The official ceremonies were fairly brief. The Silent-Ones Battle-Archon (equivalent to a more familiar rank of Admiral) presented a golden trophy depicting the two types of Titans from the wargame to the Chief Elder of Clan Erinyes, resulting in much applause from the gathered pilots and dignitaries. Then it was Tasha's turn to grant the special achievement awards. Melchior was a big help in coming up with the categories, and Tasha was given the pilot rosters with enough time to match them up to the individual Titans.
The atmosphere was much more jovial than previous times she'd had to address a crowd. Her new 'diplomatic' style outfit helped at least. The winning pilots didn't come up on the small stage when announced, but it was clear who they were in the crowd, since they either raised their fists or made squawking cheers or got lifted up on shoulders. The Grand Ace, a Vartan named Valicent and his two copilots were lifted up on the shoulders of the Silent-Ones that faced him in the battle and paraded around, to much laughter.
Once the formalities were concluded, things settled down into more familiar ground. The various pilots clustered in groups to reenact tactics with each other, flirt (in the case of the female Vartan pilots) or get into drinking contests. As a courtesy, a few other groups had been invited as well: a tall Human man dressed not too differently from Gabriel, including the captain's hat, along with his second - a just as tall woman - and their 'guest', the noticeably shorter Dr. Yue Sen, who was dressed in a slinky, sparkly gown that was semi-transparent in places and sure to be distracting to Vartans who suffered from shiny-lust. They seemed to be talking to a uniformed Aquilan. The Eeee accompanying him Tasha recognized as Iria.
The Celestials also had a contingent, the two ranked officers conversing with the Vartan and Silent-Ones Titan Wing commanders. A third Naga, in civilian garb, was more interested in the artifacts on display, as is an Eeee that at first glance was wearing armor under his clothes. It seems that each group brought along someone with a more scholarly interest in things. The Eeee was standing next to the Stonecutter artifact that supposedly represented a flame.
"I should probably introduce myself to the captain of Amaterasu at some point," Gabriel whispers to Tasha, dressed in his own new uniform. It's possible that Lacci is out in the crowd somewhere, but if she is the young Vartan hasn't tried to approach Tasha yet.
As one of the group leaders, Tasha isn't surprised the lower ranking Vartan hasn't tried to approach her. She's supposed to represent the special interests of a Khattan House, standing besides such high ranking people as fleet heads, local dignitaries, and others besides. Given the formalities, even their light hearted nature, she suspects it might raise eyebrows if Lacci tried to speak with her -- not to mention how overwhemling an experience it might be for a young analyst who has barely started to see the universe. Even Tasha finds the situation a bit hard to believe, idly wondering that same peculiar wonder of what someone like her is doing here and how she even managed it. Even with the answers, it's still hard for her to believe often as not.
And so with drink in hand she walks with Gabriel, thinking and planning and keeping her eyes open. "What do you plan to tell him?" She asks of her mate and Captain, genuinely curious how the ancient Karnor will reveal himself to a probably not so ancient Human. "We'll need to swing by the arifacts at some point as well, but we should socialize first or we'd give the wrong impression."
"I'll ask what Yue has told him about us already," Gabriel says, and smirks. "And if he has any special jobs he wants to hire us for, and anything else I can get out of him. I doubt I can get a shield generator out of him though. I've got Kaa's wishlist memorized as well. And it looks like one of the Confederates is interested in the ugly evil sculpture too."
"They're surprisingly popular. Maybe we should start our own collection?" Tasha grins back, then angles their wandering towards the group of TerraGens, noting, "I think I'd like to meet him, too. TerraGens captains are always very interesting." As they go, she swings her gaze across the crowd and formulates a travel plan by distance, so as to not seem to favor any one group or exhibit and (hopefully) conceal their plans.
From the TerraGens to Confederate contingent; they can probably seperate from the TerraGens together if privacy is needed. Then it'll be on to Celestials, as she suspects one 'senior' Galactic representative should pay respects to the other, and then she'll speak to the Vartans unless she can segway in to examining the artifacts with the Celestials. Finally, she'll meet the Vartans and Silent-Ones -- their mingling making that one and the same trip -- and see who she can speak to, including giving Lacci an excuse to approach her. All the planning makes her feel even more Khattan than she'd like, and mroe civilized than she could have credited to herself, but she decides it needs to be and she needs to know how to do it.
Luckily, Yue is able to make the introductions. The Terragens are Captain Singh and his Executive Officer, Commander Tanger - and they aren't Belters, just Flatlanders that have gotten taller from the low-gravity of starship life. "I've heard promising things about your courier company," Singh notes, a good indication that he knows what they're capable of, if not where they come from exactly. "We're grateful for your timely assistance to Dr. Sen."
"We're just getting started, and hope to depend on word-of-mouth for work," Gabriel counters with a strong hand-shake.
"We're always looking for new clients and grateful for the generous praise of those who chose to work with us. You can expect we will live up to it," Tasha offers, deciding to take a different approach to Gabriel's more familiar style. If Gabriel is the familiar, Tasha thinks she must be the unfamiliar. In this case that means she must speak for the reliability and refinement of Khattan support, relying less on her Karnor side. "We've found Dr. Sen to be very pleasant to work with." She even manages to maintain her placid, friendly expression, making her think she's come a long ways indeed.
"Really?" Tanger asks, and looks down at Dr. Sen. "I've always thought she was a bit.. impish.. to be around for long." The woman does grin though, even when Yue kicks her lightly in the shin. "You must be very patient," the XO comments to Tasha.
Tasha's smile remains placid, almost intensely so. She basks inwardly in the Khattan ability to be polite in the face of anything at all, knowing full well what Yue must think of it. "I am used to dealing with a wide variety of colorful individuals and situations," she insists of herself, "I'm sure we'll manage."
"Just remember to always have your escape planned in advance," Commander Tanger advises.
"Of course." Tasha brightens her smile a little. "I've never seen that class of TerraGens vessel before, at least, not in person. I'm sure my Gabriel is very interested in hearing about it and other matters, as am I." The more the hybrid talks, the more she hopes all the coaching is working. She's tried a great many styles and approaches and her conversation techniques, tone, and manner are all experiments in learning to interact properly with the Galactic powers. The potential for mistake is never far from the young woman's mind. "And Yue, who are your Confederate guests?" She glances to the scholar next.
"My..?" Yue starts to ask, then grins. "Oh, the Vartans invited the Captains of each military vessel in the area as a courtesy. I don't know the names of the officers yet, but I recognize their civilian guest. Not many civvies with full-body prosthetics, after all, so I'm fairly certain that one is Darksight, a former deepblazer."
"Well you were talking to them," Tasha points out resisting the urge to continue Commander Tagart's razzing of the particularly short agent. "But I see." She turns slightly, shifting to examine the strangely armored individual from afar out of the corner of her eye. " ... a deepblazer, you said?"
"It's.. a rare profession," Yue explains. "The upper geometry of hyperspace is relatively smooth. But deeper levels are more.. cracked. The fissures and conduits can be much faster, but go to fewer places. The deepblazers are the ones who search out useful conduits, and they can delve as deep as D-level. Feeling out hyperspace conduits is apparently a special talent, since perception can be pretty weird down there. I think you've seen the Blind Spot effect from trying to look into a higher dimensional space. Deepblazers can still see it somehow. They're always Eeee. Something to do with their ability to interpret sonar. I don't see why a dolphin couldn't do it though."
"Another mystery of the universe." And one to look in to, if I get a chance. "Though that does highlight the ongoing need to negotiate with the, um, hyperspace locales if experienced professionals are hard to come by." She certainly knows about the need to seek out specialized -- and increasingly unusual -- help. "I think I'd like to meet them. We're always on the lookout for talented individuals."
"They may not be military, but Confederate warships always try to have one aboard," Tanger notes. "Supposedly to negotiate with 'harrowers' and find routes through the deeper reefs. The Khattans won't go below the first level of hyperspace, so going deep is risky but can give the Confederates an advantage. I think the claim was that their ships were better suited because they're alive."
"I've heard the so-called 'harrowers' can somehow detect or relate to livings beings beyond their ability to detect physical matter and electromagnetic radiation." In truth, Tasha knows why: The Harrowers can percieve the soul of a being, the line through time and gravity and stranger things an aware mind creates as it passes through time and space. That they can't seem to detect machine-minds as well -- or at all -- suggests to Tasha they have a different nature, perhaps related to the nature of the creation of organic life, or the nature of the soul itself. She knows that the soul is of special interest to the lower ranked Harrowers, but also to their superiors and the ultimate authority of their kind: the Ogdoad. Something about the universe's perception and how controlling souls, those lines of perception, allow a change to reality itself. "Whatever the case is, it would be interesting to speak to someone who has 'hands-on' experience. I think the hyperspaces are really very interesting."
"My only real insight into hyperspace is tactical," Tanger admits. "The deepblazers can find routes well into the gravity well of a star system, while those using normal hyperspace have to exit at the edge. Unless they have dual hyperspace and overspace systems, like the Vartans."
"Or ourselves," Tasha notes, gesturing to Gabriel for confirmation. "We provide that service as part of our hiring package." Until a few hours ago, the hybrid didn't even know what a 'hiring package' was. Her friends are full of useful and occassionally labrinthine information about business and conduct. "If that's needed, of course."
"I believe Dr. Sen described it as being able to 'loiter' in transitional space," Captain Singh notes. "Certainly a unique, and hopefully non-copyable mechanism. Luckily we already have our own stealth technology."
"And a wonderful technology it is, too." It's said automatically, Tasha having learned to say something nice if she can't think of anything particularly insightful to say otherwise. It's at this moment she feels she might understand all the Khattan politeness. After all, if you can't say anything useful, be polite. In the end, you still manage to accomplish something, even if it's just not making the situation worse, and it might even make things better. Huh. "As for our own ship, well, trade secrets. You know how it is." That one she stole from listening to two Khattans talking business on the concourse. "Well, Gabriel? Would you like to enjoy the TerraGens company without your boss around? I think I should greet the Confederates before people suspect I'm more than half Karnor, maybe seee about the darklighter."
"Do you want to take Yue with you?" Gabriel asks. "I'm afraid the military stuff is just going to be boring to anyone else, but I have some catching up to do."
"I could use a shoulder imp," Tasha asides back to Gabriel. She then looks up and turns to Yue Sen. "Doctor? Would you enjoy meeting the Confederates,walking around with me? Maybe you can help explain some of the more esoteric prizes in the museum."
"Ah, I guess I can pull off being eye-candy for you," Yue agrees.. impishly, and follows Tasha towards the Confederates. "Ah, Dr. Sen and miss Argentine," the eagle-like Aquilan captain says. Iria doesn't betray any hint that she's already met Tasha in an odd mind-trip bar. The captain extends a talon in the customary Terran-style greeting to Tasha. "Captain Murquois of the Bakumaru, at your service," he introduces himself. "And this is my Number One, Commander Iria."
"It's nice to meet you, Captain. You have a fine ship." Tasha knows from long experience that captains unfailingly appreciate having their ship complimented, often far more than they appreciate having themselves complimented. She also knows that for a captain self and ship aren't always easy to distinguish, if there is much of a line at all. She then turns to the two others and offers her own introductions. "And it's nice to meet you as well. I am Aldara, or Aldara Argentine, effective owner and proprieter of the Dark Horse, among other things. The TerraGens woman beside me is Dr. Yue Sen. But of course you knew that." She couldn't be sure Iria would know it, and so erred on the side of politeness and caution.
Tasha also extends her hand to shake, first with the captain, then with the second in command. "I thought I'd take the chance to get to know everyone, and what better chance than a party?"
"A bedroom?" the captain quips. Tasha knows enough about reading beaked expressions to know the man is joking.. and so must feel comfortable. Or has had a few drinks already. "Baku was very attached to her former captain. It took me some time to win her acceptance. Ships can get a bit picky after a few centuries. She just adores Iria though, who will have to deal with her once I retire. I hope your own ship is more friendly, Aldara."
Tasha's grin is first wry as she's uncertain if she's being teased, flirted with, or what, but soons turns genuine and bright as she sees the tell-tale signs. "I don't know," she begins, quickly trying to come up with a facade-acceptable comeback, "I think I'd be a little alarmed if I found all the dignitaries in my bedroom." Good enough? "My ship and I get along very well, thank you, though she might be a little mad at me for being gone so long. There was a lot to do before we started to offer services." She then turns to Iria and asks, "So what did you do to win so much affection?"
"I sing to her," Iria claims. "The captain could only tell her bad jokes. I imagine you don't have to resort to that with your vessel, though. Although I overhear Vartan and Terragens engineers claiming their ships have minds and moods of their own as well."
"I do interact with a great many machine-minds, and other things besides, and I like to think I know how my ship feels." It may be more than just a thought, the hybrid is sure she was on the recieving end of some form of communication between her and the Dark Horse's living core. Sometimes she even thinks she can feel her ship nearby, or else sense its moods. The Titanians as much as proved she holds some form of link to it, if not elaborated on exactly how it works. "Unfortunately singing isn't something I'm trained in, and I might very well scare my ship away if I tried it. Howling, on the other hand ... " She reaches up and taps her muzzle. "But I've always wondered, just how do Confederate ships feel about the transition in to hyperspace? The Captain and XO of the Amaterasu and I were talking about it, about harrowers and their favoratisim for living beings. Do they ever tell you anything?"
"Generally, they like diving into hyperspace more than being in 'slow' space," Murquois says. "According to the pilots there is a greater sense of freedom. Hyperspace is the sky, flat space is the ground, and ships have wings. I'm sure you understand that feeling. Although for some it might be more akin to the surface of a sea verses the depths."
Tasha bobs her head, does she ever. "I know several Phin, and I think I can understand that feeling too. Sometimes wehn I'm fully engaged with my Titan and we are each other, I feel like I can do anything at all, and of course I miss having opportunities to fly out here in the black." She then glances over and nods to a nearby figure. "Is that your vessel's 'deepblazer'? I don't think I've ever met a deepblazer before. I'm sure he or she would have a lot to say about the subject of hyperspace."
"Darksight.. comes with Baku," the captain says. "He's far less replaceable than I am. Even when they retire they tend to stay with the ship. Darksight's been through a lot. He's a man out of his time." There's a bit of concern and affection in the man's voice.
"I know some that could sympathize with that feeling." Gabriel of course, and certainly all of the Elite. Even Tasha feels it to some degree, being a kind of hybrid between 'then' and 'now', and now that she's touched The Way that lists includes 'may be; as well. She's seen far more a slice of time than someone her age has a right to. "Well, I wouldn't want to disturb him in his peace. I have some idea of how difficult it may be." She thinks that some part of her, too, may still be in the places that aren't now. "But if he'd ever like some company, I may know a person or two who might relate."
"He came to see that one artifact," Iria notes. "Hasn't left it since he arrived. If you want to be friendly, bring him some punch," he suggests and gives Tasha a wink.
"I can't refuse a sailor in need." It's a slip, Tasha realizes, but not much of one. The TerraGens have a long history of using sailing metaphors for space travel, so she thinks she's safe. "Well, Dr. Sen did express an interest in the artifacts and I'd like to see them myself, but I feel like there's more we could talk about. How about we arrange to meet later when we have more time to focus on other things, and I'll just head to see this artifact with the Doctor -- and bring some punch, of course."
"I think we can have an informal meeting.. as we'd agreed on earlier," Iria notes with a grin. "I know where the good stuff is," Yue tells Tasha, supposedly regarding punch.
Tasha winks at Iria, but says nothing other than, "I'll be sure to bring an appropriate gift or two." She then inclines her head to the two crew members of the Bakumaru, in order of rank. "Well, see you soon then. Yue? Lead the way."
The small woman leads Tasha past several of the banquet tables, to one that has a relatively untouched crystal punch bowl. Even from a ways back, Tasha can smell the sweetness. "This is pretty much like drinking fruit syrup," Yue warns. "Good for Eeee, but it makes my tongue and brain buzz." The cups are rather fanciful as well, shaped like crystal flowers with a stem for a handle, and illuminated with ever-changing colors by some unseen mechanism.
Having finished most of her own glass, Tasha puts the glass down and starts pouring a drink for Darksight and herself. If she decides she doesn't like it, she can always offer her own drink as a show of friendship. "We should get some nice serving items," she remarks to Yue as she goes about getting everything. "For drinks. Tea. That sort of thing. I think they'll be useful in negotiations, and for events like this one."
"My aunt had a wonderful classic tea set," Yue says. "I imagine Gabriel would want one made of brass with lots of tubes and valves." She gets her bearings (tricky, being the shortest person there) and gestures towards the artifact case in question. "Tell me if you feel any odd vibe off of the man later, would you?" she asks and leads the way.
Tasha considers making a remark about Gabriel and tubes and valves, but decides it'd be very out of character. Instead she says, "Should I mention it's weird how you know where you're going while also being shorter than most tables?" Her expression doesn't even change, but Yue can feel her amusement. "Oh, and what's with you and the XO of the Amaterasu? I sense history."
"I may have bummed an extended ride from them to get out to Encante," Yue admits. They're soon at the artifact case. It's a black block of a base, with an illuminated white surface. The 'Flame of Praxafallopus' stands in the middle, nearly four feet tall. The lighting doesn't seem to do well at picking out the features of the deep black stone, however. The Eeee deepblazer has his hands behind his back as he gazes at the artwork, but seems focused on something past it. He doesn't really seem to notice the two women approaching.
"I've heard if you gaze long enough, it also gazes back in to you." Tasha remarks as she and Yue walk up beside the darkblazer, though she doesn't look at the man and instead turns to regard the object in question. If it reminds her of anything, it reminds her of the material of the asteroid shown to her by Katha-hem, the place of its birth. That strange rock, which might be natural though she doubts it, wondering whether it was modified rock or some cast off or egg of the Ogdru-hem. "But you know, it will probably never offer punch." She extends one of the two glasses she holds.
Darksight has to drag his attention away from the sculpture and force himself to blink. Then he notices the offered glass. He says something.. then stops, and says it again in Standard: "Thank you. I have lost track of time." He accepts the cup, and instead of drinking it he extends a very long tongue to soak the tip in the punch first.
"It's easy to lose track of. It all seems reliable enough as long as you stay on the path, but when you wander off it ... Or when it wanders away from you ... " The gesture Tasha makes is an airy looping gesture with a finger. "And gods know how complicated it gets then. Gods, and all the rest." She lifts her own glass and tries touching her tongue to the fluid, never having quite gotten used to sweet drinks.
It nearly burns her tongue, in the way something extremely salty might feel.. but for sweetness. It isn't the sort of flavor carnivore tongues are made to handle, and it also feels wrong somehow. It should be thicker, not watery. It's surprising that the Vartans would even have something like that, but Clan Erinyes oversees planetary colonization efforts - so probably is used to being able to cater to any species they might be working for.
The Eeee withdraws his tongue finally and has a sip. The arm and hand holding the cup are covered in chitinous matter that seems to mimic the contours of the underlying muscle, while still allowing for full articulation and matching Eeee anatomy perfectly. A far cry from Raehab's prosthetic grafts.
"What do you think of it?" the Eeee then asks, gesturing to the Flame while staring at Tasha.
Tasha has to sniff several times, not to smell anything but in the equivilent of blinking something overwhelming away as a Human might. The blinking comes too, albiet a second later. "Well," she declares, pulling in a breath after. "It's depressing to say, but I think I may have found a drink that's not for me." She looks up at the man, then cocks her head to the side, then turns back to the artifact knowing full well he didn't mean the drink in her hands. Playing a bit coy seems to help these things, especially before the big reveal, and she really did need to say something while her tongue and brain recovered from deadly sweetness. "I'm not sure what to think of it as art, and I don't think I'd want it to decorate a corridor unless that corridor was particularly dark ... although ... I do think it'd be very suited to one with an eyebals, tentacles and mouthes theme." She then regards the man again and adds, "Or maybe D-Space? But of course, they make their own decor."
When Tasha looks back at him, the bat is still staring at her. Or through her. "Seen something like it before, maybe?" he asks.
"Maybe on a lonely rock somewhere. An aquintance of mine. Some baby pictures," Tasha replies, reflexively going to sip her drink then pulling back suddenly and eyeing the glass as if it had planned the move and she had caught its treachery. She hands the drink off to Yue. "I'd appreciate if you didn't look too deeply, unless you plan to share."
"I know it isn't a sculpture of a flame," the man says. "It is a portrait. I can see it moving. I've seen the real thing, a thousand years ago."
"They do like to get around, don't they?" Tasha says it conversationally, but she knows everyone gathered is aware of its seriousness. Ogdru-hem are night the stuff of light humor and easy thoughts, no matter how they're spoken of. They are hybrids like herself, somewhere between reality and other, much less paltiable to modern sentients than the Vril-ya. "It doesn't move for me, but I don't need it to. The rock is familiar. The shape matters less, except to identify the subject." If the subject has but one, which can't be assumed. "Do you know its name?"
"No, I only know old poetry," Darksight claims. "I've seen one fight, and lose. And other things."
"Titanians for the fight?" Tasha glances at the artifact again, then frowns, not bothering to hide it behind airy friendliness. She steps a little closer, leaning in. "The other things are always very interesting. Did you speak to it?"
"Not Titanians, no," the man says, looking a thousand miles away again. "I don't know if I was spoken too. I don't think I was in this universe at the time. I was.. swept along, from down deep. The deeper you go, the harder it is find your way back, you see. I was lost. But this sculpture.. it means they are here too, in our world."
"I think maybe I know that feeling." More accurately, Tasha knows about the current and so knows enough to suspect where they might pull. She's touched the minds of Harrowers, Ogdru-hem and stepped beyond time, and so knows deep in her heart the fear of how easy it might be to become lost. Lost not only in time, but in mind, in sense of place and self, and in so many other ways. She tugs at the glove on her right hand, pulling at it with anxious, little tugs until it comes free. She reaches for the artifact, but hesitates. "Why did you come here, to look?"
"To see if it moved, or screamed," Darksight says. "To see if it was real, and that I wasn't insane. What is your name, miss?"
Tasha leaves her hand where it is, she needs to remain here a moment longer. "Aldara, unless you saw another one." She licks her lips, then glances over. "You're not insane, but 'real' is harder to answer."
"The one I saw seemed as big as a planet," the Eeee says more quietly. "I don't know where though. My ship was lost in the Dark. Time doesn't really matter there. I had the matter anchors at full power out of desperation. But they found something moving through the Dark, and it pulled me along. It emerged.. somewhen. And that thing was waiting. But I was just stuck to the side of.. I was stuck to the side of its opponent. So small. A tick on the side of a dragon, and the dragon was a minnow facing a.. I do not know the appropriate term. That." He gestures to the sculpture.
"I've been told they come in many shapes and sizes, and they have ranks." Tasha straightens, aborting the touch for the moment to face the man properly, feeling her deserves her full attention and without the dissemination and evasion she's had to use so often lately. "I'm not sure if it had been as big as a planet. I don't know if size matters where you were, as it does here. Their shapes aren't consistent; there are many." She turns enough to study the flame just long enough to haveits shape in mind before looking back again. "Some are immaterial. Others exist between, and some are physical. I think many must exist in a number of ways, and time and space and here and there is different for them. I've never seen this one, and I don't know its name, but I think it's unlikely to be of the Harrower class. A higher one, that's what I think."
"Can they die?" Darksight asks. "The battle I witnessed.. they used space itself as a weapon. It was torn apart and reshaped.. and when the dragon roared at the thing, reality burned away. The dark being was erased, piece by piece. It is something even I could barely look upon, and I've seen the darkest places their are."
"There is probably always somewhere darker," Tasha notes, albiet morosely. Not wanting to leave it at that, she also notes, "And somewhere brighter."
And then she thinks. Can they die.
"Yes," she says after a long moment. "I think they can, but not as we die. Or even like some others. They die ... " She bites her lip, thinking about wording. Extra-universal beings defy explaination as much as they defy reality. "They die in their way, using their rules. Or our rules, if our rules are their rules. Have become their rules, or were forced on them. And like that, they use their weapons, the weapons of their rules, and their knowing if their knowing is how I think it might be. They percieve and they can change, and what they can change they can use to change more, like a weapon. I think the other one -- I don't know what it was but I can guess -- the other one knew its rules. It knew its rules and its knowing was stronger. Better. It erased the other's knowing of itself, I think. And it sounds like itself was written in space, and in time, and maybe in other things."
"What do you know about the other?" the Eeee asks, staring at Tasha again. "Does it have anything to do with an infinite corridor?"
"Mm," goes Tasha, a grunt as much as anything. Now the man has her full and intense intention. She squints. "What sort of corridor."
"Straight.. going to a vanishing point," he describes. "Blurred past. And then I was back on Chiropta, a thousand years after I'd left. They had to replace my.. most of me."
"But why?" It's not doubt, but pure wonder. Why would they bring Darksight back, yet only in pieces? Was saving him as a whole beyond them? Was there nothing left beyond that, even the memory of what had been? And why so far in the future, were there no wells? No outgoing Progenitors to make the delivery? Was it a decision of the Waymakers, whom even Atum finds difficult or impossible to know? The mroe she thinks on it, the more convoluted her expression, the more she chews on her lip. She feels like she should show some sort of sympathy, too, but dismisses it quickly. The man doesn't want that sympathy, he wants answers, or at least the knowledge of the road he had traveled. A straightening of a wavering past. Stability. Sanity. An answer. She thinks.
"The road from the End to the Beginning. You must have met a Traveler upon the Road, who had left to face the Enemy. And they saw you, and they knew, but what they decided I can't understand and don't know, and so I don't know why they chose the when and the how and what you forgot, except to think it was the best they could do." And now it's Tasha's turn to stare a thousand miles in to nowhere. "The Walkers of the Road. Or their God. The God is worse. Beware the empty places."
"Yog-Sothoth knows the Gate, Yog-Sothoth is the Gate. Yog-Sothoth is the Key and the Guardian of the Gate. Past, present, future; all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread," Darksight recites in reply. "That's the closest I've found to an explanation."
Tasha lays her head on her knucles, holding the arm up by pressing it against her belly. She stares at the man and lays her ears back, frowning, eyes far away. "I ahven't heard that one, but maybe I don't need it." And maybe she doens't. Yog-Sothoth could be another name for several beings she knows. It could be The Way itself, whose nature she doesn't comprehend and she suspects may be alive. Were that true, it would qualify. The Null may too as god of the Waybuilders, able to travel where it will, knowing all the gates and where the Old Ones tread. Or it may be an Ogdoad, or the Ogdoad, as she knows the Ogdoad can percieve the Vril-ya and likely are aware of the Waybuilders. If the Dark beings are of the Dark, perhaps the Ogdoad are the Dark, D-Space that touches all. "is D-Space alive?" She murmurs a second later.
"It is capricious, but favors living minds," Darksight says. "Some of us are drawn to it."
"It draws living minds ... " Were it an Ogdoad, Tasha rationalizes, the why would make sense. Even if it weren't, D-Space appears to be the home dimension or reality of the Ogdoad, or at least as close as this reality brushes against it. There may be a deeper space. She asks. "You said you've gone in to the deepest dark. What's beyond D-Space, Darksight? What's at the bottom, where everything runs together, compressed together?"
"Memetic space, supposedly," the Eeee replies. "The realm of.. concepts. Where thought is physical."
"Like a mirror? Does it all reverse?" Tasha considers this. If a soul is sentient's record, then wheat is a reality made of thought? A place where the soul inverts? Where thought is matter, and matter is memory and idea? her ears splay. "Like an inversion. Why is D-Space between here and there ..? Oh, it's just one way. One road from the center out to its inversion with all the middle. But why is it so ... Oh. Oh. Because of us. And them. We fixate on ourselves, we are sentience, so we're draw to that road I think. I think."
"D-level is the sea that universes float within," Darksight says. "It is not tied to the processes of reality, but is past the quantum substrate itself. Memetic space may be a universe of its own. It is.. not confirmed. Those that dove so deep to have claimed to see it, may well have had their thought process scrambled by the depth. Our ships may go deep, because living things are not as dependent on solid-state physics and can deal with quantum errors. But deeper down, and further away from the physical, all physical processes begin to break down."
"You would need other rules," Tasha mumbles, nodding in agreement. She chews on her lip again, and nods once more. "Different rules. Every place has rules. If you can't make a ship of our rules, make it of theirs. If you can't go with your rules, be theirs. Go beyond by being beyond. Be of the rules or write them yourself and go anywhere." And so she thinks she understands the Ogdoad, or at least some small part of them. And in doing so discovers some part of the why of herself. her eyes flicker to the artifact. "Hrrm." But her rules are borrowed. It explains something.
"We do not know all of our own rules," the Eeee notes. "We cannot explain the artifacts of the First Ones, even."
Tasha blinks at this. Having something so local and sane brought up in the midst of her contemplation of the beyond is a bit like having something physical interupt your sprint. That is to say, jarring, and a bit painful. She blinks, looking back again. "The First Ones were more mature than the present sentient species, their understanding was greater too." She rubs her nose, the tilts her head. "The First Ones may have known of the other realities and dimensions, they probably had to to traverse space." Being pulled out of the deep end at least has a clarifying effect on the young woman, though she can't help but feel the familiar sense of being disturb, of knowing things that don't 'belong' in this reality, of slipping. "Some day we'll know what they do. We're young, so it's understandable." She pauses, but then adds, "I'm young too, so of course I can't understand it all either."
"They're all gone now, so maybe their understanding fell short as well," Darksight says, and looks at Tasha with those deep eyes again. "I'd like to hear your story sometime," he says. "Away from this.. art.. though."
"Yes," Tasha says, glancing at the artifact with naked suspicion. "It might be listening." She frowns a little more. "But they already know ... But, how much?" The frown becomes a scowl until she straightens, smoothing out her clothes and closing her eyes. "Later, yes, later. My ship is the Dark Horse. I have been meeting with the crew of the John Carter, you can reach me there. Tell them who you are." She thinks to warn him against coming if he'd rather not know, but decides that airship sailed a long, long time ago. "Now I think I'd like a close look at this art."
The case barrier is barely visible - it doesn't reflect like glass would, but there's some refraction. But even touching that, Tasha can feel a little tug towards the Flame. Maybe it's whatever the 'stone' is made from. It does tend to confirm her notion that it actually came from Erebus, and not Praxafallopus.
Tasha touches her hand to the casing, which isn't quite good enough but it's all she can do without drawing attention to herself. She then clears her mind and listens, not with her ears but with that part of her that follows other rules. The part of her that is the mark left upon who and what she is, the price of dealing with a Dark being and what the Titanians described as the result of dealing with gods, the change. In thinking about the nature of D-Space, Dark beings, and Memetic space she may have come to understand what happened between her and Blackwings spirit.
As she tries to reach out with senses beyond, feeling that tug, it confirms suspicions. She thought maybe it was a fragment of a birth-rock, an asteroid, but there are other rocks in her memory -- the rocks of Erebus and its ominous monoliths. The tug may be what makes the prison work, or it may suggest a piece of the Ogdoad is here, a decidedly unsettling possibility. She isn't sure what she can do with it, and making contact might be bad, but perhaps there's something she can try that confirm her suspicion and perhaps grant one more insight in to these strange beings.
And so she orders her reasoning: The mark of the Source is a part of the Source, now a part of her. The Source consumes souls, space and time and gravity and other things. The record of sentience, maybe all it ever was. She is now certain what people back home call 'Spirit magic' is more accurate than she though, rather than manipulate copies it must somehow touch the memory of the soul. This brings her to something she'd been wondering about for some time, how and why Blackwings still exists in her, and later, why the Source only detected her own soul(s) and Blackwings.
Tasha decides Spirit magic must have force-fed her some part of Blackwing's own soul-memory. Not a copy, or a edilion, but something more. Something only dark beings and Vril-ya could touch, yet touchable by her when the Source marked her. Her Mark was just a Mark though, its pull weak, without teeth, and without a mind that understood it. The magic pushed Blackwings in to the mouth of a tiny fragment of a soul-eating being, one that couldn't chew, but could only hold on. Some part of herself has become half-baked trap for soul memory.
One that can be interacted with; force-fed. But maybe, she thinks, if she knows what it is and knows what it's doing, maybe she can learn to pull. Not chew, but at least pull. Here now is a test: The rock tugs at her ... But can she tug back? One way to find out. She closes her eyes, tries to locate that part of herself, and tries to pull against the force that pulls at her.
There's no way to know if anything is happening.. since she can't know what the rock is experiencing, if anything. Another issue, if she thinks about it, is that Blackwings only talks to her on Sinai. Magic exists on Abaddon, but isn't as all-inclusive as on Sinai: it favors Life and Earth magic, not Spirit.
Tasha grunts quietly, removing her hand. Maybe that's it, which might be for the best. Being able to use the Dark beings' abilities against them might be useful, but it's strange kind of power, and disturbing, and it might very well bring more problems down on her head to say nothing or accidents and errors. There's also a sense of being free of having to worry about it, knowing that it's been bothering her for some time. "So much for that," she murmurs, only audible to the Eeee's superior hearing. She turns around and nods. "Yue, I think I've had enough of dark places for now. Why don't we go see how the Vartans and Silent-Ones are doing? Oh and give Mr. Darksight my drink -- he deserves it."
"You already drank from the cup," the Eeee points out, which causes Yue to snicker briefly. "I saw someone collecting unfinished drinks and food," the Human notes to Tasha. "Let's go impress the Big and Tall boys.."
"I did didn't I," Tasha realizes, reaching up to rub her forehead. "Sorry, I was really down in it, you know?" Her head shakes, then she shakes it even harder to clear it. "Ugh, that feeling. I do not like that feeling, Yue, but I never notice it until afterwards." She glances at Darksight and gives him a nod, but decides they've said enough for now, and so turns to walk off with Yue, using her for support. "I hope Lacci is here. I feel the need to talk about something frivilous."