Samael didn't follow Tasha down to the main deck, apparently content to sit on a couch in the lounge and stare at nothing for a while. Most of the crew were in the Galley, where Shojo was cooking and wrangling the coffee maker. Apparently he went shopping for fresh supplies that morning. The Karnors are all present, and Lacci has turned up as well, but the humans and Lapi are absent still.
Hakeber and Gabriel look like they've just woken up, or at least haven't gotten to their personal grooming yet. Hakeber is even wearing a bathrobe, which is probably the most clothing she's worn since they arrived. Katie is looking perky, and thus sitting a bit further from the others lest her morning-person attitude irritate them. Since she's already eaten, Lacci is shadowing Shojo while trying to keep out of his way, as if determined to learn how to cook. It's possible she's never seen food prepared manually before arriving on the Dark Horse.
"Coffee's ready," Gabriel tells Tasha as soon as she arrives, possibly sensing that she's in need of some.
Having been up a while now, not to mention having whatever sleepiness remained wrenched out of her by Samael's eye-opening discussion, Tasha makes her way inside and just plops herself down at the table. She stares blankly at nothing in particular for a long moment, then turns and tries smiling. "So, how is everyone?"
"I'm doing fine," Katie says, wagging her tail. "There was a singing contest at the resort last night. I didn't enter, but it was fun to watch."
"A bit worn," Gabriel says.
"My fault," Hakeber says apologetically. "Aaron wasn't available, and I was in a mood.."
"That was nice of you," Tasha notes, turning her smile Katie-wards. "I just got back after stopping by the ship to check on some things." She then focuses on Gabriel and Hakeber, tilting her head. "Well, I'm glad you had fun anyway. You did have fun?"
"I can't actually remember," Gabriel admits. "There may have been rum involved.."
"I slept really well afterwards! So.. probably?" Hakeber says. Apparently she was also involved with the rum.
"I think I may know what that's like." Tasha certainly does, having had quite a few of those moments earlier in life. "Well, I'll need to talk to our senior members at some point -- some point soon -- and discuss some concerns that have come up. We should also start thinking about where we're going next. After that, we can enjoy our last day here."
"Dr. Sen is up on top of the ship," Lacci notes. "And I saw Dr. Knight in the medbay. I.. don't know where the Phins are. I think I heard one of the cats though. Are the Lapi senior staff, because.. I don't know where they are either."
"We really do need to assign roles and create a command structure. I don't mind how casual we are normally, but listening to what you just said has made me think we'd have real problems in an emergency." Tasha sips her coffee for a long moment, peering in to it afterwards. "We can discuss that too, or save it for the trip out. For the first part I need you and you, Gabe, Hake, and Doctor Sen. Mmm, Jonas too, I think. For mission planning after I'll want the Phins as well. Katie, it's your choice if you want to attend the second meeting. The first one is special and deals with a specific problem."
"Ah, spooky stuff then?" Katie asks.
"Dangerous spooky stuff." Another sip, Tasha arches her brows. "'Need-to-know', I think that's the phrase." She then looks to Gabriel specifically, adding, "So there's my directives as ship owner. You've got an hour to get ready. I can call everyone, but maybe you should do it instead. Like Lacci pointed out, we should get better at responding quickly and knowing who is in charge of what in a situation. This isn't a situation, but it is dangerous. We can see how people respond and use that to work out how to handle things later."
"I'll be sure to specify that clothing is not optional for it," Gabriel says. "That's a good indicator of importance while we're on this planet."
"I'll go see if they have instant pizzas we can stock," Katie claims with a dramatic air. "For movie night."
Tasha nods to this. "Given how our last mission went, I want to make sure we keep growing and getting better at dealing with serious situations. It's expected we'll see more of them, on a regular basis." Sip. "Well, I should get a shower and get dressed, too. We'll meet up in an hour!" She makes shooing motions for everyone to get ready, then stands up and heads for the bathroom.
The bridge is closed off from the main corridor. Inside, the 'senior' staff is assembled at the conference table. The call has also gone out to Moka and Kaa, who will be picking up the Jotoki on their way back. For now the two Karnors, one hybrid and two humans face each other across the table, with Yue looking slightly browner than usual. But everyone is wearing their uniforms at least. "Well, I think this is all of us," Gabriel notes. "Take it away, Tasha."
"Alright. This morning Sansa's face, who I'd been with last night, distorted and asked me 'had I seen something', with the something being known to me -- however I can't tell you what it is without infecting you with it. I'd been wondering what the price I paid to save us from having our worldlines re-written and now I know: a kind of Dark-being thought-virus that tries to cause insanity. It's what He values as worship. That's what Samael told me. The price was the hope I'd spread it around; I don't know what happens if we don't. Maybe it's a gamble or maybe He will get annoyed at us -- me. Sam and I are working out alternatives for payment." The hybrid woman leans back, pulling in a breath, then exhaling. "The entity's name I spoke with also causes this viral effect, so I can say it either. Anyone who has seen the Marker, heard the name, or seen the symbols is probably infected."
"Are you sure you trust Sam about this?" Gabriel asks. "I still don't know what to make of him. I've been thinking of him as another ship component, frankly, like the Horse."
"I don't think my whatever-I-have from Katha-hem will work on other darklings," Hakeber admits.
"The only other source on this is Hake-bear, otherwise we only have our observations to go on. I'm not sure trust is the right word either. I think he provides information to amuse himself and that sometimes it's good -- usually it is -- but that he has a mindset and agenda that's very different from ours. He says he resents his slavery and would like to see the gods cast down, so in that he probably supports us. We have that power and it gratifies him to watch us use it. But he's still a little imp, and he likes to mess with us." Tasha's smile is wry; he's certainly been messing with her. She turns to Hakeber now. "Do you have special information on the various gods and thier powers? Their interests and ways of going about things?"
"Are you kidding, I don't even remember banishing Urgo-hem from the lounge!" Hakeber claims. "I don't know what I know, or how or when to use it. Honestly, it uses me I think."
"It may be like a post-hypnotic suggestion," Jonas says. "I can do some brain scans.. while Yue monitors things as well. I don't want to get banished if possible."
"That does sound like their methods. If I knew more about what he did to you, I'd have yelled at him more." Tasha shakes her head, then there's more sipping of coffee. "Well, that's a little like what was done to me. We should create a list of who has been exposed. I know Gabriel has, Yue, did you also? Hake? I'm also the 'contract holder', so it probably focuses on me." She then frowns and turns to Jonas. "Banished? What do you mean, Jonas? And I like the idea of having you and Yue monitor people, you're the best ones to see if we're acting oddly."
The man smiles, the white teeth seeming to glow against his space-blackened skin. "Aren't I a bit of a darkling too?" he asks and chuckles. "Sorry.. it's an old term for Belters."
"I'm used to Hakeber's emotional currents," Yue says. "But I haven't been near her during any episodes, and she didn't have any issues when we attacked Urgo-hem."
"I don't think I'm affected by.. the viral whosit, Tasha," Hakeber offers. "There isn't any room left in me for something like that."
Tasha blinks at this. "Oh. I see, yes that's very funny Jonas," she says, at a bit of a loss in that way she always feels at Terran in-jokes. "Well, um, hmm. Hake may be protected, since she's already semi-controlled. Obviously I'm not -- I must be very spacious. Gabriel, have you seen anything strange? Oh, and we should be careful of the color yellow. This being really likes yellow. It's like its brand, like how Thotep seems to like goats."
"I'm not sure if Shojo got any bananas at the market," Gabriel notes, "but avoiding an entire color? I'm not sure that's feasible. It sounds like a prank Sam would play."
"Um, it does, but I actually met this being in its own realm. I've been trying not to talk about what happened because no one else seems to remember any of it, but there were also parts that I had to handle alone, which included meeting the being in person. Those tentacles that ate Praxx? They belong to Him." Tasha puts her cup down, resting her elbows on the table and laying her head on her hands, ears flat. "I guess there's no use keeping it a secret any longer. I thought I'd save you from the worries, especially the new members. Well, lets see. He was a giant tentacled being in yellow. Yellow was the only color there. His names include a lot of references to yellow. It's His thing. I bargained with him to undo the changes to our worldline and free the ship from being caught in its extra-dimensional prison. It was mostly Sam's idea, it was just me and him really. I'm not sure we'd be here as we are, or at all, without him."
"But clearly yellow isn't some sort of portal to him," Gabriel points out. "Every planet with an oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere and a main-sequence dwarf star would belong to him then. Including Terra and this world. So long as we don't dwell on this being we should be safe from the color. I like blue, because I can see it.. a lot of my generation had issues with certain colors. So maybe it likes yellow because it's the only color it knows?"
"I definitely agree there's more to its association with yellow than fashion choice." Tasha's head bobs on her hands. "It may be more fundamental or even memetic. They're made of different stuff, see time, space, and other things differently. They even see things and realities we can't see, so there may be something beyond us that makes yellow important to Him. Whatever it is, that's what I know. The biggest source of His influence is His symbol, though, and His name. The Marker has the symbol, which is why it's sealed in my office and no one's allowed near it. I've tried to avoid using His name, because that He does seem to notice. Sam thinks he can be given something else if things get bad, so we might not be stuck with the price. I might not. But, I also might lose it, and then you'll have to be prepared to deal with me."
"This is a different sort of losing than you've lost before then?" Gabriel asks. "What does this 'psychic virus' actually cause?"
"Insanity and the desire or habit of spreading the insanity by exposing others to its symbols and language," Tasha elaborates, spreading her hands briefly before laying her head back down on them. "I saw Sansa's eyes go hollow, like a corpse, and she asked if I'd 'seen the symbol.' I thought I was being called to do something, but Sam says it's just the beginning of an attempt to make me lose it. I'll probably see more of that kind of thing."
"He also said the being likes cults in its name, so I might do that. It'd probably accept that as a trade, but we'd be subjecting people to its control," the hybrid woman adds.
"Or having to deal with existing cults," Yue points out. "Praxafallopus showed that even the First Ones were susceptible to cults."
"That, too." A nod, then Tasha eyes her coffee longingly for a moment, deciding she'd rather rest her head more. "If we run in to them and I think they're associated I'll let you know. They'll have the same colors and symbols as I've mentioned, so they'll probably be actively trying to spread infection through those things."
"You know, this guy sounds pretty.. old fashioned," Yue notes. "If it was me, I'd have my cult pool their money and hire an advertising agency, or make it the logo for trendy clothes for teenagers.. although it's hard to find any that aren't already brainwashed anyway.."
"He must not have gotten to the Khattans, certainly," Jonas agrees.
"Hey," goes Tasha, who makes a face at Yue before continuing. She sniffs, then says, "It does sound like it could have been everywhere by now. It's not like sending a symbol through hyperspace channels is hard compared to starting a cult n each and every planet and inducting members the face-to-face way. It sounds like something we'd do on my old world. Like Yue says, primitive. But, maybe He just doesn't understand these things. He must see countless worlds and universes, times and places, just like Thotep and the Ogdoad do. Like the Vril do. What we do here is too small for them to change for. He just took an interets in me, because I've become big enough to be worth a few seconds of His time."
"And not because you went to him for help on your own?" Gabriel asks. "Was there anyone else there, or signs of anyone having been there?"
"Well, I guess the name is probably safe. Safe-ish. The place is named Carcosa, and it looked like an alien world that fell to ruin. It's probably outside of this universe entirely, maybe somewhere in D-Space or even its own little universe. The colors were inserted -- the sun was black, shadows were white. Lots of obilisks and ruined cities. The only color besides black and white and shades between was yellow, which we followed to Him. Sam said there was a, uh, brain-eating monster there too, but I decided it probably wasn't much help with hyperdimensional navigation and worldline threading." And so Tasha snorts. "Otherwise, nothing. A huge wasteland. Considering we were outside our universe, and me without my ship and crew, my options were limited -- or more accurately I had no idea what my options were."
"Oh and, um, I was kind of ... " Tasha squints, and just becomes squintier as she wrestles with admitting this partocular, " ... kind of ... a ... guy? At the time. Sasha. I was doing all this as another me."
"What was Sam then?" Hakeber has to ask. "Did you look like he does now, and he look like you do?"
"Kind of..?" The young woman's voice is a bit squeaky. Tasha rummages around her belt for a moment, then places her datapad on the table, then she taps through a few menus before the unit beeps. In short order the conference table's tactical display blinks in to being, then alights in to what appears to be a half-finished painting. At first the painting looks quite familiar, with the whole crew present in various states of completion, all standing before an abstract background waiting to be detailed. The most complete figures stand center.
Slightly taller than she is in her present form, a masculine version of Tasha stands besides a statuesque woman with a stern expression, far taller than he is, wearing a captain's uniform. Tasha -- or Sasha as she said -- dresses much like a Khattan merchant prince, with more attention to style and personal presentation than Tasha is given to, yet his masculinty is tempered with a foppish and mild manner that's different from Tasha's own aggressive and dangerous edge, hinting at difference beneath the surface. Beside them both is a stunningly handsome Karnor man, with long hair -- down not ponytailed like Sasha -- and quite obviously Katie's double. Yue, Jonas, and Hake all see their own counterparts, with Hakeber having the most detail.
"I wasn't sure if I should share this," Tasha admits, uncomfortably. "But it might be important, and you need to know what I was dealing with to understand how bad it was."
"I look like a nerd," Hakeber complains. "I look like an Amazonian.. wait, that is a half-done Amazonian off to the side. Now I wish I'd had a twin sister.." Gabriel comments.
"I don't look all that different," Jonas notes. But then Belters are all fairly tall, have similar hairstyles.. and the women aren't exactly curvy.
"Gabrelle was like you, but different. Everyone was like that, even me. And I wouldn't have noticed if Samael hadn't kept saying something was wrong. That bothers me more than anything, I don't think I can forgive that." Tasha sucks in a breath and takes up her datapad, sliding it away out of sight. "So, anyway, I as Sasha made the deal, now knowing what had really changed, but knowing that our souls had been re-written to stop our allies from recognizing us. Mel might have rejected me, Thotep's deal would have fallen through, maybe the Titanians would have decided we weren't who we once were and come to do something about it."
"And none of us would have understood why," Hakeber says and shudders. "Wow, a real living nightmare scenario. So.. destroying the planet was part of the deal? Or was that just.. something that happened?"
"I think that was either a bonus or the way in which He prevented T'throgga-hem from doing what it did to use all over again. See, T'throgga has -- had -- the power to worldline thread. Each Ogdru-hem has a particular function, a special ability. That was his. He probably wasn't even awake when he did it, either. Samael thinks Nes-- Fes? Fessus ordered it, and fessus was probably ordered by Leviathan for some reason. Leviathan's on Thotep's scale of things, another godlike power. Why Leviathian did it we don't know, but Sam says we shouldn't worry about it. It might have been just to get at Thotep, a matter of opportunity. Thotep and He-who-I-won't-name don't like Leviathan, he's of Order. Cruel Order, but Order," explains Tasha.
"We're.. aren't we about order too?" Gabriel asks, as if uncertain.
"Are ... we?" Tasha replies, equally uncertain. "The Vril -- and if anyone at the table doesn't know what 'Vril' means please ask -- are very solidly about Order. So much that they're having a hard time with believing in beings made of Order and Chaos, namely organics like us. Thotep and You-Know-Who-By-Now are of Chaos. Horus is different, he's become disorderly but doesn't realize it, but the Vril do. Leviathan is of Order. Also, the Ogdoad are also of Order. These are pan-universal alignments, from what I understand, fundentals in how these beings operate. The higehr up they are, the more fundamental they seem to get, and the more that seems to matter to them. We're, uh ... somewhere in between, I guess. Beings forfm both sides approach us."
"Sounds like a religious conflict," Yue offers. "Or else their notions are very different and 'order' and 'chaos' are best approximations. I think the Vykarin had a war once over the definition of 'tree' or something."
"Bumper almost shot me in the face for knowing if Atum had a tail or not," Tasha says with a groan. "I guess some things are universal. Maybe we should get a Silent-One to help explain these religious conflicts to me. Well. Anyway. There it is, and what I had to do. I was desperate and took what was available, and I wasn't even me when I did it. We could stiff You-Know, but it's not like He coerced me, or threatened me, or even did anything other than listen, so I don't want to be ungrateful, but I obviously can't let Him drive me and the crew crazy either. Sam and I will work on an alternatives list, and Yue and Jonas will keep an eye on Gabriel and me. I think that covers that?"
"So, how should we spend our last day here?" Hakeber asks, hoping to change the subject. "I hear there's this thing that I can't pronounce, but it involves a big coal pit and they roast a whole boar in it and then there's a big party were everyone stuffs themselves on pork."
"I'm all for being stuffed with pork." This comes with a grin directed solidly at Gabriel, though it also comes with a twitch as Tasha wonders, for a moment, if that was something Sasha would have said. She clears her throat. "Well. Lets do that. Once everyone else is back, we can decide wheer we're going next. We should also poll everyone and see who is sticking with us before we make this a permanent crew, some people may have had enough after that last planet-demolishing adventure and a few days rest may not be enough. We've been together long enough for people to know what we're really about and make a choice. Right?"
"It will depend on the bunnies," Yue claims. "If they stay it will look bad if any of us predators decide we can't handle it."
Tasha grins wider and nods to this. "They're good for making you feel both inadequate and tough at the same time. I guess I can't leave, can I?" She looks around. "Maybe go start a cult, join the Titanians, try to fly to the Beginning? No?"
"Well, that would mean Katie might leave, and we can't have that!" Gabriel says with a grin. "You go find out when the luau starts, I'll make a call to Caltrop and see if the home office has anything for us. But we should probably plan on sneaking you onto Varta soonish."
Tasha mock-wilts, ears splaying. "People only love me for the people who love me," she complains. then laughs. "Okay. Varta. Lacci -- yes Lacci -- may be useful there, she's made some friends from the Homeworld that might help us getting our hooves on the ground. I;m not sure if the rest of you will be able to come with me, so ask Mr. Useful if there's any tasks around Varta or nearby as well. Maybe look in to that Privateer contract you mentioned."
"Aye aye, boss," Gabriel says, and salutes. "With that, the rest of you are dismissed! Shoo!"
"Hey I own this ship, I can sit here and be a lump if I want!" And so Tasha sits there for all of five seconds, then rises. "Alright, enough of that. I'm going to go find this alien sounding pork-fire, come on Hake."