." She gives the Naga a polite nod, then turns and heads off.

Having a backup to the unusual Vartan is comforting, but Tasha finds she'd really like to bring her fellow bird along. She reflects that she doesn't spend enough time with her own kind anymore and wonders, for a moment, if she isn't beginning to see herself as more of a Karnor than a Vartan. Further reflection suggests to her that the trend is a very Vartan thing to do, bonding with her chosen family and trying to be more like their kind, which at least comforts her somewhat.

"Seventh manifold relates to inverse square of pi over transient-Sigma," Nurple mutters in reply. He's still staring ahead, but from the side Tasha can see his pupils contract and dilate almost rhythmically, which means he isn't focusing on the board - sometimes he's trying to look past it.

This strikes Tasha as a moment where she could very easily be surprising. What's more, she isn't exactly sure how not to surprise someone who doesn't even notice her standing beside them. Thinking that shaking, yelling, or a combination of the two might be a bad choice, she instead picks up one of the dry erase markers and writes:

It takes a minute, but finally Nurple turns his head.. the wrong way. His feathers puff out a bit when he doesn't see Tasha there.. but then he finally looks the other way and spots her, which calms his feathers a bit. "Oh.. you came back?" he asks.

"Yes," Tasha confirms for the sake of arguement. "I have a mission for you and Ferp and myself as well: We're going to head outside the dome with the planetary telescope and camera gear and take photographs of the listed regions. This is the list." The heralded list is held out, writing forward, from the woman's taloned hand. "The itinerary listed is aproximate. The mission maximum time allowance is absolute with regard to nightfall. Do you understand?"

Nurple stares at the notes, then asks, "That's the planet-facing side, isn't it? Are we going to see home?"

"From a distance, but we'll be focusing on the Kampfengruppe capital region. Does this mean you're okay with heading out with me? We need to leave in about twenty-five minutes. Once I have Ferp with us we'll begin assembling our equipment, then we'll tell Scutes that we're heading out," Tasha replies as well as explains as she is sure to maintain eye contact, trying to keep the other Vartan on track and watching for signs she may be losing him.

The odd Vartan doesn't blink very often. "Outside. Outside," he repeats, and his wings shiver. "Flying then? I haven't flown. I haven't been outside. I haven't flown.. in a long time."

"Can you do it? If you can't or don't want to, I can have Scutes replace you on the team," the young hybrid asks, trying her best to sound understanding.

Tasha nods to the declaration. "Good. You're the best choice. I'm proud of you for chosing to go along. As for what you're for, you'll handling the telescope -- adjustsments, holding it steady, that sort of thing. Ferb will do assembly and probably handle the camera. I'll carry the heavy equipment and direct things. Come on." She stand sup, then holds her hand out to Nurple to help him up. "Lets go get Ferb, then we can get going on our equipment and then, we just need to wait for the the sun to light the ridges."

The Vartan stands up with some effort. Who knows how long he's been sitting like that. Ferb is over at one of the other instruments, which seems to be several large antennae on some sort of mechanically tracking gimbals. The Eeee is wearing headphones and making notes on a pad of paper.

Deciding the last plamn worked fairly well and one good turn deserves another, Tasha writes on the back of her itinerrary:

Once she's sure he's seen it, she flips the paper around to show the mission overview by way of explaination.

Ferb is a bit more responsive. But this time he has to fiddle with some of the controls before removing the headphones.. and then yawns expansively to clear his ears. "Oh, hi!" he says cheerfully. "You're Tasha! The girl! Girls? Are you two girls?"

"I'm half of two girls, so one girl total," Tasha replies, then she reaches over and gently swats the man's nose before shaking the itinerary at him with her free hand. "I also have a mission to go over and you've been drafted. Reach the overview here. Your job will be to assemble and dissassemble the planetary telescope and handle the camera work at each site. Nurple will control the telescope, and I'll be directing and carrying the heavy stuff. We're aiming to head out soon. Is that okay with you?"

"Oh.. but that's three then, not four.." the bat notes, and then looks at the notes some more. "But.. different places. Places and times. Ah.. yeah.. that works," he says with a smile, then looks worried. "Wait.. outside? This outside. Away from the base. Way way away from the base! Is it because I'm handsome?"

"It's your handsome wings. Nurple has them too. We're the Pretty Wings Squad," Tasha replies, then she straightens and gestures broadly to the assorted crates and supplies. "Lets begin packing. Bring the mission equipment of course, but also medical supplies, enough rations for a day, flares, the emergency tent annnd ... Flashlights. That should be enough."

"And pants, probably.." Ferb adds. "Colder outside. Drier. I'll get Nurple dressed. He's probably forgotten how the jumpsuits work. Oh.. and potty bags. We have to bring those too."

"Alright. Meet by the exit when you're all ready. We'll do a review, then we're off. The afster we get it done, the sooner we can be back." She gives the two men a reassuring smile, then a nod before heading back to her quarters -- such as they are -- ot get her things -- such as they are.

There is more gear than Tasha expected - the only thing that isn't bulky is the food ration pack. The telescope is broken down into three parts - the optics, the mounting base and the camera - and strapped to the backs of the explorers, with Tasha getting the heavier base and Nurple carrying the telescope itself. It isn't until they're on the ramp of the empty vehicle bay that slopes up to the surface beyond the dome that Ferb thinks to asks, "What about the phantom monster?"

"Winged-Gift does not fear the darkness," Tasta quotes as they march up the ramp, thinking that Winged-Gift Defeats Phantom Monster would be a great story idea and she really should contact that 'komix' maker and inform them of it later. Maturity and responsibility tap her mental shoulder a second later and she thinks to add, "If it is a monster, and if it's hostile, we should avoid it if we can. If not, then I'll try and deal with it. I want you and Nurple to stay back if it happens, unless you two have combat experience?" She glances over at the two men as they walk.

"I'm a fifth-level ranger in Catacombs and Creatures," Ferb claims. Nurple just says, "I don't like violence. I get sick."

Tasha pauses, then notes, "I'm not familiar with that branch of the militaries or paramilitary group," as she steps out on to the barren landscape. There she stops, taking a long moment to survey the landscape.

It's familiar.. and not. The sandy surface seems grayer, with a lot of scattered black, pitted rocks - some boulder-sized. There are also more craters, this being the outward-facing side of the moon, but they must be very, very old craters.

It feels like a lifetie since I was here, Tasha reminises, thinking back to her earlier days when she was just a wide-eyed ex-drover with dreams of something more. Now she has that more; she has a career, people, things, and even a degree of prestige and power. Only half a year, but it feels like forever. So much has been done, but there's still so much to do. Her head shakes as she returns to the present, remembering she has people to lead -- and that too is new.

"Alright, make sure your wings are in shape to fly. Stretch, warm up, whatever you need. Then we're taking to the black sky and heading for the first location," she directs, finding that leadership is easier than it once was. More natural, more reflexive. She wonders what the Tasha who came here first would think of the one who came after.

There's a bit of stretching and flapping. Ferb reminds Tasha that Eeee are built more for aerobatics than long-range flight, so he might lag behind if they go too fast.

"We have plenty of time since we're flying and the itinerary was designed for a walking pace, so there's no need for us to strain ourselves. We'll take a relaxed pace." Tasha looks between the two men then claps her hands together. "Alright! Lets get going. Ferb, Nurple, head out and I'll stay behind you in case there's problem. Keep your eyes peeled for anything unusual. We're on a mission, but that doesn't mean we should ignore any finds. Off we go!"

It's very odd. The close horizon skews Tasha's built-in sense of perspective, making it harder to tell how high she is. At what she thinks is about a hundred feet up, gravity drops off sharply, as well as air pressure. It is also very cold. Flying lower is necessary for comfort. The first landmark seems to just appear suddenly on the horizon - a small peak noted as 'Mount Geryon' even though it's little more than a steep-pointed hill. Even so, it probably pokes up past the shallow atmosphere. From that point it should be possible to see a large 'plain' that wraps around to the planet-facing side.

Tasha directs her crew to land near the mountain, but not on it yet. Checking the map they brough along, she asks, "It looks like the elevation is beyond the atmosphere. Do we need to reach the top, or will a lower altitude camp work for the photography?"

The limb of Abaddon is just barely over the horizon now. "We want to have more planet above us," Ferb notes. "Need to be able to get three angles, day and night. If you want to be able to tell elevation and stuff, I mean."

"I'm not sure I follow," Tasha admits, then gestures to the map, "Just tell me when and where we need to be and what we need to get there. While I don't mind the telescopy lesson, we should probably save it for when we're safe and back in the dome."

Ferb points towards the curved horizon, and says, "We need to be more.. that way. Over the horizon."

"Oh, so the observation points aren't mandatory. They're just suggestions. Hokay." Tasha nods in the direction the man pointed. "Back in to the sky. Ferb, Nurple, you two will need to find an appropriate spot. I'll follow your lead on this. Lets go."

It's a longer flight, but while there isn't much to see on the ground.. the view ahead grows more interesting. Slowly, Abaddon begins to fill the sky, and since Sheol's orbit is low and fast, they red face also seems to be moving quickly. After another break, they reach a spot that has is more illuminated by the planet than the sun. "This should be good.." Ferb says, selecting a spot next to a really big boulder - or else a rocky outcrop. The important thing is that it provides shade.

Tasha stands aside, arms folded as she watches the landscape with mroe than idle interest. She thinks the view is amazing, but she's been on enough adventures to know that sometimes things go wrong, and fast. This time neither Gabriel nor Layth are here to cover her mistakes -- she has to be the responsible one everyone leans on and she knows it. The view can wait. "Let me know if you need any help and tell me when you've got the image ready. I have another map with highlighted sectors that we need photography of, so we'll be using that for reference. We'll also want photographs of interesting sites, like defense installations."

"That's for analysis to figure out," Ferb says, as he collects the parts of the telescope from everyone. "When you do something like this, you follow a grid. Then put the photos together and look for whatevers. We're moving at.. uh.. at least two-thousand kilometers per hour relative to the surface."

"Hokay. That's fine. We'll follow the grid." Tasha is sure she used to know these things, but like so much else it was lost when she was crippled during the fight with Abaddon. She briefly wonders just how much she's forgotten, but there's no way for her to know. "Just use this," she fishes out the map, which does convientatly have grid-divided sectors, " ... map to get the general area. If you're not sure, be general and get more rather than less."

Nurple drew a line in the sand where the boulder's sun-shadow ended, and stared at it until it moved further.

"Ugh, Jotun Range?" Ferb notes as he sees the map. "We have to minimize the shadows then.. so.. uh.. may hafta move. We'll see.."

Once the map is handed over Tasha resumes watch duty. Without needing to observe directly, she hasn't much else to do but answer any general question and perform guard duty. She wonders what the AI nation is up to as she cans the horizon, the peculair size of the moon making her feel somehow tall and bend simultaneously. "Just let me know," she notes idly to the observation, continuing her watch.

It takes about an hour. The scope is assembled quickly, but then comes the computation of where exactly they are (which has to do with the length and movement of the boulder's sun-shadow, apparently). Then the telescope has to be focused and calibrated (there's some sort of grid overlay that gets attached to viewing end) and a few other things. It mostly involves the two boys calling out numbers to one another. From the outside... it's incredibly boring, exactly the sort of thing Tasha would rely on automation to deal with.

"Mark 1," Nurple calls, and Ferb starts a stopwatch.. and stops it almost immediately as the Vartan calls out "Mark 2." The Eeee consults a small book, and begins making the exposure adjustments to the camera. The film cartridge is big.. the frame width being at least five inches.

As she considers her boredom, she can't help but wonder if it makes her more like a Khattan. In avoiding the task and automating it, she relies of machines for her comfort. A part of her -- the part that doesn't have great faith in her mathmatic and scientific skills -- suggests that even had she the desire, she may not have the capability and certainly not the time to learn the skills the two men possess. It further suggests that the men beside her are extraordinary -- it's why they're here -- and that she's mostly of the ordinary variety in matters like this.

Well, not all Khattans are bad, Tasha tries to comfort herself. Besides, I am technically a machine some fraction of the time, so relying on machines should be natural. Natural by default.// It's not really working, the comfort. She turns away and sighs, long and low. I hope the Progenitors can accept incompetence, or else I'm doomed.//

The only motorized element in the gear is the spring-wound film advance system, which Ferb winds up. Another clock is set up and started, and then.. the two boys just sit and wait. "So, how come you're half-and-half like that?" Ferb asks. Nurple is staring through the telescope still, with his thumb poised on the corded shutter button.

"Magic," Tasha replies without really hearing the question. She's so used to people asking the response is practically automatic these days, her mind firmly in the 'what does relying on machines make me' introspective funk region of space. Slowly she snaps out of it, glancing back and adding more to her blunt reply, "My mom is Varta, my father's a Karnor. A Jupani, that's what they're called back home. There was a local magic influence that made me possible. I used to look more even, but I was injured and this was the best our doctor could do."

"I don't know about magic," Ferb says. Then Nurple presses the switch and camera goes click-click-click, taking photos at the preset interval. This is followed by a flurry of activity as the telescope angle is reset for another pass at a different angle. "We've got almost two hours until the next pass," the Eeee notes. "Should get some rest, we'll be in twilight soon."

"I'll set up the tents." And so Tasha does exactly that, propping up the tents made from very shiny, plastic-seeming material along with very small pillows stuffed the padding and survival supplies and a thinly padded sheet that could charitably be called a matress hopeful. It's a few minutes before she's done, but soon there are three laid out. The larger tent was left behind given the sheer lack of both weather variation and local fauna.

"There you go," she bids, patting the pillow of the tent she just completed. "Just like home, except with better air flow and less shiny dome." She scoots away, directly back on her own pad and then settles her head down against the pillow, hands folded behind her head. She shifts again, turning so that she can gaze outward across the plain. "I'll take watch if you two need some sleep."

"Nurple doesn't sleep much," Ferb notes, and lies down as well. "Unless he sleeps with his eyes open a lot. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I have a sister," Tasha replies as she waves Nurple over and points at his bend, directing him out of the corner of her eye. She isn't sure if he sleeps, but she does think he'll feel more at ease tucked in to bed. "Nora, that's her name. Nora Argentine. She's a pure Karnor, smart, taller than me. A smartass. We used to fight, but we get along now."

Nurple comes over as directly, lies down and closes his eyes. It still isn't certain if he's actually asleep or not.

"That's all?" Ferb asks. "I have seven. Four naturals and four banks, including myself."

The whole operation of directing these young men makes her feel like an older sister, or worse, like a mother. Her mother, if her mother had jointed a paramilitary outfit and was taking a breather on the moon. It makes her feel old. I hope having little Nora around isn't going to be like this. She suspects that it will be almost exactly like this.

She tries not to think about it. "My mother doesn't really like other Vartans and I never met my father, so I don't know if there are more. Nora's enough, though. She's like ten people all by herself." She then scratches her nose, asking, "Naturals and banks? Is that Abaddonian slang for something?"

Ferb blinks. "Oh.. it means.. well, my birth parents were licensed parents, see? So each time mom got pregnant, they got a second embryo implanted from the gene bank. That's where everyone's eggs and sperm get saved. Well, not all of them, just a few eggs and sperm. That way any special talents or defects can be tracked. And bank-babies are to balance out the larger population patterns or reintroduce important traits. And to make sure there's a gender balance. I'm the only bank-baby that exhibited a special talent in my family though. But.. uh.. I don't know who my genetic parents are. They certainly never met. My birth parents were just.. really good at being parents."

The explaination makes Tasha's ace scrucnh up. She rolls over, propping her head on her hand. The she admits, "I'm not sure I understood what you just explained. It sounds like you're storing babies in some kind of central depot? I know how sperm and eggs work, biologically -- my doctor explained that -- but ... Oh. You're storing them, then reusing them, aren't you? Instead of for the doner, for society at large? More Confederate bilogical engineering?"

"Well, not the babies.. just the ingredients," Ferb says. "When it's time, they make an embryo to implant from those. It's kind of hit and miss though - you don't know how the kid will turn out. Just what predispositions it might have. Everyone's tested when they turn ten years old, to see if there's any potential problems or things they might excel at."

"I'm not sure what to think about all that. It's interesting though. Everyone has their own way of doing things, every culture is a little -- or a lot -- different. I think maybe I'm getting used to that, if not the specifics." She rolls back over, pushing herself to resume her lookout no matter how interesting or weird the conversation is. "It makes me think of Karnors, though. The old, early generation ones. They were like that. The Humans back on Terra, they decided who and what to pass on."

"Small population," Ferb mutters. "Takes a few generations for bank efforts to make a difference. But gotta have it. Eeee are scattered across a lot of settlements, any one could get wiped out. Don't want to end up all the same, like the Silent-Ones."

"I wonder if that comes with looking down on difference, too." Tasha pushes her hair from her face. There's no wind, but her turning left it in her sight and she finally decided she'd had enough. "When I first came here, a Silent-One thought I was a Confederate creation. The Expeditioners thought I was too, something unfortunate. From a war. It took a while to be accepted as what I am. Do you think the big cities, they care about what we're doing? About us?"

"Vartans do it too," Nurple says from the other side of Tasha. "Not as much. Backup. Men and women both fight, so.. not the same as with Eeee. Men fight. After war, not enough husbands to go 'round. So there's the bank, women can still start family."

"We're a secret up here," Ferb notes. "Nobody knows to care about us. Is that what you're asking?"

"It's very grim," Tasha admits, sounding glum about the prospect of dead fathers and backup children. "It's not like that on Sinai. Lots of us, everywhere. Everyone together. Large populations, but no health care. No education except for the rich. Less people die to wars, and more people, but more people die to the other things. I was surprised how little disease there is here." She then paues, collecting her thoughts before replying, "I mean generally. Our discovery work, the gate. When I started I thought, 'I'll change the world, they'll love me, and I'll make it better.' But when I visit the cities, sometimes I feel like just an uncomfortable reminder or an annoyance. They need what we have, but they don't like admitting it or even talking about it."

"Needing stuff is a strategic weakness," Ferb explains. "So sometimes offering it is seen as a kind of exploitation. Nothing is for free. People that offer it.. are suspect. Get you really relying on them for the whatever.. and then they have control over you."

"Or it a way to undermine local efforts to deal with issue," Nurple adds. "That.. Khattan. Khattan way of doing business. Undercut competition, then bleed customer dry when they have no other choice."

"So.. never offer solution," Ferb advises. "Offer help to people working on solution."

"So I conquered indirectly without even knowing it?" Tasha snorts, throwing her hands up in the air. "In not using power to benefit myself purely, I still somehow managed to do it anyway, and now they think I'm controlling them too. I never realized how insecure politicians were, but I suppose when life or death is on the line you can't be too suspicious. It's just grating, because I really did just want to help. We needed the supplies, sure, but we could have gotten them another way. I just wanted Abaddon to be better off, and maybe have a place to call home. To be appreciated and useful." Her hands return to behind her head. "And now I'm Khattn too. Don't let Lonevigil hear you say that. I already have Khattan machinery, he'll be out for my head if he hears that."

"But you're saying don't help people directly, help them help ... themselves?" Tasha then puts in, risking a glance over.

"Yeah," Ferb says. "Then it's their solution. They worked for it. Earned it. And it can't be taken away. It'll be something specific to what they need, in the way that they need it, that fits with how everything else works for them."

"I need to hire someone to figure this out. I don't mind politics but that would require of thought. I'll remember it though; it'll probably be Gabriel or I making the decision sooner or later anyway," Tasha notes. She stares at the horizon, thinking about how complicated life is. Thinking it's like a Abaddonain onion metaphor, with all the layers. Confusing layers of politics. A big, confusing political onion that makes her cry. "Maybe we should be less obvious in the future, then. Help in less obvious ways, but make sure they remember we are helping. It's depressing, though. Phantom monster? Can you come out please? Save me from politics with something mroe uplifting, like violence."

"This isn't politics," Ferb claims. "It's.. empowerment. Nurple has it: pants. You want pants that meet your needs and above all, that fit. Someone offers you the greatest pants in the world - they'll never get dirty, never wear out.. but they don't fit you. To use them, you have to change yourself to fit the pants. That's just backwards. You can't help someone by showing them they're helpless, right? You-can't-possibly-figure-this-out-on-your-own, so take this to fix it because I'm the Grown Up and you're a Child and I know what's best for you."

"You found water in the Pit. But you didn't dig the well, or install the pump, right?" Nurple asks.

"What you're sayign makes sense, but I think I'm just not in the mood to hear it. I helped, you're right. Looking down at the world, I think it's getting to me. Why don't you two sleep? I have a lot to think about -- or not think about." She pulls in a deep breath and shifts, getting a little more comfortable. It's going to be a long night.

Well, not that long, since the orbit brings the day-side of Abaddon back in under two hours. Ferb and Nurple take more pictures, reset the telescope for the next pass.. and go back to sleep. Tasha learns there needs to be nine day passes in total.. and at least three night passes - night being night on Abaddon.

And during those in-between times, when she's on watch.. Tasha begins to feel as if she's being watched.

Tasha eventually corrects herself: It'll be a long day-night-day-night etc. Without much to do, she watches the world literally pass by, again and again and again. She thinks it must be making her stir crazy, because the feeling of being observed keeps at her like an itch she can't scratch.

In one particularly profound period of boredom in which self-reflection over the whole collection of her inferior aspects actually seems appealing in contrast to the blank monotony, she finally sits up. Alright phantom, she tells herself as she begins looking around, maybe you don't exist, but looking for you is better than this. Anything is better than this! She stands up. The hunt is on.

The plain they're on is pretty flat, with just scattered outcrops of black rock for cover. The shadows are also disturbing, since everything casts two - one black sun-shadow, and one Abaddon-shadow which is lighter and tinted towards blue-green.

There's no wind, or any sound. It's a good environment for hallucinations, certainly.

Unless it can blend in, or is invisible to me, then if I were it ... I'd hide ... Her first though are the shadows, a natural guess for a Vartan who relies in sight more than any other sense. She pulls out her datapad and switches it to scan mode, sweeeping it across the length of the landscape in a slow circle as she looks for low-light detections, but also thermal signatures. I love you technological gadget, what would I do without you?

Sleep better, for one thing, since every shadow of every boulder has a heat-bloom inside of it, of something low and squat.

"Ummmm, ... " Goes Tasha, who isn't quite sure what she's seeing but quite sure she doesn't like it. At all. Not wanting to start a panic, Tasha focuses her datapd on the cloest outcrop and zooms in, trying to get a better look and cycling through dtection modes.

The thing only shows up on infrared. It isn't that much warmer than the rocks, but life-scan mode increases the contrast on anomalies.. and 'hot in the shade' counts as an anomaly. But in detail mode.. there isn't much more to see. It's a low hump on the ground, and the temperature isn't varied enough to show more than that. It may that the thing is physically uniform.

The bat lets out some squeaks that may very well be 'lemme sleep more mom' but eventually he stirs. "Is it time already?" he asks, looking up at the night side of Abaddon.

"No," the young woman replies in a rushed whisper, knowing the Eeee can hear her if she goes lower. "I don't think we're alone. My datapad picked up things on the thermal scan, a lot of them. They're under the rocks, low and squat. I'd have never noticed them otherwise. I'm going over there," she points at the nearest outcropping she detected one of the unknowns, "to have a closer look. Wake Nurple, be prepared to withdraw if it looks bad."

"Wait.." Ferb squeaks, and actually grabs onto Tasha's wing. "What about.. our boulder?" the Eeee asks. At the moment, the sun-shadow for the rock they're camped out next to is on the opposite side.

"There's a good chance ... " Tasha grips Freb's shoulder, then points towards Nurple. "I'm going. Better to know now. Wish me luck." The hand is realsed but not before a reassuring pat, which may be less reassuring given its provider is walking straight up to a mass of unknown somethings.

Soon Tasha has fetched the stout pole leg from her tent, one of a few that held it up, and is inching her way around the boulder. She keeps the metal pipe down, not wanting to threaten when it isn't proven to be necessary, but she knows that not all contacts are friendly -- her face is a testament to that.

The shadow of the boulder is long, since the sun is very near the horizon for now. It's also very deep, since there's no scattering from Sheol's black sky. There's still that odd tingle that makes one think they're being watched though. Nothing is visible to the naked eye within the shadow though.. including the ground.

Tasha stops a good few feet beyond the shadow, turning to face the darkness fully. Then, she speaks.

"I know you're there; you're all squatting in the shadows, uniform shaps. Warm. I've felt what I think might be you watching me. Us. All of you, in the shadows of the rocks. If you understand me and can communicate, I would appreciate if you do so now." Having said her piece, the waiting begins. That long, eerie silence as she waits for a response from the unknown. It makes her hackles raise and her skin crawl, especially when it's like this -- isolated, far out, and almost alone. In the darkness. Far from light and home.

There's no response.. at least none that involves sound. There is a slight odor of sulfur, but it's very slight.

"Sulfer?" Tasha lifts her datapad again, enewing her scan. It is somehting, but she isn't sure what it is. For all she knows she's staring at a particularly odd shaped volcanic vent with a flair for the dramatic. "If you're communicating, I don't understand your method. Can you make noise? Or create a different smell?"

Through the screen, the infrared picture is a lot clearer.. sort of. There's heat plume, but the 'hump' is from the heavy gas settling. The source is a bit warmer, and right at the base of the rock. It looks like little tubes, hotter on the inside where the gas is coming out. They're in a cluster, which accounts for the central hump shape.

Tubes. Didn't I see something like this before somewhere? Tasha thinks she saw it in some old record, or else something from one of the other planets. She doesn't have her helmet, but she does have her datapad. The marvel of ancient technology is with her and so she inches forward, scanning for breathing hazards and skin irritants. She needs a closer look, but not at the cost of injury.

The tubules vary in thickness from a half-inch to maybe three-quarters of an inch across, with the openings nearly as wide. The sulfur isn't very dense.. but further scanning identifies it more clearly as sulfur hexaflouride - a very heavy gas, but harmless unless you breathe it in - and then it just makes your voice very deep for a minute.

"Ferb, I found soemthing. Tubules, they're emitting sulfer hexafloride. Bring Nurple," Tasha calls out, kneeling as best she can as she begins recording the creature. She isn't sure she should shine a light on it -- she has noticed that it seems to be avoiding light -- and is thus uncertain light may be harmful. As she waits for backup, she wracks her brain and her local database for anything that matches what she's seeing.

The two lads slowly come around the side of the boulder, and look over Tasha's shoulders. "Tube worms?" Ferb suggests. "I think the deep-water canals have them."

"Then there may be deep water on Sheol. Or maybe volcanic actvity, with the sulfer?" Tasha notes, waving the men forward to have a look at her datapad's readout. "See? I don't think they're sentient, but I do wonder if they're part of a larger mass. They're obviously avoiding the light."

"Cooling," Nurple suggests. "Shade is cooler, vent gas to cool. It isn't very hot. Less than body temperature."

"That is very odd," Tasha agrees, glancing around her datapad to peer at the faint outline of the creature in the darkness. "They're here during the day, they must hide when the sun is shining in their region. But cooling. Do you think it's just for cooling the worm, or do you think there's a larger system at work here? Or are they just trying to get rid of the heat from the day?"

"Must be bigger to put out gas for so long," Ferb suggests. "What if you poke one of them?"

"We can try it, maybe dig beneath one and try to see how big they are. I don't want to hurt it, though." Lowering herself on to her belly, Tasha inches forward using her datapad to guage distance. Using the pole she brought along, she eases it forward and tries to make contact.

The pole touches one of the tubules, which immediately closes up and retracts. And then all of the others do as well. And then the boulder stands up. It's sides unfold into starfish-like limbs, the bottoms covered in tubules, until it's a good six feet tall at the center.

At first Tasha's brows go up in amused and fascinated interest at the reaction. her head turns and her brow furrows as they others retreat as well. And then the boulder stands up. Her brows shoot up, eyes wide as she stares up at it from the ground. Hesitating only a moment, she immediately pushes up and backrolls away from the creature and hopes the others are doing similiar!

Well, the others did react. Tasha rolls right into Nurple, who is curled up into a ball. Ferb is running about flailing his arms and yelling 'Alien!' over and over again. The boulder.. or giant echinoderm.. moves away from the commotion.. and settles back down about twenty yards away, becoming just a boulder again - albeit a secretly gassy one.

After picking herself up from the heap she ended in after the roll, Tasha turns to face the creature -- or at least where it was. Noticing that it's having none of them, which she admits is probably the thing to do considering their handling of the situation, she relaxes her muscles and turns to grip Nurple. "Nurple. It's fine. It doesn't care about us. We're boring it." She then looks up, promptly picks up a rock she really hopes isn't another alien, and throws it at Ferb. "Ferb!" She calls after it, "Calm down. It's ignoring us! Stop yelling!"

"No no! Never stop yelling!" the bat replies, crying now. "Don't you see? Don't you see?" he wails. Nurple is unresponsive.

"Gods help me," Tasha says, rolling her eyes. When she can manage enough self control and will to continue, she stands up and walks over to Freb.

"I'm going to-" Smack. " ... keep smacki-" Smack. " ... until you calm-" Smack. " ... down!"

This results in a panicky, sobbing Eeee that isn't screaming.. but now is clinging to Tasha.

Suddenly tempted to lift her own self up, walk several feet away and then bury herself in the ground Tasha picks up the Eeee man and carries him ovr to Nurple. There she sits him down -- if he wants to sit or not -- and forcibly turns both their heads until they have to choice but to look at the alien. "Hokay," she breathes in far more motherly a tone of exasperation than she would have liked, "Now look. Look at it. Mister Starfish Boulder Gas Alien isn't going to hurt us. It doesn't even care we're here, except that we bothered it and we're loud. It didn't attack, it didn't roar, it didn't even acknowledge us -- it just moved away to continue what it's doing. Like it probably always has. Here, on its world. Where it lives. It was nice and fine until three aliens -- tha's us -- poked it with a pole. It's just an animal, or maybe a plant. It's probably harmless. Look at it. Just. Look."

"It looks like a rock," Ferb says shakily. "Just like all the other black rocks around the base. All of them! They could all be alien rock spiders! WATCHING US GO POTTY!" Of course, the Eeee always went around to the other side of the boulder to do his business using one of those bags he brought along.

"It probably doesn't even have a mind to know what potty is," Tasha insists. She then waves her taloned hand owards the creature and adds, "Isn't it exciting though? We though Sheol was barren, devoid of life except what we brought here. Now we know it isn't true and we discovered that. What was it you said about pants? You have to help them help themselves to find the right fit? Well your fit here is wrong. It's not what you fear and it's probably no threat at all. It's just an animal and it doesn't care about us. The right choice is to be calm and observe it, not panic."

"Are you sure they're watching us?" Tasha asks, lowering her voice and trying to sound gentle while supressing the urge to follow her mother's example by sharing her feelings through forceful application of her hands. "To me, they seem lkike they're just cooling off. They gather energy during the day, then cool off at night. That might be all they do besides make little boulderfish."

"We all feel it, at night," Ferb says quietly. "The phantom. Watching us through the dome. It's them. Somehow."

Tasha lets the two men go, then rises again and proceeds to walk back over to the boulder-starfish-thing. There she plants her taloned hand on her hip and spreads her other arm, fingers wide. "My friends seem to think you and yours are watching them. Is it psionics? Some sort of gravitational interaction? Sifran magic? I may have to keep poking your tube-fingers if I think you're holding out on me." Lacking it other ways to communicate other than cycling her datapad through various binary, language, and other filters theyoung woman tries her wildcard -- the Harrower part of her. She reaches inward and takes hold of hat she thinks must be her soul, reaching outward and trying to make contact.

The thing continues to do it's perfect impression of a boulder. But it did know how to pick a direction to move in.. didn't it? After several minutes of unresponsiveness, Ferb seems to deflate. "It still feels like you're being watched at night, he claims."

Tasha wonders for a moment, then picks up her pole and begins thumping it against the ground in Expedition morse code. As she does, she glances back and replies, "Are you sure you're not just being paranoid? Or that it isn't something else? Which reminds me ... " gathering her lungsm she suddenly yells, "ROBOTS! YOU KNOW WHO I AM! STOP HIDING AND SAY HELLO!" She isn't sure she'll get a response that way either, but the yelling may get a result from the creature. Also, it makes her feel better.

Ferb covers his ears and turns away. After the tirade ends, he drops his hands and says, "Uh.. Tasha?"

"WHAT," answers Tasha, who then remembers her inside voice, and repeats with a much less defeaning, "Yes, Ferb?"

The only thing out there is.. the tent, and telescope and the rest of the gear they brought with them. The plain is otherwise flat and empty to the horizon.

The sand doesn't really reveal any tracks.. but then it doesn't show their tracks either, even though Nurple was dragged over.

"What ... " Tasha stares at the barren landscape, searching for anything: tracks, new shadows, anything. She doesn't find what she's looking for and its absence is even mroe disturbing. Where are their tracks? Or our footprints? She wonders, looking down for a moment. No wind, so where ... Left with an increasing pile of mysteries, she turns back to what may be the only clue left: the boulder that she had been adressing a moment ago, right next to her.

"Ah, yeah, it's not the rocks watching us, that's silly," Ferb says. "It's the sand. Hah!"

"They burrow." It's an answer, at least, as is their reaction to vibration and noise. "Well. We learnd something. I'll, um, I'll file a report. Later." She lowers herself down and studies the ground for a moment, then scoops up the sand and lets it settle on her hand, taking a moment to watch it.

It looks and feels just like sand. But it flows a bit more like a liquid. A dry liquid.

Hrrm, goes Tasha, who picks upher datapad and begins running a materials analysis on the suspicious sand. Vague thoughts of new material applications flow through her head as she answers, "If it is, it reminds me of the Sea of Sand on Sinai. Extremely fine sand that flows like water, but you sink in that. We're not sinking."

"Maybe it's only wet when it needs to be," Ferb claims, and looks up. "Oh! We're back to the dayside! We gotta get the next photos taken! Tickle Nurple until he unclenches!" The Eeee is then running back to the telescope, thoughts of liquid sand and rock monsters gone. Task focused, certainly.

"Silica. Silicon based life forms. AI life forms ... " Tasha lets most of the sand fall through her fingers, leaving a small pile. She then points her datapad at it and begins bombarding it with a array of electromagnetic spectra. "Uh-huh," she goes, long after the Eeee has left. She has sand to examine.

There might be some odd electrical activity, but otherwise the sand is inert - and the activity could have been static in nature.

"Well at least they're not ProgMat or silicon micromachines," Tasha remarks to no one in particular. She pulls out a baggy and bags some sand for later, certain Eli will appreciate it, then she walks over to Nurple and proceeds to tickle him. "Camera is waiting, better get going!"

"Camera?" Nurple squawks, and uncurls. He doesn't otherwise react to the tickling though. He stands up, ruffles the sand from his feathers, and head over to the telescope as if nothing has happened.

"Well that's one less problem," Tasha admits to the quiet expanse, dusting her hands off as she watches the other Vartan go. "I have to learn to deal with frusterating people better. I'm glad everyone that's signing on board has their act together, at least. Well." She turns to sweep her gaze across the landscape, then shake her head. "Back to business." As she walks, she wonders what it says about her that she remains disappointed that her robotic friends didn't show up to save her from her organic ones. You won't tell anyone, right datapad? Of course you won't. I love you! The device gets a kiss, and soon she's back to photography and guard duty.