1y10m3w4d BV
Hiron’s shop, the trade station Desolate Oasis
Hiron
This morning had not been fun. Hiorn had woken up groggy in an unfamiliar location. It had taken him several minutes to realize that he was back at ‘his’ shop. He did remember his arrival on the station, but everything else was just… missing. He grabbed a glass of water and quickly drained it. That seemed to help a bit.
Slowly, memories of the previous day’s events began to filter in. Kind of. These memories were… disconnected, as if he was merely an observer and not an active participant. As his mind slowly filled, a theme began to emerge. Chuck. That’s right! Hiron had intended to challenge Chuck to a wrestling match and… oh. He must have lost, presumably quite badly. Chuck should still be on station, perhaps he could light this particular darkness.
As Hiron walked the halls of the Desolate Oasis, his recollection slowly continued to sharpen. There had been a fight, obviously. Chuck had, unsurprisingly, crushed him. Somewhat literally, if these newly recovered memories were accurate. Then, Hiron had been challenged to… Win? Survive? He shook his head, still not quite sure.
His memory of the rest of the evening existed in small pieces; laying sprawled out under Chuck, tapping Chuck’s head for several minutes, Chuck’s bloody face staring at him, Chuck feeling his… oh.
Hiron walked to the side of the alley and stopped for a moment. Hesitantly, he brushed his paw against his scalp, unleashing bolts of pain. Hiron winced. He may never remember exactly what had happened last night. Hopefully, he had at least remained professional. His memories of tapping Chuck’s head seemed to make that particular hope infeasible. Why in Fyu’s name was he doing that?
He approached the Carpe Aeternum just as Chuck was leaving the ship, presumably collecting supplies. Chuck noticed his approach and beckoned him over.
“Hey there buddy, how’s the head?”
…Buddy? He was pretty sure that Chuck had never called him ‘buddy’ before. “It’s been better. How about you? Are you feeling well after last night’s… transpirings?”
Chuck nodded happily as walked to Hiron. “Yeah, my nose is still a bit sore, but it’ll heal fine.”
Ah, that could explain memory of Chuck’s bloody face. Yet, Chuck’s nose barely looked injured. “Are you sure Chuck? I saw an awful lot of blood yesterday.”
Chuck smiled and delicately ruffled Hiron’s crest. “Don’t worry about it, that’s just how nosebleeds are. Sucks a bit, but no real harm done.”
Hiron carefully brushed his crest back into place, hurting himself again in the process. Somehow Chuck had managed to avoid that. “What was that for?”
Chuck peered through him. “Your knocking was worse than we thought, wasn’t it?” Chuck scratched his chin.
Hiron perked an ear. “Chuck. What did you do to me last night?”
Chuck shrugged. “You hurt yourself pretty badly trying to take me down. I put a few of your muscles back together. Speaking of that, is your leg feeling better? It was pretty rough last night.”
More memories flooded his mind. His hindlimb, sore. Chuck…fixing it. He stared at his limb. If he was being honest, it felt better then it had in quite some time. There was, however some concerning similarities between several of the memories that slowly returned to him. “Chuck… did I do anything…” How should he word this… “unbecoming of a Whitecrest operative?”
Hiron winced as Chuck snorted in laughter. “You don’t remember?” He cleared his throat. “Sorry.” Then the human, again, began playing with his crest.
Hiron ducked away, yipping in annoyance.
Chuck stepped back, raising his palms in front of him. “Relax Hiron, I just wanted to make sure your head looks okay. Are you sure you don’t need help?”
Hiron wasn’t quite sure. Logically, he had absolutely no reason to be upset over so minor a transgression. Something was nipping at his mind, something he just couldn’t quite recall. There was a disconnect between his current disposition and what he logically expected his thoughts to be. Somehow, his memories, even his very personality, seemed to not… fit together correctly. There had to be something important missing.
But that was only one piece of this particular puzzle; Chuck had clearly changed his interactive strategy. Whatever had happened the night prior, it had significantly altered human’s expectations of Hiron’s behaviour. Chuck seemed to expect camaraderie that Hiron simply could not explain. This human wasn’t dumb; Whatever his expectations, there was likely a good reason for it. Something had broken through the Deathworlder’s reluctance to open up to him. That something would almost certainly have been prompted by Hiron’s own actions…
This called for some sleuthing. “I’m sorry Chuck, I’m still not feeling well. Some of my memories from last night are still a bit fuzzy. Do you think you can help me fill in the gaps?” He never understood why so many Gaoians would insist on investigating the hard way, especially with a willing subject readily available.
Chuck nodded and invited him onto his ship. They sat and talked for a short while. It turned out, yes, he had indeed made quite the fool of himself, and Chuck had responded in kind. Even though he didn’t remember much of it directly, it was not difficult to pretend that he had; One of the many advantages of his Whitecrest training. It was a shame, really. Chuck’s depictions of the evening sounded rather enthralling.
…Maybe he should… try to relive the events of the night prior? Purely for academic reasons, of course. “Chuck, if you have the time, my… shoulder still feels a bit… tight?”
Chuck laughed. “Is it now?” He stared at Hiron. “You’re not going to hiss at me again, are you?” Hiron shook his head. “C’mere.” Hiron resisted the urge to fight back as the overpowered Deathworlder scooped the him up in his arms and carried him to a couch. …It would take some time to get used to this.
Chuck plopped down on the couch, still cradling Hiron in his forelimbs. The human then began massaging his shoulders. By Fyu’s Whiskers! Hiron’s memories had been holding out on him! It felt even better than he could have … imagined? Eh, words. He sat in silence for a minute or so, thoroughly enjoying himself. “This is what we did last night?”
“Mostly, yeah.” Chuck continued rubbing. “Your shoulder feels fine, am I in the wrong place?”
Reluctantly, Hiron pulled himself away. “You took care of it, thanks.” Now he wished even more that he had more time to spend with Chu-
…Ronovin. That’s what he had forgotten! That flea-bitten scoundrel had been hoarding Chuck to himself! This called for action. He now had a revenge to plan over the next few weeks.
Chuck stared at him, concerned. “Are you sure you’ll be okay? Amnesia is nothing to screw around with. Maybe take some medical leave or something?”
Hiron dismissed Chuck with a wave of his paw. “I’ll be fine, I just remembered something I’ll have to take care of.”
“Going after Ronovin already? Are you sure you shouldn’t wait until you feel a little better?”
Hiron’s ears perked. “I told you about Ronovin?”
Chuck nodded as he chuckled. “You told me you were planning on whooping his ass.”
This whole situation was beginning to sound disturbingly familiar. There were some striking similarities between this and what he had read… “Is this what ‘intoxication’ feels like? If it is, I can’t say I approve.”
Chuck tilted his head from side to side. “Eh, maybe. You certainly enjoyed yourself last night.”
How could he respond to that?
After a few minutes, Chuck sighed. “Alright, I think you’ve recalled about as much as you are going to. It should be safe to start forming new memories now.”
“I don’t know if Gaoian brains are anything like a human’s, but if they are, this is important. Be careful these next few days. You’re likely going to jump to conclusions that you never would reach with a healthy mind. You weren’t there last night. It was someone else. Maybe the Gaoian you wanted to be, maybe you just finally dropped the act and played as the Gaoian you actually are. I don’t, and can’t, know.”
“Hiron, I’ve been there, and I’m willing to alter my own interpretations of last night’s events, if that’s what it takes to help you heal. I’m not going to let you suffer through this alone. Take some time to think hard about what you wanted to happen last night. Focus on it, make it true. You’ll never fix everything, but at least you can try to smooth over the rough edges a bit. If you don’t, there will always be something there, gnawing at your subconsciousness, trying to tell you something that you don’t want to hear.”
…Huh. True or not, Chuck’s explanation made sense. There was definitely something hiding in his mind, something that he couldn’t find. But could he really just… will it away? “How did you do it, Chuck? How did you simply force yourself to believe something else?”
Chuck wore a warm smile. “You already know how, Hiron. You simply live it. If you pretend to believe something for long enough, it becomes true, especially when it comes to your own mind.”
“Now, I’m not going to tell you what to think. Take a break for a moment and consider that. If I wanted to, right now, I could mold your mind in nearly any way I wanted to. Your are trying to recover your sense of self. Anything you see, or do, or feel in the next few days can have a drastic effect on your personality. I will not touch that.”
“So think hard about what you want to be. As dangerous as this time can be, you have an opportunity to change yourself for the better. Just be careful to only let yourself be changed by those you trust until you’ve had a chance to recover. Think only thoughts that make you happy or excited.”
Hiron was at a complete loss for words. Almost a complete loss for thought as well. Could he really break his mind by thinking incorrectly? He quickly brushed that thought away. True or not, he could consider this later. His only current objective was to finish his report, and then to wait for relief. There would be plenty of time to digest Chuck’s advice then. “I’ll… take that under consideration, Chuck. Thank you.”
Satisfied with Hiron’s response, Chuck changed the subject. “Now, before I go, why don’t I show you the still?”
“Yes, let’s have a look at that.” Hiron replied, excited to see the results of his efforts.
The still had turned out quite well. It was a nice, intricate piece, crafted primarily of copper and glass. The copper embellishments were not strictly required, but when giving a gift it helped to go a bit beyond the standard fittings. The first batch, one of Hiron’s own recipes, was already brewing.
As he departed the Carpe Aeternum, he handed Chuck a fresh datapad that he had prepared earlier. “Here you are, Chuck. A replacement for the one I took. It’s clean and has the latest Whitenet chipset.” ‘Clean’ and ‘Whitenet chipset’ were mutually exclusive, of course, but such was nature of his line of work.
Chuck accepted the datapad and bid farewell, ruffling Hiron’s crest once more as he returned to his ship. Didn’t he realize the connotations of that act? Knowing Chuck, he did, and simply chose not to care. Oh well, if that was the cost of have a Keeda-damned Deathworder as an ally, it was a fair price to pay. He winced again as he brushed his fur back into place.
Hiron departed and slowly meandered back to his shop. Once seated behind the counter, he pulled out his own datapad, grinning slightly as he prepared a seed. He sent a short message to Father Busani, informing him of Chuck’s test results and offering a favor in exchange for something to hold over Ronovin’s head. With time, hopefully that seed would blossom and bear fruit.
With that first message handled, he turned his attention to the more difficult of the messages he had to send. What information would he tell Thalias? Would he mention how miserably Thalias’ plan had failed? No, not directly at least. ‘Additional testing’ perhaps? That would require justification. He began to write.
Officer Thalias,
Resumed operations at trade station 1356-56B, The Desolate Oasis. Confidential informant test conducted and completed to my satisfaction. Contact status yellow. Reverse escrow cleared to proceed.
Note: Internal contact suspects additional Corti interference with assignment mark. Thorough investigations resolved all known local compromises. Recommended further action: deploy assets to 12E-647 The Crimson Hamlet to protect mark’s companion from potential Corti interference.
Note: Contacts account information has been changed for security reasons. Deposit balance into account specified below.
-Prospective Officer Hiron
Hiron read through one more time before sending the document. In the past, he never would have been bold enough to conclude with such an aggressive signature. After all, Thalias was his superior. Hiron was beginning to suspect, however, that boldness was exactly what was expected of him. One way or another, this next message from Thallias should prove quite interesting.
1y10m3w4d bv
Landing Pad 38B6 Local Refueling Station
Darpin, Clanfather of Clan Fyunipper
It was so exciting to have a fellow Brother… er… Sister? No. Fellow clanmate. Good enough. Darpin didn’t know much about these humans, but he knew that they were tough, and that they were aggressive. That should be enough. The one he encountered, Sharon, did at least seem to have vague, passing knowledge of what her species did for fun. If it was fun for a human, it may just be potentially lethal to a Gaoian! Perfect. Still, he would have to be very careful; No sense dying before he could experience everything the human had to offer.
He followed Sharon to her ship; It certainly lived up to its name. “Seriously? That’s your ship?”
“It’s what the Corti left me. I doubt he gave me the best he had to offer.”
Darpin shook his head. “This isn’t a ship. It’s a life pod with paperwork. Leave it and come with me.”
“Just abandon my ship?”
“Yes! You can find a better one in salvage yards.” He chittered a moment. “But there are a few parts you should take with ya. Come, let’s get a cart and get you moved to my ship.”
Sharon hesitated for a while. Even across the culture barrier, he could tell that Sharon was afraid. A Deathworlder! Afraid of him! Still, it wouldn’t do to have a clanmate living in fear. He would have to fix this somehow. Hmm. “Alright, we’ll get back to this later. Let’s go grab some lunch. I know just the place.”
Sharon followed him to a street cart, this one operated by one of the clanless that had helped him out earlier. The Gaoian behind the cart stared, ears perked in intrigue, as Darpin approached. On display were some fancy dumplings, misha salads, sweetbreads, and the like.
“I’m interested in the good stuff.” Darpin grinned.
The clanless chittered softly. “The Misha is top quality, would you like some?”
Oh come on, he had to have the good stuff around somewhere. “No, I mean the Nava! Surely you have some?”
“Oh, sorry, cub. I’m fresh out.”
Sharon approached the counter. “What’s nava?”
The clanless tensed up as he recognized the new arrival.
“That was between you and him.” Sharon shrugged as she pointed at Darpin. “It was his own damn fault anyways.”
The Gaoian blinked with one ear perked. “Ah, nava. Well, I’ll offer a sample if you want to see for yourself.” He pulled out a small cracker and spread a small amount of the delicious paste across it.
Sharon accepted the sample and ate it. “Not bad. Kinda like… tuna salad?”
Darpin glanced suspiciously at the clanless. “I thought you said you were out?”
“I only have enough for her.” He waved his forelimb at Sharon.
“Do you have other meats? I’ve been living off Corti rations for weeks.” Sharon asked, pulling out a few credit-cards.
The clanless chittered as he accepted payment. “Well, let me see what I can do about fixing that.” He counted the money. “Uh, are you sure you meant to give me this much?”
“I eat a lot.”
“…Fair enough.” He opened up a lower drawer with a thick puff of steam. “Hmm, let’s see here.” He began piling many different forms of naxas, nava and other delights onto the plate.
“I’ll take some of the veggies too.”
The Goaian nodded as he set aside the small plate and began filling another. Finally, after he was done, he handed the two overloaded plates to Sharon. “Enjoy!” He said grinning. Sharon wandered over to a table to eat.
Darpin yipped to get the vendor’s attention. “I’ll have some of the naxas, as well.”
“Oooo, sorry, I’m all out.”
“But…” Darpin glanced at Sharon, keening as his ears fell in disappointment.
“No one likes a cheater.” He poked at one of Darpin’s recent scars, ears slyly perked.
Dejected, Darpin browsed the remaining available food.
The shopkeeper sighed at the pathetic being before him. “Alright, pup, I’ll make you a deal. If you tell me who that is that you are with, and why in Fyu’s name she is following you, I’ll see if I can find something to sell you.”
Darpin’s ears perked up. “That’s Sharon, she’s a Deathworlder, and she’s following me because… uh… hmm.” Darpin tapped his forepaws together. “I guess because I asked her to.”
“Deathworlder?” He snorted. “That the best you could come up with?”
“No, really. Look at her!”
The clanless did. “Okay, what am I looking at?”
“The strength, the speed, the grace!”
“Don’t mean nothing. All of those apply to any Gaoian just as easily.”
Darpin grinned and called Sharon over.
“What’s up Daar?”
Darpin snorted slightly as the clanless winced at the name, barely managing to hold his tongue.
“This clanless doesn’t think that you are strong. Go on, fight him!”
Sharon glarged at Darpin and began to object, but was interrupted by the clanless who spoke quickly with flattened ears. “Are you insane? I ain’t gonna hit a female!”
“Then you’ll probably lose.” Darpin panted happily.
“I’m not fighting him, Daar, I don’t want to hurt him.”
The clanless turned his gaze to Sharon as he tilted his head. “Hurt me?” His eyes walked up and down the Deathworlder. “Right… maybe. But still, I ain’t touching a female.”
Sharon sighed. “Alright Daar. I’ll help you out.” With a few careful movements, Sharon walked over to the side of the cart and lifted the Keeda damned thing into the air. She set the cart back down, gently enough that nothing, not even the bottle of cooking talamay, had moved a claw-width.
Both Gaoians stared at Sharon with ears perked in surprise, shock, and possibly fear.
“Uh…” The clanless tapped his cart, then hesitantly attempted to lift it a few times, causing his tools to fall and scatter. “Huh…”
“It’s the gravity.” Sharon explained with a shrug, as if that alone could explain what they had just witnessed.
The clanless nervously spoke. “So, uh, Sharon. Why are you following this runt around anyways?”
Sharon frowned. “Because this runt is the only being that has bothered to even approach me since I’ve escaped the Corti.”
The vender was clearly struggling to come up with an adequate response. “Him, though?”
“A little empathy can go a long way.”
“See? You know his tricks! Why are you still falling for them?”
Sharon shrugged. “Do you have any better ideas?”
No response came, save for a nice, hearty serving of naxas for Darpin. He happily set down a stack of credits. Keeda’s balls, Sharon had been in his clan for less than a day, and she had already defended the honor of the clan, twice.
He sat with Sharon and they ate their meals. Afterwards, they walked back towards the Unremarkable Disappointment.
“Ready to move in?” Darpin yipped excitedly.
Sharon stared him, her predatory eyes studying him. “I need some time to think about it, ask me again tomorrow.”
Well, tomorrow wasn’t too long. He bid farewell and skipped happily back to his ship for the evening. What an exciting day! He hoped that tomorrow would be even better.
1y10m3w3d BV
Brood Transport, Outskirts of Gao system
Alpha of the Brood of Elegant Slaughter
<Statement; Interest> +Alpha, the mark beacon has returned.+
<Disappointment; Resignation> +No doubt the fur-faces have evacuated the cargo worthy of the mark. No matter, we will take what is there.+
<Acknowledgement> +I comply.+
If only his brood had arrived sooner. By the time the Alpha had arrived in this system, the mark had already arrived on the fur-faces’ core world. Even with the full might of the Brood of Elegant Slaughter, engaging the target on the surface of a core-world would be suicide. All the Alpha could do was imagine what the lesser brood had seen. What wonders would justify summoning a full brood to engage?
The ship quickly approached the marked vessel under cloak. Unfortunate, it was merely a prey escape vessel.
<Command> +Retrieve the vessel and prepare to board.+
<Acknowledgement>
As the tractor beams pulled the small capsule aboard, a dozen of his brood gathered to surround it.
<Intrigue; Command> +Tear and enter.+
Two of his brood approached and began to cut an opening into the side of the capsule. The scent of meat filled the air.
<Satisfaction; Command> +Take what is ours, Meat to the Maw!+
A small group of his warriors poured into the vessel.
<Concern; Statement> +Alpha, no living prey are aboard.+
The Alpha allowed himself to fall into his underling’s consciousness.
<Resolve; Command> +Open the crates.+
The first crate indeed contained meat, but not the tender fragrance of sapiance.
<Disappointment>
Another broodling opened the crate closest to him.
The Alpha became mist long before he had time to feel anything.
1y10m3w3d bv
Landing Pad 38B6 Local Refueling Station
Darpin, Clanfather of Clan Fyunipper
Sharon had chosen to join him! The two of them spent most of the day disassembling and salvaging the most useful parts of the life pod. After packing the parts onto a cart, Darpin led Sharon to his ship, parked a few bays over.
“Here it is!” He waved his forepaws towards the ship. The ship looked like someone had taken an old sports-yacht and bolted the pushy parts of two scrap shuttles to either side of it. Because that is exactly what it was. The hard part had been collecting enough components to get the small yacht’s own performance back up to acceptable levels.
“It’s… interesting.” Sharon scratched her head. “I can honestly say I did not expect it to look less safe than my ship.”
Darpin scoffed at Sharon. “The Scar Chaser is perfectly safe! I built it myself!”
Sharon giggled. “It suits you. Though that name does not inspire confidence.”
“Eh, you have nothing to worry about. I’ve survived in it, you should be just fine.” Darpin hopped up the several feet into the ship’s rear-facing door, followed by a less dignified entrance by Sharon. “What do you think?”
Sharon scanned the interior of the ship, which was dominated by smooth curved panels and generously overstuffed fittings. “Honesty, it looks a lot better than I expected.”
Darpin chittered. “It ain’t called a yacht for no reason. Though, admittedly, it was probably much nicer before I got ahold of it.” He gestured towards a tangle of wires and bent panels near the the engine bay of the craft.
Sharon shrugged. “There is enough room to lie flat. That alone makes it better than my ship.”
Darpin nodded, grinning. “Don’t worry, the nest-bed is yours to use. I’ll find somewhere else to sleep.”
Sharon frowned. “Daar, I’m not going to kick you out of your own bed.”
“Bah! You may be clan, but you’re still a female. I ain’t letting a female stay uncomfortable.”
Sharon crossed her arms and stared rather uncomfortably through Darpin. He couldn’t help but cower before the piercing gaze.
“What did I say?”
“I don’t know how things are done on Gao, but on Earth we don’t discriminate based on gender.” She sighed. “OK, we do, but we’re working on that.”
Darpin perked an ear, slightly confused. “Discriminate?” After thinking a moment, he began to chitter. “Sharon, you got it all wrong. We males live to serve you…” He stopped to scratch his head. “Well, Gaoian females.“ He puzzled a moment longer. “Ya know, this is kinda confusing.”
Sharon laughed. “Am I causing trouble for you, Daar?”
“No, no. S’my own doing. A male clan with a female non-Gaoian.” He shook his head. “Bah, if you won’t take my bed as a female, at least use it as my guest. Seriously, I’m not letting you sleep on the floor.”
“We’ll share it.”
Darpin’s ears perked up in surprise. “I can’t do that!”
Sharon shrugged. “Why not? We’re clan.”
Darpin mulled it over. “Well, alright… But only until I can think of a good argument against it.”
They packed Sharon’s belongings -and much of her former ship- into the Scar Chaser. Just as they prepared to depart, Darpin stopped, remembering the meal that Sharon had just eaten. “Oh, uh… Maybe we should get some more supplies before we leave. A lot more.”
Nearly an hour later, a small convoy of autonomous hovercarts arrived bearing food and other necessities. After several minutes of packing, the Scar Charser finally departed. Darpin hopped out of the driver’s seat and wandered back towards the ship’s seating area. “We’ll be arriving early the morning after tomorrow.”
“That short a trip?”
Darpin chittered. “You think those engines are there for looks? ‘Sides, it ain’t that far. Only a few dozen parsecs. We could get there faster, but I prefer arriving rested at the start of the day. ”
“You never did tell me where we are going.”
Darpin tilted his head. “I didn’t?” He mulled it over while tapping a hindpaw. “You trusted me enough to join me without even knowing where I’m taking ya?”
Sharon shrugged. “Why not? You say you have something interesting you need help with. On that station, I have nothing.” Sharon paused. “You still haven’t told me.”
“The Clanhouse of Clan Fyunipper!”
Sharon shook her head with her mouth curved upwards slightly. “What is is, some sort of run down shack?”
Darpin flattened his ears, embarrassed. “I’ll certainly admit that the Clanhouse is not as well kept as it has been in the past.” He perked his ears. “You’ll like it, though. It’s a converted facility, built by the… Kwmbwrw I think? There was plenty of room to fit the whole clan!”
Sharon scratched her chin. “So, Fyunipper, there a story behind that?”
Darpin chittered excitedly. “Oh yes. I picked that name out just over a year ago. Let’s see, you don’t know Fyu, do you?”
“I’ve heard the name a few times. Don’t know anything about him.”
“Fyu was a powerful leader and warrior. Hundreds of years ago, he led to the formation of our clans as they exist today.”
“So he’s like Daar, but real?”
Darpin swiveled his ears nervously. “Sharon, now that you’re clan, I have a little secret to share. Daar is real.”
Sharon dropped her eyefur, “I figured as much.” Darpin tilted his head. “No one gets that angry over mere stories. Either Daar is a prophet of some sort, or he is a carefully guarded secret, and I don’t think Gaoians are particularly religious.”
Darpin nodded. “Daar’s real, alright, and he is the meanest, nastiest Gaoian alive. The clanless keep him hidden from the galaxy, Gao’s secret weapon.”
“Yet you speak of him because you aren’t clanless?”
Darpin chittered, this human was smart. That it took so long for her to reach her first mistaken conclusion was only testament to that. “No, Sharon, I’m telling you this because you ain’t clanless. You gotta keep it to yourself, ya hear?”
Sharon nodded. “So this Fyu, he was a Warlord.”
Darpin mulled the translated word over, before nodding. “I think that fits. Now, as for the nipping. Nipping is… it depends a bunch on context. It is generally seen as an extremely hostile act. But, among close Cousins, it is more of a sign of mutual trust, kinda putting your life in the jaw of the nipper. I know this kinda stuff never translates well.”
“No, I think I get it. Letting someone nip you is a sign of trust.”
“Yeah. And Fyu? He ain’t got no Cousins. If you nipped him, well, you better have a good set of paws, and be reeeeally good at hiding.”
Sharon clearly understood, but humored him anyways. “So, why do it?”
Darpin begin leaping with excitement. “For the thrill of it! Why else?”
Sharon smiled. “I suppose that can be reason enough.” After a few moments, she spoke again. “You have a shower in this place?”
“Uh…” The word clearly translated to some sort of ablution chamber, but not one present aboard this ship. “I don’t think so? Check there, see if that is what you are looking for.” He pointed towards the dust-bath chamber.
Sharon disappeared into the indicated room. Chittering, Darpin sat, happy to finally have a companion once more.
1y10m3w2d BV
Carpe Aeternum just outside the trade station Crimson Hamlet
Chuck
The second most notable feature of the Crimson Hamlet was its splendor. It was enormous; Easily large enough to house tens of thousands of inhabitants. Smooth metallic structures jutted out from hundreds of locations along its sleek exterior. Yet these structures did not in any way detract from the graceful curves of the vast station. Its design was exquisite, except for one thing.
“Bart, why is it blue?”
Bart chuckled merrily. “I was rather curious as to how you would react. Here.” Bart pulled out his datapad and showed Chuck a picture of a viney plant, one of a brilliant red hue. “This is the Crimson Czwlklk, the the color of which grants this station its name.” He turned to Chuck expectantly.
Chuck stared back for a moment before he realized what Bart was inferring. “Dichromatism.”
Bart smiled. “Indeed. To my eyes, the two colors appear identical. This issue was identified rather quickly; Approximately five minutes after the arrival of the first Guvnurag, in fact. The proprietor rather boldly declined to correct the issue, a decision that has led, rather conveniently, to this station’s popularity.”
Chuck looked again at the image. “Bart. If you are dichromatic, why does your datapad display red?”
“Oh, an excellent observation, Chuck. That is the result of its Corti origins. This datapad, much like all of the Directorate’s infrastructure, was designed to be nearly universal in function. This pad displays… somewhere in the vicinity of one hundred twelve primary colors, spread across every band above liquid water’s highest level of incandescence and below ionizing radiation.”
Chuck thought about this for a moment. “Are you telling me that my datapad is going to give me skin cancer?”
Bart considered this for a moment. “I suppose it could, in time, but that matter is more academic than practical.” Bart stepped back to stare at Chuck with both eyes. “I had momentarily forgotten that your species is still in infancy, Chuck. Cancer is… not a concern for most of the Dominion.”
Chuck pushed for further information, but Bart was unwilling -or perhaps unable- to elaborate. With a few quick gestures, Bart requisitioned a second landing pad near his own. He returned to his ship.
As Chuck worked his way back to the Bridge, his datapad chimed, indicating a message.
Chuck, Brrtklklk,
Your little Corti encounter has proven to be problematic. Whitecrest suspects sabotage in nearly every object that Zilroy had interacted with. Do not open or engage any items received from Zilroy. I will be arriving personally to clear any items potentially affected. This is important.
Ronovin
Chuck solemnly shook his head. This message mirrored one that he had received from Milt as they first entered comms range. But, while Milt had simply warned him of possible danger, Ronovin, like Hiron, sought to tinker with his equipment. This concern was, of course, reasonable, if Zilroy did mean him harm. But it never hurt to be at least slightly wary of just how deeply Whitecrest was getting involved with his own affairs. At least they had again elected to sent an agent that he was familiar with. Any deception should be easy enough to spot. Chuck filed this thought away for later as he sat down to began the landing procedures.
Once the Carpe Aeternum and Silver Sailor had landed, he wandered over to meet up with Bart. They walked through the crowded streets of the Crimson Hamlet, its Domain origins well represented by the station’s inhabitants. Eventually, they arrived in the trade district. Dozens of shops and stalls displayed nearly every item conceivable, and several items that were not. They wandered the avenues until they arrived at a small, dark shop. A sign over the door bore the name Brrtklklk’s Human Items in large, bold lettering. A foreign script of some sort stretched beneath it. With a quiet chuckle, he followed Bart into his shop.
The dark shop illuminated in brilliant yellows and blues as it registered it’s proprietor’s return. Bart ducked his head in disappointment.
“Something wrong, Bart?”
Bart’s head slowly panned the room. “No… Everything is as I left it. But… many of my intentions have shifted in the past two months.” He walked over to a bin filled with dingy laundry. “These… relics here, for instance, I ventured for months collecting them. But now?” He trailed off and stared dejectedly at the ground for several moments. “All of my former accomplishments have been thoroughly eclipsed in a short timeframe.”
“Would you really have been in a position to capitalize on the opportunities if you hadn’t prepared?”
Bart pondered a minute. “…I suppose not.”
Chuck rested a hand, gently, on Bart’s shoulder. Bart turned his neck to look at him. “Times change, you can’t stop that, but you can adapt to it.”
Bart stared once again at his pile of discarded laundry. “Oh, I do intend to. I may no longer covet these items as I once had, but they are far from valueless. One day, Earth shall enter the Dominion, and on that day, many other beings will seek human relics as I once did. For a short timeframe these…” He waved an arm around the shop. “Will sell for monumental sums of credits.” He slowly curled his neck upwards, moving towards a more proud posture. “Come, let us inspect my tainted packages.” Bart began to wander towards the back of the shop.
Chuck stopped in front of the display cases. Bart, noticing the cessation of Chuck’s thundering march, stopped and turned to rejoin Chuck.
“Is… that Pathfinder?”
Bart gestured a negative response. “Sojourner, but still no.” Bart stepped back onto his hindlimbs and crossed his arms. He was finally starting to cheer up. “That item has a wonderful story behind it.”
“I gotta hear this.” Chuck pleaded.
Bart nodded. “Very well. This story starts nearly a year ago. I manufactured a near-duplicate of this craft from the blueprints and images available on your internet. During one of my trips to Sol, I descended into Martian orbit. I carefully studied the surveillance orbiters and waited. Once I found a sufficient window, I traded my model with the true device. I took the original back to this station.”
Chuck squinted at Bart. “I thought you said that this is not the original?”
“This is not.” He cleared his throat. “At great expense, I reserved time on a public nano-replicator and created an exact duplicate of the rover. That duplicate is what you see before you. After that was complete, I simply found another window clear of surveillance, and deposited the original device as I had found it. On the return voyage, I gifted the model I had built to Krrkktnkk A’ktnnzzik’tk in thanks for his assistance. He accepted, but did not seem impressed.” Bart sighed. “I tried.” He stretched himself back out. “I was in the process of planning my next major acquisition when I met you.”
“Next? How many items have you acquired?”
“Two. There was a third, but… I should probably apologize for Shin’en once contact is established. I did not intend to interfere.”
Chuck let that confession fall aside. “What’s the second?”
Bart pointed an arm at a probe hanging from the rafters. Chuck really should have noticed it earlier. “Is that… Voyager?”
“No. Both Voyager probes are still in active contact. That, my friend, is Pioneer 10.”
Chuck studied the Rrrrtk. “You stole one of our interstellar probes? That was supposed to last out here forever! To be our first ambassador to aliens!”
Bart let out a gravelly laugh. “Am I not alien enough for you, Chuck?”
Chuck stood still, Bart did have a point. “I suppose…”
“If it alieviates your concerns, its route passed through no major starlanes. It was doomed to enter a singularity in… twenty two galactic years’ time.”
Chuck sighed. “It just doesn’t feel right to have one of humanity’s projects sitting in a shop.”
Bart nodded. “I agree wholeheartedly. I fully intend to gift it back to Earth once contact is established. Truly, I find it rather fitting; Earth’s ‘ambassador to the stars’ returns home, its mission accomplished.”
“So why take it in the first place?”
“Entirely selfish reasons, I assure you. I can think of nothing grander than to witness this relic in the Smithsonian, adjacent to a plaque bearing my name.” Bart shuffled around nervously. “Of course, regrettably, I will not have the opportunity to see such a sight in person; I, of course, speak figuratively.”
“So you are doing this for the fame?”
“No, I work for the opportunities that fame creates. Already, I own one of the oldest human ventures in the galaxy. That will not change, even if future incarnations of this venture share no more than this venue’s name. If, alternatively, the Dominion proves to be hostile towards humanity…” Bart took on a contemplative stance. “I decided long ago that I would commit fully towards the cause of humanity. One way or another, my future lies with you. If I cannot make my life’s work a bridge from the Domain to Earth, than I shall work as Earth’s bridge to the Domain.”
Chuck grunted in approval. “It seems I have underestimated you, Brrtklklk.”
Bart couldn’t hide his satisfaction. “Only a human could comprehend the value I place on such a compliment, Chuck. But there is yet much to do. My work has scarcely begun.”