Time seems to pass strangely in the Maelstrom. A task that feels like it takes hours can actually get done quickly, and things that seem to go by quickly can actually take hours. The ships clock itself seems follow suit, as the remaining trip time can count down in fits and starts, and sometimes even increase if Kaa is fighting against a sudden current. But the turbulence feels more natural than the smoothness of flat space, at least.
Tasha has gotten her managerial tasks dealt with. Who knew you had to keep track of the mass of fish consumed by the Phins in order to estimate the cost of waste disposal into the docking fees. But throughout it all, she hasn't felt anyone looking through her eyes or adding extra voices in her head. Nor any crashes or alarms. And she hasn't looked back through the window-wall into the hanger either, lest she get distracted. She feels like she could use some coffee though. The fresh supply that Aaron had brought was long gone, afterall.
And so Tasha puts down her special signature pen -- a bio-coded apparatus that looks like an actual pen and verifies her identity when she goes about signing orders and other documents that need an official signature. As the ship's owner-in-fact and as the supposedly House representative, there are a lot of documents she has to sign, even if that's all she does with them. And so, she rises.
"Coffee time," she announces to the empty room. In quiet, peaceful times like this, she could almost forget all that's happened, as if her entire adventure were just so much story and she had always been signing papers in a ship's office, not unlike her old life. After circumnavigating her desk she heads for the fore elevator, stretching as she goes. At least all the down time has also given her new ideas about the anisble and the spore, and hwo she might employ both to better ends.
The galley is a bit more crowded as several folks take their lunch there: Hakeber, Gabriel and Lacci. They all have coffee, so hopefully there's still some left that won't require summoning one of the coffee shamans.
Tasha gives everyone a wave as she heads for the counter. "A coffee please, and a snack, whatever's left."
Aaron serves Tasha a small coffee and what appears to be half a sandwich, although the 'bread' is actually also made of meat.. just in bread form. "You had half a pot earlier," the Lapi notes.
"I'm a busy woman with paperwork to sign," Tasha insists. She then sticks her tongue out as she picks up the food, handing a wad of napkins to her tail for it to carry. "No wonder Captain Eyeshine was always grumpy, there is so much to sign."
"It's all counterfeit paperwork though," Gabriel notes. "Since we aren't actually a Khattan yacht."
Tasha turns towards Gabriel, then heads over to sit beside him. "It's still Important Paperwork," she insists, emphasizing the words, "And I'm the only one who can sign it and accrue criminal penalties. I'm aiming for a high score."
"That's the spirit!" Hakeber agrees. She apparently has the other half of the sandwich. "I had soooo many demerits once they wrapped around because the record system couldn't handle that many digits."
"Being a scholar seems a lot easier than I thought," Tasha points out as her tail hands her her napkin pile. She's been trying to be neater, which is important to leadership. No one takes a leader with crumbs on their face seriously. "By the way Hake, I had some ideas for the ansible and the spore that maybe your cursed library brain might have insight on."
"I dunno, I'm pretty sober to have insight," Hakeber claims. "But what sort of insight are you looking for?"
"Well the ansible can project a force field, of sorts. A shield. It's also a highly advanced computer system and capable of faster-than-light communication. So, I thought maybe it could produce planes of force, in a way somewhat like this ship does. Artificial matter. Then I wouldn't need to carry a lot of supplies, tools, and weapons, I could just have the device fabricate them from projected forces," Tasha explains, occasionally pointing her sandwich at Hakeber for emphasis (but never close enough for her to try and bite it). "I was thinking something similiar for the spore. If it's made of the same things beings like Sam are, it should be able to story memories. I could use it to store useful memories, like how to operate something. Medical knowledge. Et cetera."
"Isn't it supposed to store them anyway?" Hakeber asks. "Or do you mean memories from other people? I have no idea how the fake matter projector here works though.."
Yue enters the galley then, looking a bit frazzled and clutching something to her chest. "What did you just say about fabricating things?" she asks.
"Other people. Like a database of sorts. Maybe the anisible can handle maintaining that," Tasha explains. "Having on-demand matter and memories would be very useful."
Yue unclutches her hands enough to set a porcelain teacup on the table. She stares at it, then asks, "Do any of you see a teacup?"
Tasha looks up and over. "Yes? Are you going crazy, Yue?" She frowns though, not entirely facetious.
"I think I've hallucinated a few things, can't tell," she says, and picks up the cup to bring it to the counter. A minute later and she's sitting at the table, the cup full of coffee now. She keeps staring at it defiantly.
"Ooookay." Tasha nods towards Yue, for Gabriel and Hake to join her over there. She then stands over and sits next to Dr. Yue Sen and leans over. "And when did this start?" She also reaches over to poke the tea cup.
"When we started trying things in the hangar," she says. "It holds coffee, it feels real, but that cup isn't real. I was going to use the med lab to try and get some proof, but I heard you talking about making matter.."
"You managed to make a cup somehow?" Tasha continues to poke the cup. "This happened when I was practicing with Kai?"
"No, it happened when Tia and I were experimenting with her," Yue explains. "Tia was trying something.. and the cup just appeared in Kai's hands. It had tea in it, even, but she drank it."
"Kai is a mysterious black box full of secrets and teasing," Tasha notes, head nodding slowly. "So she does know how to do something like this. I should go ask her. Do you want to come with me?"
"Nooo, I need a break," Yue says. "I need to scan this cup still."
"I wonder what she can made besides teacups," Gabriel ponders. "And tea."
"Okay, okay. Scan away. I'll go see what Tia and Kai are up to." And with that Tasha rises. "I'm going to find out. Want to come with me, Gabe, Hake?"
"I can come," Hakeber says, finishing her sandwich and gulping down her coffee. "Gabriel is the captain, we can't risk him questioning his sanity."
"I gave up sanity long before we every met, Hakeber," Gabriel claims, but doesn't moved to follow them. "But this sounds like Witch Business."
"That would be bad," Tasha agrees, nodding, and right next to Gabriel to boot. "We should protect him and shield him. Lets go do Witch Business." She takes her friend's hand up with her tail and heads out.
When they get to the hanger, something looks off to Tasha: the shuttle looks like it's moved closer to the wall. Tia is sitting on one of its winglets, holding something in her hands. Kai is sitting on the floor looking bemused.
"Oh, redecorating. You know you could have waited until I sat down to have the ship remade." Tasha looks around, both to assess and to see if anything else moved -- or has been broken. She'll have to sign things and do real paperwork if anything is broken. When she spots Kai she notes, "Hey, I know that look. I wear that look a lot."
"You do?" Tia asks. She looks.. upset. The thing in her hands is a spanner, but it's been bend nearly double.
"Oh a twist spanner. Those are really useless." Tasha walks over to bend over and peer at said spanner. "Yep, that won't span anything. Speaking of which, I had an idea about making matter-like things using the ansible and was going to ask about it, so good job on taking the initiative."
"It's not the ansible," Tia says, and seems to slump slightly. "That's what I was looking into, since you told me it grew a little dragon body around it before. But it's something different. It's manipulation of the Unformed, I think. Fey magic."
"That sounds more complicated, and like multi-dimensional channeling. Kai'd have to be pulling The Unformed here to use, which is impressive considering the work needed to get there. Unless it's right here all the time and I never knew that." Tasha stands straight then turns to Kai. "But you look bemused. Why does Kai look bemused? Did something weird happen?"
"That's what her expression goes to when I'm not actively controlling her," Tia says, while Hakeber sits down across from Kai. "This is all very disturbing for me. Oh, she moved the shuttle a bit, too."
"That's impressive, although not that impressive compared to making things from nothing." Tasha peers at Kai, who doens't tend to look bemused around her. She suspects Kai enjoys teasing Galatea, which is something she can support. "And why is this disturbing? Kainudy did say she wielded fey magics, so of course she'd want her primary tools to make use of her own abilities."
Tia purses her lips for a moment, then explains, "I only new my mother briefly. But when I knew her she was.. fragile. She was always getting hurt and trying to hide it. She rarely used any magic. I.. always sort of felt superior to her." Then she points to Kai, and says, "But this thing is more powerful than I ever imagined my mother to be. It's more powerful than I am, certainly. It bothers me to know so little, and I still feel like I've somehow been lied to about everything."
"Kainudy has a real fear of her own power, possibly born from fears of becoming like her mother, or maybe creator is more accurate. I know I had a lot of hangups about my creator for a while, too, and she's not on the same scale as Kainudy nor her creator." Tasha takes a seat, head on hands, peering at Kai. "Lets think about the whole doom-dragon-grandma-thing. When I met her she was knitting a blanket she was sleeping other. She tries hard to appear harmless and incapable. She clearly doesn't like having the power she has, and I think she's afraid of hurting people, being hurt, being guilty, and being like her creator. I think Kainudy also doens't have the answers to what plagues her, so she keeps trying different things in a kind of flailing, and because she's so powerful and has done so much, people just assume she knows what she's doing."
"Well, I do remember always acting like she knew what she was doing, or at least not denying it when she was accused of orchestrating something," Tia says. "I don't want to be like her, either. I know that exercising power always hurts her somehow. I just didn't understand it then. But this.." She gestures at Kai again, and says, "This implies a whole other life. It must have been used in the faerie realms. It can do things that the powerful faery types can do, but also things that are just scary." She grips the twisted hand tool harder.
"Maybe Sam should be trying to eat Kai instead of you, heh," Hakeber quips.
"I don't think Sam actually perceives her properly," Tia says.
"Does the fact she did things without you bother you, the power itself? Both? Do you still think she could have stopped what happened?" Tasha looks to Kai and spreads her hands in a vague gesture of uncertainty, as she, too, isn't sure what to think of her indisposed mentor. She does shoot Hakeber a look though, frowning. "Lets not encourage him Hake. I'm still not sure what to make of his relationship to his own master, nor the possible connection between Sam being here and Kainudy being there, fighting Sam's master."
"I just wish she didn't think she had to keep me in the dark about things," Tia says, and then takes a deep breath. "Sam isn't that different from me. Formerly part of something bigger, now left to his own devices. I wouldn't worry about him suddenly being taken over like a puppet."
"I do worry about you using Kai without some sort of limiters in place though," Tia notes.
"That's good to know, since that's been my major worry: when or if he'll get taken over, and if he'll turn on us. I might be a little more anxious about it after what happened." Tasha's head shakes. She then looks to Tia and arches an eyebrow. "Why's that? I thought there already were limiters. Or is it because Kainudy and I are a little alike in some ways?"
"Because when I tried to do some of the tests, Kai seemed too willing to respond," Tia says. "She moved the shuttle with her mind. She twisted this tool with her hands.. and probably also her mind because it got nearly white hot before it could be twisted. She made Yue see things. Her psionics are too strong. She's been adapted to work among the Sidhe, I don't know what could go wrong around normal people."
Tasha had always piloted Kai with a light touch, afraid of breaking her and assuming she wouldn't be allowed to use anything too dangerous anyway. Kai herself, the persona that operates her, revealed herself to be more capable than even Tia seems to know, a secret Tasha is hesitant to share, as she suspects there may be an intention behind it. "Maaaybe it s a lesson of some sort? "I'm indisposed; Tia, you'll have to learn to use this power." That sort of thing."
"Except I don't like using power," Tia claims. "I'm not about to start. I'm just figuring out what this remote is capable of so that you can use it without running into any surprises. It's clearly meant to be deceptive."
"Angry Dragon Grandmas With Doomsome Power work in mysterious ways," Tasha agrees(?). "Well nothing is more devastating in the use of power than using it when something least expects it, which is doubly true when the possessor seems harmless. It's one of Thotep's favorite tricks."
"No wonder they hate one another," Tia supposes. "When we get to the asteroid I'll see what Kai's limits really are. I can put some what I've learned to good use. I don't think she can create just anything out of the Unformed though. If she follows fey rules it can only be things she's familiar with at a chemical level."
"That sounds complex, and beyond the scope of what I could even begin to help with. What I was interested in," and here Tasha spreads her hands, " ... is if I could use the ansible to create things, up to purely mechanical things; I don't know if created items could handle electron flowers and other more complex states. My other idea is that I could try to use the spore to store memories that I could access as needed, mostly technical ability such as medical, engineering, magical, and so on. It was originally created to store my memories, so the trick would be recalling and in absorbing external memories."
"Well, getting memories.. that sounds like something Samael would know about," Tia says. "I can't create just anything with my ansible. My armor and sword mainly. It takes a lot of energy, since I'm not tapping into a dimension of pure potentiality like an elf can. But.. somehow my mother manifested something through it, before it was broken. I'll keep studying Kai to try and figure out how it's done."
"I'm familiar with pizza and beer at a chemical level, if that helps," Hakeber claims.
"I bet she is actually familiar, too," Tasha adds, tail wagging. "As in, she could make them. From chemicals."
"I'm sure pizza is something she must have in her memory already," Tia says, smirking slightly. "I don't know if eating it would be the same though. Stories talk about faerie gold turning to dirt in the morning and such."
"That does sound like them. We have similar stories back home, even ones about demons and dragons. I think I managed to elicit a response out of Thotep by rehashing an old tale about demons and their true names, even," Tasha explains. But then she wiggles her fingers. "So do you think either idea is possible?"
"Kai can create things, somehow," Tia says. "But I don't know if she even has an ansible or is using something else, somehow. I thought she must have timestone for power too, but I'm uncertain after those bio scans. As for absorbing skills and memories.. that's definitely Samael's sort of thing. I could transfer memories through the ansible, certainly, but that isn't the same thing as a skill. Skills require actual practice, even if you know how to do something."
"I'll have to ask Sam, then. I feel a bit better about talking to him now. It's been ... " Here Tasha hesitates, hands clawing at the air as she struggles a moment, " ... hard to after what happened."
"What happened between you?" Tia asks. Hakeber perks her ears as well.
"It's more about what happened between your mother and her demon collection and I, and a bit, what happened between me and you." Tasha's hands wiggle, anxiously. "And Thotep showing up right at the end. It'd be a lot worse if the Null -- if he -- hadn't showed up to help things out."
"Ah, so you have a greater insight now into just what it is beings like Samael do," Tia says.
"I don't think anyone can fully comprehend what they do outside of experiencing it, at least not mortal beings. And, it's worse for beings like me, who can't actually be eaten," Tasha explains, and then she has to stand up and start walking around. "Kainudy also learned that the hard way when I went berserk. She told me it wasn't something even she could endure. Maybe no one can. Sam once told me it's the worst thing you can do to someone, and he's right and I only remember as much as I can remember without losing it again."
"I remember more then, most likely," Tia says. "Mother's soul has been held together with 'foul language and stubborness' from before I was created."
"I suspect beings with more robust bodies and minds can weather it better, but I'm just a polished up mortal with immortal bits. And, I think, I reacted especially poorly to it because a certain degree of self-delusion and belief was important to my work. Lucky for us all, I didn't need it, but it also means I can quite do what I used to," Tasha explains. She ends up sitting beside Kai, whom she leans against, looking suddenly tired. "I've always suspected being immortal in body is not enough; you need an immortal mind."
Kai puts an arm around Tasha. "Immortal minds are not very fun at parties," Tia claims. "Look at me and Thoth."
"I guess it's give an take. Mortals can afford vast dynamism because, well, it doens't matter because we die before it becomes a problem, or at least ideally we do. Immortals need need stability and to not be buffeted by things like internal chaos and long periods of inactivity, or else they'll fail. Or so I've thought." Tasha just lays her head in Kai's lap instead. "It's still a bit embarrassing, because I'm around so many immortals. Aside from showing me what demons do, it also taught me a lesson about the limits of mortality and personal beliefs."
"I had to reinvent myself a few times," Tia says. "You can't stay in one place for more than a local lifetime. There's no putting down roots. When you always have to leave, it gets hard to make connections. So I ended up just wandering."
"I feel like that's what I'd do, too. That or create a place to belong, like a city, and invite other immortal wanderers with the rule that there can be no infighting; it'd be neutral territory." Tasha says, eyes closing. "That or wander. It doesn't seem that different, just longer, and broader. You can still be a sad wanderer and without a home as a mortal. This ship is full of people who didn't really belong elsewhere."
"Some people like to move around and see as much as they can in the time they have," Tia says. "Sometimes I like that. I don't know how long I will stay around this time."
"Stay as long as you feel comfortable. For me, once this is over I think I'll resume exploring this and other universes, maybe see if I can have a city-ship built and take my home with me. My only regret is that I can't be there for the people back home," the red woman offers. She pauses, then adds, "It's hard to return home after this, both for what I've seen and the danger I bring."
"You need a remote of your own, so you can be in two places at once," Tia suggests.
"I was thinking that would help a lot. If I had a city-ship, I could just stay there and raise my family while also being there for Mariel and being in the field as well. A large vessel might even help me manage all these things, like when I pilot Mel-" Tasha pauses at Mel's name, glancing towards the empty space in the hangar and frowning before she closes her eyes again. She lifts Kai's hand and puts it on her head. "Well. Whatever I am now, it's not enough anymore."
The hand scritces Tasha's ears.
"You could just eat a lot," Hakeber suggests. "Maybe if you get big enough you'll bud off a second body!"
"Don't project your dreams on me Hake," Tasha insists, tongue sticking out after. She cracks an eye open then and asks, "Tia, if the ansible can project force fields, can it project more limited planes of force?"
"It should be able to," Tia says. "I've only tried a few things along those lines. The kinetic fields, and my sword.. although that isn't exactly sharp. It's more for intimidation."
"It ultimately comes down to how much energy you want to expend all at once," the alien adds.
"I as just thinking about simple tools. I wouldn't need to carry as much gear if I could just fabricate what I needed on the spot, then dismiss it. Like, cups. Or a wrench. It should be able to handle devices like a kinetic weapon if I supply the ammunition, and very few organizations could stop me from carrying these things with me, or if I ended up stranded, I'd have tools." Tasha makes a Kaboom-style finger gun. "The ultimate multitool."
"Hmm, actual tools are more complicated than just directed force," Tia admits, looking thoughtful. "You might do better with something that can be altered in to something else, but otherwise looks benign."
"Like clay? Or clothing made out of a mold-able substance?" Tasha sits up now, but pats Kai's hand as thanks for the momentary support.
"Something as malleable as the ansible, or a marker perhaps," Tia suggests. "You've been able to shape them to some extend now. But it would deprive you of their function for the time you were using them as something else."
"Well I use the Yellow one to destroy, and I only have to do that so often. And everything else i need to destroy I destroy with my face like breakfast." Tasha thinks a moment,t hen nods. "The Yellow would be best, then. The Blue I have up constantly now, shielding my brain like you told me to do. By the way, what does Pink do? Sam mentioned it a lot as the most dangerous one."
"Pink?" Tia asks. "Pink doesn't exist. It's not a real color."
"Sam said it was the most dangerous of the capital-C Colors, the memetic energy colors," Tasha explains further. "Like how Yellow is one, and Blue, there's supposedly a Pink."
"Since it isn't real, it would represent something.. unnatural, I suppose," Tia says. "A nightmare or.. bubble-gum. Pink. Pink? Perhaps something completely subjective."
"Well since Sam's probably spying on us, why not have him tell us?" Tasha opens her third eye and scans the room, seeking the demon.
There's no sign of Sam this time. Which is odd. It means he must be someplace else.
"Huh, he's really not here." Tasha leans back and blinks. "I'd think he'd be here with all of us gathered. I wonder where he is now?" She scans further, sweeping them ship. She should catch him unless he's aft, and there's not much aft.
Her range is still limited. From here she can see Hakeber and Tatha-hem, who tends to drown out anything beyond.
"Maybe he is avoiding me," Tia suggests.
"Where-ever he is, it's not close." Tasha turns and nods to Tia. "Maybe me as well, for other reasons. I'm sure he's picked up on my sudden increase in anti-demon sentiment, and with what's happening with Kainudy he has that second-hand problem too."
"Well, there has been a lot of psionic pressure in here during the experiments," Tia says. "It was clearly getting to Dr. Sen."
"She did seem a bit crazy, that's true. Doesn't seem to impact me at all, though. Or Hake." Tasha glances to ehr friend for confirmation. "Whatever the case, we'll be on Caltrop soon, so people can get off ship for a while."
"Does it have a park?" Tia asks.
"With trees and stuff? Yes, and a lot more besides. There's an artist named Kem that likes to paint in the park; his girlfriend likes to threaten me with sasers." Tasha shrugs; what can you do. "I like the tavern, but I admit I've only seen a small part of the station. Maybe I should walk around more."
"Walking is good," Tia says. "You smell more things that way."
"Yes you do, and I never know what I'll find." Then Tasha stetches. "I guess we're done here?"
"Smelling is great, at least where the food is," Hakeber agrees. "There must be musical performances that aren't just street buskers too."
"I'll keep seeing if there other hidden functions in Kai," Tia says. "So far it seems you can just instruct her to do something and she'll do it if she can."
"Find out if she can sing or dance or play any musical instruments," Hakeber suggests.
"I need to arrange singing lessons for myself, as well. That's another option for magic," Tasha notes, nodding to her own words. "Though I suppose I won't be singing songs so much as harmonies?"
"It would help if you have perfect pitch," Tia says. "And multiple voices."
"I can only have those via remotes, unless I can sing in to existence multiple copies of myself, or use the ansible or spore to accomplish it. Demons do like to have multiple tooth mouthes." Tasha stands and walks to the shuttle, inspecting it for damage. "I know I have a lot of eyes in spirit form. There's also my ... familiars? The End Wolf and Blackwings."
"Get yourself a very good choir," Tia suggests. "I don't think the shuttle was bumped or dinged."
Tasha doesn't see any dings. "That'd good because that would be paperwork. As for a choir, well, katie can sing. Hake can sing badly. Maybe Lacci can sing? And if I had remotes, they could sing, because I should be able to control them all if they're doing exactly the same thing? Assuming they don't need different notes."
"Well, yes you would need different notes," Tia says. "Harmonies are complex. Multiple voices singing the same things would just be.. louder."
"Maybe I can defeat my enemies by volume. I mean, pure volume magic song seems like it'd do something, like a ... nuclear explosion. I bet those are loud, musically speaking." Tasha turns and gives Tia a thumbs up.
"I've never tried to explode something with volume," Tia admits.
"Flaming burps," Hakeber says, for whatever reason.
"Maybe I can be the first volume-based magic singer! I did used to talk really loudly, ask the bunnies!" Tasha claps her hands together excitedly. "I can roar-bark! have your ever heard it?"
"Is it like a barking roar?" Tia asks.
"It's like this," Tasha notes, then her ears go back, head forward, and there's this bones-shaking noise that starts with a steady build up and ends in, well, a roar. It really does sound like a combination of roaring and barking.
Hakeber seems about to join in at the start, which seems like it's going to be howl, but she refrains.
"I can't howl anymore," Tasha tells Hakeber, spreading her hands. "When I tried that's what I got. It seems great for making people stop bothering me when I'm trying to work, though!"
"It sounds exhausting," Hakeber comments.
"It's not! I can do it all day." Tasha's tail wags. "But I guess that's just how I am now."
"It isn't as cute a sound as it should be," Hakeber claims, and tries tickling Tasha to get a proper growl or squeak.
Tasha mantles her wings but doesn't fight back as much as she could, and so eventually she does giggle, which with her current body is very cute indeed. It makes her seem almost like a cartoon or mascots character, if not for teh knowledge of how dangerous she really is. Maybe this fabled flying city of her's should have a theme park?
"That's better," Hakeber says. "Almost thought I'd have to hunt Perspehone down and trade you in for a different model!"
"I am not an old vehicle," Tasha complains, but then she hugs on Hakeber and sits down with her. "But ... maybe I could do with being cuter. Being dangerous and scary is exhausting. I don't have quite the taste for it, fighting, and death that I used to."
"Doesn't it just taste like blood and ashes?" Tia asks.
"You mean figuratively and literally? Either way, yes," Tasha answers, shrugging. "I mean don't get me wrong, I like crushing my enemies and victory and all that, and the battle-high is something I can get in to, but all the sad results and all the pain is tiring."
"I'm glad I've avoided it for the most part," Tia says.
Tasha's smile is a little tight. "There's avoiding it because it's bad and doesn't help and avoiding it because you don't want to deal with it even if it needs to be dealt with. I've found too much avoidance is as bad as not enough. I guess we're opposite in how we went about things, though." Tasha sniffs, then scratches her nose. "And now we're both meeting in the middle."
"I've been on the losing end of things," Tia admits. "And before that, I'd seen what victory can cost as well. Neither decision is easy, so I've mostly run away from having to decide."
Tasha nods to that. "I think that can be a wise choice, too. When both victory and defeat mean unacceptable loss, it's better to not fight at all. And, sometimes you can live in the cracks and gaps between things. I've known people who lived well like that, even if they can sometimes be hard to respect." And so shes hrugs again. "It's about what works for someone, I suppose."
"It doesn't really work," Tia claims. "You're still afraid all the time."
"I think that's universal, except with victory, and part of the value of victory." Tasha hugs on Hakeber though, feeling the need for something warm in all the talk of war. "And the biggest cost of avoidance. Unresolved problems remain unresolved after all."
"I suppose you just choose what to be haunted by in the end," Tia says, and slides off the winglet. "I will see if Kai knows how to dance, Hakeber."
"We can see about entertainment on Caltrop. It is a good place to feel out of the way, unwatched, far from things, whatever the reality is. That much can be refreshing." And so tasha stands, checking her arm displays. "Not long now-- no wait-- no, not long now. Maelstrom travel is weird."
"Time is an illusion," Tia claims. "Except for lunch time."
"Lunch time is the most real time of all," Tasha agrees. "Lets go eat lunch and then we can sit on the Bridge until Caltrop shows up. It's really pretty from afar, and maybe the first time you'll see Sifran technologies. They really appreciate crystals."
"Don't forget to find your pet demon," Tia says. "You should always know where he is."
"I agree, which is why his absence worries me. Maybe one of those pet collars?" Tasha's ears flick. She looks around, shrugs, then starts walking. "Come on hake, lets find Sam."
Tasha and Hakeber find Samael about as far away from the hangar as possible without interfering with ship operations, in the rear half of the bridge, looking at the usage logs on the tactical table.
"And here we find the demon in his natural habitat, reviewing the boring minutia of mortals," Tasha remarks in a (bad) impersonation of a holovid on animals she had been watching. She steps up behind him, pits her hands behind her back, and leans around him to see what he's looking at.
Sam has apparently been snooping into what Galatea and Moka where looking at. He comments to Tasha, "What sort of accent was that supposed to be?"
"Some Human one from some world called Talos IV. There's supposedly a lot of large animals on it," Tasha explains. She shrugs, leans back, and asks, "So, the research. Distribution of brown dwarfs and such?"
"Supposedly," Sam says in a suspicious tone. "Who knows what the alien really wants."
Tasha considers this, leaning back and arching her brow. "You've really got it out for her. I don't remember you being against Thoth this much, and he slapped you in to a statue."
"He's the reason I didn't go that Seeder party," Samael notes. "But Thoth has a history and understandable motivations. Something about Tia makes me uneasy."
"Well, in your long-existed opinion, what is it? Some secret motivation, something physical? An unmentioned item or two? It has to be more than a feeling, right?" Tasha glances Hakeber in a 'do you know what he's talking about' sort of way.
Hakeber shrugs. She still hasn't figured out human intuition.
Tasha then taps the side of her head to Hakeber; does her secret library have any ideas.
"It feels like there's something hidden and dangerous near her," Sam claims. "Something watching."
Hakeber frowns slightly, and gives a sort of it isn't exactly accessible unless it needs to be expression. Although for Karnors, some of that is conveyed by subtle changes in scent.
Tasha nods slightly, then looks back to Samael. "Surely you must have some idea? She doesn't seem exactly the malevolent type even if you can feel the latent resentment and hostility. Maybe something about demon binding?"
"What have you been up to with her?" Sam asks, evading the whole 'demon binding' issue. "Yue looked unsettled after her visit to the hangar."
"Well she very clearly has exotic magic-o-tech, which is hardly unusual among our guests and associates. You did mention wanting to eat her at one point too." The last Tasha adds in a 'this may also be your fault' sort of tone, if gently.
"I didn't tell her that though," Samael says. "But you haven't felt anything around her?" he asks both of them.
"I wouldn't mind being able to pilot Kai sometime," Hakeber admits. "Y'know, to see what it would be like to be human."
"I did try to stab her repeatedly while I was in a berserk haze," Tasha admits, shrugging with her hands in a what can you do when you're in a berserk haze manner. "She's understandable upset by me on several levels."
"You should try being more wolf before you try being more Human, Hake! At this rate you'll be a dog like the Neo Karnors." And so Tasha pokes Hake in the belly.
"Well, it's not like I have the hardware to be able to," Hakeber says. "So it's just a fantasy for now."
"What are you talking about?" Sam asks Hakeber, and asks Tasha, "Did you manage to stab her?"
"I can't help it I attract alien hardware to be in me, Hake," Tasha insists, putting on a face of innocence. She balls her hands under her chin and goes very wide of eye, and what is worse, with her new body she can get away with it. She looks about to say more when she glances to Samael. "Iniindirectly, but that was more tactical than malice. I was trying to stop something by injuring her."
"Did it work?" Sam asks. "And what's this about piloting a human?"
"You haven't noticed? I've been remotely piloting Kai on occasion. I thought you and the other extraordinaries would have caught on early," Tasha answers, shrugging with shoulders now. "And yes it did work. But it may have had consequences. I don't really know the full extent of what came of it; it was a desperation move." She then gets an idea and leans in, asking, "Do I feel weird to you? Do you want to eat me?"
"Technically I want to eat everyone, all of the time," Samael says, then gets an irritated look. "Please humor me and describe the appearance of Kai," he asks.
"I meant especially now, and as for Kai, I'm not going to reveal the passengers and equipment of said passengers should they wish to be undetected. We're not here to interrogate everyone on a whimsy. I'll need a really good reason to help you find someone who is obviously not wanting to be detected by certain entities," Tasha explains, head bobbing from side to side.
"That trick shouldn't work on me, though," Samael claims. "I can use it myself after all. It is very suspicious behavior."
"Are you gonna ask him about the thing?" Hakeber whispers to Tasha.
"I'm not sure if I should be extra worried the demon is annoyed someone is more elusive and suspicious than him, or under-worried." Tasha puts her finger to her muzzle and cocks her head to the side in the classic considering pose, which she does specifically to mimic gynoids and other Human-copying robotics. She then glances at Hakeber and mouthes "what thing?"
"The skill-getting thing," Hakeber says, tapping the center of Tasha's forehead.
Tasha mouthes an "oh" and then nods to Hakeber, she turns back to Samael and asks, "Hey Sam, I was wondering: Since my spore is supposed to record memories, do you think it could record other beings memories? For absorbing skills and such, technical expertise. Being bale to recall such things would be very valuable in the field, and might allow me to obtain memories in exotic ways, for our benefit."
"Well, it's very easy to do if you eat their souls," Sam claims, smiling at the topic. "That gets you everything. Otherwise, reading memories is extremely difficult unless the person of interest is actually recalling them or engaged in the related activity, at least for non-muscle memory."
Tasha holds up her hands. "Soul eating isn't an addiction I want to get in to, not after experiencing it myself. As for the other way, that shouldn't too hard. Anyone good at something will always be practicing and refining their skills."
"That depends on the skill," Sam notes. "For instance, you would not be able to learn how to swim like a dolphin, or be functionally alcoholic like Hakeber, or sing like Katherine. Those are physical skills, which may be improved over time with practice, but that practice is not the same as accessible memory."
"I'll just have to be an alcoholic with hard work and effort," Tasha confirms, as if that was her one take away. "So what can I do?"
"Well, it depends on what you want," Samael says. "Mere knowledge is easily accessible, if it exists outside of an individual mind. If you need to learn something specific from someone - say, the access code to the secret lair - then you will need to access their memory."
"And how would I do that?" Tasha's brows go up again. "Is it like psionics or magic? Or magic psionics?"
"Well, there is Hakeber's method," Samael says. "Which is being friendly until the target is able to confide in her. Or extortion. The trick with using psionics is trying to sort out the information from the noise. When someone is clear minded and focused, their thoughts are easier to decipher. If they are compromised by external forces, fatigued or distracted then there will be a lot of noise which degrades the signal. Extraction under duress or stress is also fraught with noise. You don't want them to be thinking of anything except the subject at hand. For example, try to think about something without also thinking about anything else. You are being bombarded by distractions all of the time: the smell of Hakeber's breath, that itch you didn't know you had, what you want for your next meal, Gabriel stepping out the shower."
"Those are all very distracting, especially the last one," Tasha agrees, nodding. "So you want clarity and relaxation, or else you want to intimidate them in to clear focus, but avoid distractions and poor mental states."
"Or you can take over their mind and force them to focus on what you want, or actually make them relieve it," Sam says. "You just need to be able to do that somehow."
"That seems somewhat harder, I can't just hijack anyone's mind." Though that does give Tasha an unpleasant idea for how to locate Kainudy and the others if need be, but she'd really rather not try that with anyone, and Kai less than most for the danger she represents. "Is that something I can even do?"
"Not without help," Sam admits. "There are ways of doing it with technology, but they do require a certain amount of kidnapping and possibly invasive surgery. Not everyone has convenient access ports like you do."
"Lucky me," Tasha notes, smiling a bit wryly. "Heart of my sleeve, brain on my forehead. At least I'm poisonous or I might feel vulnerable."
"You also have a weird alien thing in your head," Sam points out. "Which is also a way to get into someone else's head, I suppose."
"I do have a lot of weird alien stuff in my brain these days. I don't know if it can let me invade just anyone though. I suppose I'd have to ask," Tasha notes, head tilting. "Like.. brain hacking."
"In this era, I assume many professional have cybernetic implants," Samael says. "Especially in the security fields, where being able to match faces to databases is critical. You might ask Sojo's troops about that."
"That's not a bad idea. So, by cybernetics I could... absorb memories somehow?" Tasha cocks her head a different way.
"Well, they provide for a means of access," Sam explains. "As well as discipline. A user needs to be very clear in their thinking to use them properly, again due to the 'noise' issue."
"I see. I'll think about this." Tasha nods to Samael, then glances to Hakeber. "Have anything for our demon or shall we move on?"
"So, your uneasiness is because of Kai's invisibility leaking around the edges it sounds like," Hakeber says to Sam. "Maybe you should try to see her. It would be good to know if it could be gotten around, wouldn't it?"
"Perhaps," Sam says noncommittally.
"Are you afraid of her?" Tasha asks, looking back to Samael.
"That depends," Samael says, "on whether this is something that Tia is controlling or whether it is an automatic function against entities such as myself."
"They do not care for your kind, that much is clear," Tasha explains, hand out as an aid to speaking, "But I imagine that's not an uncommon trait in more advanced societies." And perhaps one I should ask about; being able to conceal myself from Shadows would be very useful.
"Oh, Sam? Can you knock a mortal's brain with your psionic-like powers? Could you try and knock me out now?" Tasha recahes up and taps her forehead. Hit here right here.
"Are you actually asking me to attempt that?" Samael asks.
Tasha drops in to a nearby chair and mentally checks her Blue defenses, not that she's let them drop for fear of waking up with her head in her bacon. "Yes."
Sam approaches her, and says, "I need physical contact for the attempt, so I'm going to touch your shoulder." That's all the warning Tasha gets before he pokes her with a finger. The room spins for a moment, and Tasha feels a headache coming on while numbness overtakes the stricken shoulder.. but she doesn't pass out. If she'd been standing up the momentarily dizziness might have been an issue if anything else was happening (such as her walking) but overall the effect is minimal.
Tasha wrinkles her nose and clutches her chair, but she remains seated and upright. "Well that was fun." She gives her head a little shake, then smiles, if in a pained way. "I suppose we can call that a successful result."
"Hmm," Sam goes. "I didn't feel any particular resistance, but it was more of a push than a probe."
"And you really tried to knock me unconscious?" Tasha reaches up and taps her head. "I've been practicing with the Blue. It now shields my brain."
"And your mind?" Samael asks.
"I would think so," Tasha notes, but sounds uncertain. "Are they not one and the same? or, does my mind exist outside my brain, somewhere?"
"Attacking the mind does not make someone pass out," Sam explains. "That requires a physiological shock of some kind, regardless of how it is generated. Now, at best I could try to influence your mind, but only insofar as pushing you closer to something you might have wanted to do anyway."
"Yeah but then I would have to resist doing something I wanted to do, which begs the question why I wouldn't want to do it. A conundrum." Tasha raps her knuckles against her muzzle. "Well, I'll test that later, I think. For now we should ready ourselves for Caltrop."
"Will the alien be leaving soon then?" Sam asks.
"She's been asked to remain with us as long as she desires to," Tasha answers, if not unkindly. "There's still a lot I'd like to learn from her."
"Her monster as well then, I presume?" Sam asks.
"You mean Kai?" Tasha's ears go up. She's heard Kai called many things, but monster is not one of them. It's even stranger to hear a demon call another being such a thing. "Monster. So demons have their monsters, too?"
"It can hide itself from me," Sam points out. "That implies a disturbing amount of psionic ability. Perhaps it can read minds."
"Well it's good to have a monster Sam, it'll bring you closer to us. Perhaps you'll even start to need a fire to huddle around." Tasha leans over and pats Samael on the shoulder. "Then it will be fanciful tales and daring-do!"
"Thank you for trying to be comforting," Samael says. "Has there been any word from Thoth yet?"
Tasha smiles. "I do try to be a lot of things." And then she leans back. "And no word from Thoth, or Mel for that matter. I'm surprised you don't know more. I don't suppose Thotep was defeated and the universe is about to come crashing down for lacking pan-dimensional insanity management?"
"If they are fighting, it would just be one of Thotep's many avatars," Sam claims, but looks uncertain. "That said, one that rules an entire reality, even if a small one, is likely to have a good portion of his power available. A large scale investment of effort."
"It did seem very straightforward of him. He doesn't seem to care for direct shows of power, or are we wrong and he likes to mix things up after a while?" Tasha's brows go up again. "I can't imagine he likes to be predicable. And speaking of avatars, Mr. Yellow has been quiet, too. Of course, I was busy with the sword, so I suppose I was suitably entertaining for a while."
"Lack of contact could simply mean you're doing what he wants anyway," Sam says. "The thing about being able to push a mind is that the mind never realizes it."
"Or I'd have done it anyway without a push," Tasha notes, but still frowns. "Well, not much I can do if I don't know it. It all does seem like his or their kind of plan, but I wonder if it'll go their way in the end."
"You should try to use your alien brain slug to try and push Tia's mind, just to see if it's possible," Sam suggests. "Because if it is, she could be doing the same to you."
"Hmm, you think so? I don't know. I feel like she's afraid to influence me too greatly. I remind her of someone, and, well, I'm a bit like a memento. I'm someone who was closer to her mother than she was for a while, and I think she's fascinated and jealous of that and many things besides. And her mother and I both have a propensity of trying to help and ending up injuring people, not to mention," and here Tasha ticks off on her hands, " ... highly destructive rages, inexplicable powers, avoidance of things that make us feel guilty, acting cute when we're really kind of dangerous, hungering for normally and knowing we don't belong in it ... I could go on."
"It will pass once you have children, I am given to believe," Sam claims. "I understand there will be more combat training for the security team. Will you need me for that? They need to go up against something unfamiliar."
"You and I will handle it. You'll handle 'completely alien' and I will be 'familiar but suddenly inexplicable'. It will also show that we run the gamut, and, well, see if they can work under a group that has beings like us." Tasha shrugs with her hands. "Plus it'll be fun to scare people in a harmless way for once."
"Harmless way?" Samael asks, looking disappointed. "Scaring should always be consequential."
"Relatively harmless. There might be a few existential crisis-s-s-ses, and maybe some religion being flung baout. Maybe the Silent One is a secret Star Empire church inquisitor and he'll burst forth with all sorts of symbols and holy-whats-its, and then we're suddenly in trouble!" Tasha sits up, ears perked. "The Human may be psychic, or a secret mole-spy! The Naga is ... well he's pretty obviously a soldier. And a Naga. Not much fun but maybe he can throw me through a wall or something."
"Physically, the reptile is likely the strongest," Samael says. "Maybe stronger than Shojo. I am not familiar with them as yet."
"Oh very likely. And neither am I. We can become more familiar though the old way: violence." Tasha clasp her hands together. "Exciting."
"Yay violence?" Hakeber says, sort of making a half-hearted fist pump. "Don't count out sex though!"
"You know I'm limited there these days Hake, I have to take what I can get, just two incredibly attractive Karnors, a bevy of women, and violence." Tasha's sigh is long-suffering.
"We can make Gabriel and Shojo pitch in on the seduction," Hake suggests with a grin. "I have no idea if Tia would count as part of the bevy, and Katie is certainly seductive even if she won't put out.."
Tasha reaches over and tries to muss Hakeber's hair up. "You're just jealous Katie won't sleep with you, you need to try harder," she insists.
"She's scary!" Hake claims. "I'll seduce Tia instead. She looks like she could use it. It's like she's still an awkward teenager. Which I survived by wearing frilly dresses.."
"She does feel like a bratty sister that never grew up," Tasha agrees, nodding vigorously. "It's part of the reason she both annoys me and makes me want to look out for her. And Katie is scary, she's my girlfriend even I sometimes feel intimidated by her. Maybe I should try being more aggressive though. I mean, Lisa got away with it." And so the woman pauses. "Do you think she ... likes being pushed around by small, cute women?"
"Her kinks are a mystery to me," Hake claims. "She hasn't tried to get Yue to push her around, and she is a practically a human Lapi for cuteness."
"It's mysterious, isn't it? I mean until recently I didn't even know what a kink was. Experienced, yes, but know? To search out and quantify? Not at all," Tasha admits, shrugging again. "Maybe I should try being assertive once and see what happens? I am resistant to kinetic damage now."
"Ohhh, Katie can wrap you around her little finger without hitting you, you know," Hakeber teases. "But I want to watch when you try it. You do it to Gabriel already, don't you?"
"Oh I know, but who knows how she'll handle this?" Tasha then blinks, leaning back. "Be assertive with Gabriel? No, not very often. I suppose aggressively submissive is what I do, and not always. He was very aggressive during the trip back."
"Ahhh," Hakeber pouts. "Nobody ever gets aggressive with me. It's because I wag my tail too readily. And I'm too cute. It's a burden, you know."
"Hey I have been aggressive with you plenty of times. I can be more so if you want. I admit it's not my preference, but sometimes, well, it can be nice." And so Tasha's own tail wags.
"Well, you need practice before you try it on Katie," Hakeber says. "Can't suck that skill outta someone's brain! It comes from the ass!"
"I am not sucking your ass or anyone else's," Tasha insists, sitting straighter. "We'll see about the rest. Now, I hope you've figured out what you need done before we arrive. I also think you should consider what you want to do after you're free of that infernal library."
"It will involve drinking and partying," Hakeber says in a serious tone.
"I'm responsible now, so I can only do like seventy-five percent of that, tops. Speaking of which, I have to go ready my signature on ev-er-ry-thing." And so Tasha rises, stretches, and flaps her wings for good measure. "Come see me in an hour and I'll see how crzy paperwork makes me Hake, then we can do things."