[WP] New Frontiers (Story Thread Only)

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Zarya
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Re: [WP] New Frontiers (Story Thread Only)

Post by Zarya »



Bastal, who had still been standing, suddenly started walking in the direction of the smaller cabin.

Argent felt her hair rise, her heart skipping a couple of beats when she realised that the Mizol was out of control. On the brink of ordering Bastal’s way blocked she saw how the Torimor was suddenly stopped in her tracks as if bumping her head against an invisible tree.

Wobbling the old lady had the presence of mind to point her light-stick in the air again, turned 180°, heading back to the area of fire pit, barely reaching the wooden block on which she had sat before. She sagged down with a shocked expression on her ash grey face.

“Psychokinesis. Powerful” she muttered “I shouldn’t have done that”.

Copperspike reached in her side pocked for a handkerchief handing it over silently to the Mizol, who used it to tend to her bleeding nose.

What happened? Who did this!’ Argent sent in the blind.

She got a punch in her face, don’t know by who’ replied Firebrand shaking her head before adding ‘Poisoned Claw?’

Poisoned Claw could move light things, but only just. She was the only one in the diral with a measure of the ability.

Argent dismissed it outright. ‘Impossible, she can’t even bend a spoon!’

She’s been with Natan since we brought him in, perhaps he amplifies more than just sanzai?’ suggested Coldfire.

Bastial recovering turned to Argent raising her finger.

“Listen well to me my dear initiates, I apologise again. I’m by no means a perfect guest and clearly overstepped my bounds, which I admit I have been testing. I was stopped, perhaps because I am perceived as a threat. I do not intend to be a threat to any of you or to the one living here with you. I actually desperately want to be your friend. We’re indeed not done here tonight”.


novius
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Re: [WP] New Frontiers (Story Thread Only)

Post by novius »


"I'd dearly like to continue this discussion via sanzai, but am I right to assume that you aren't willing to drop that impressive Lotai of yours just right now?", Bastal asked.

Silence. And Bastal still couldn't sense any of the initiates. She sighed.

"It is always an uphill battle for a Mizol to garner trust, especially after what Parat Nelonial had done. Still... let me reveal what we had learned so far. No false pretenses. No misdirection. Then we can decide where we go from there."

"Alright. We are listening.", Argent conceded.

Bastal was sure that that statement included all the initiates out of earshot - she knew that beneath their Lotai, they'd still maintain an active sanzai. And that alone is a feat even many Mizol don't hope to accomplish.

For a whole diral to be able to is nothing short of miraculous. And given the display of telekinetics either someone had grossly erred with the assessment of that initiate or something else is at work here.

"Somewhat more than two tozons ago an automated satellite detected an unknown energy signature at a nearby place, someplace we now know to be an unknown Soia ruin of an unfamiliar structure. Parat Nelonial was tasked to lead the science team, and in her debriefing she argued she could not wait until you had been recalled, on the risk that you would discover and perhaps mess with the ruin. That's how she had the idea to make you move out."

Argent nodded, conceding the point. "Fat lot good it did. Actually, we did already find the ruin, so she had already been too late with that idea."

"Our suborbital scans now had shown that the ruin and the surrounding forest is littered with meteor fragments - the source of your iron, I think? It has to be, since this area is rather poor with iron and you'd have to do some extensive mining to acquire reasonable amounts, and we haven't detected evidence of this - and, the age of the impact site matches with the two tozons estimate for the energy outburst. By now it's conjecture, but the energy of the impact could have activated something in the ruin... for a short time at least."

Argent looked straight ahead, her slight nod just acknowledging her words, but neither confirming nor denying Bastal's assumption.

Stars, it's even harder without having a feeling in sanzai to rely on..., Bastal thought with a sinking feeling.

"Fast forward to the recent past. Parat Nelonial and her away team touched down, and got harassed by a set of traps, that male of yours and that pack of arianesin he had at his beck and call. A male that looks remarkably like ours, only somewhat larger - Stars, larger than many females I've seen - with a Lotai that put quite the scare into the away team and, last but not least, bleeding red. And, mind you, the very idea of using animals as weapons - I don't know of any other Loroi having such an idea."

Argent tried to suppress a flinch, but the slight twitch in her muscles was plainly visible in the firelight, and Bastal heard the slight rustling of other initiates moving.

"Go on.", Argent prompted.

"Now I'm here, in this camp, next to some cabins of a completely unfamiliar structure, surrounded by initiates who all display an impressive Lotai as well as telekinetic abilities that would be on par with seasoned Mizol. We analyzed his blood, and it's definitely alien. Similar in its overall makeup, but made of muchly different components, which are not even Soia-Liron based. Given the nature of his wound and the resources to treat him at your disposal, it is safe to assume that you cannot have him moved very far."

"Or he could be dead by now, bled out.", Argent countered.

Bastal's carefully maintained countenance cracked.

"Stars, tell me he isn't dead! He must not!"

Argent remained silent and completely motionless.

Damn, they don't let even just one thought leak, and they know and use their advantage to the hilt. Bastal thought.

"Why is a single alien male that important to you?", Argent asked.

"The idea of any completely unknown alien on Deinar? That alone is a concerning issue. How did he came here, and is his method of travel still available, perhaps for an invasion force? Is he a scout? Given his own Lotai he could be. This and the fact that he looks that close to our males. But why a male and why one looking close to, but not exactly like ours? That would defeat his purpose as a scout."

"Is that all?"

"No... Let me ask you, what do you know of the origins of our species, or the Soia-Liron species in general?"

Argent shook her head. "Assume we don't know anything."

"Alright. We think that the Soia rarely, if ever, used original designs for their species and fashioned them after so-called 'template' species. Like the Barsam and the Nibiren. We've found a number of other Soia-Liron/template pairings, mostly for base animals, but sometimes for sapient species as well... but never for us, same as we never found another fully telepathic species. But this male could change it."

"So he would be like ... what? Your lab nazil for you to poke and prod, just to confirm or deny some scientific theory?", Argent bit.

Bastal shook her head. "I ... admit ... that we would wish to run some tests, but limiting him to some labs would indeed be wasteful. I'm not lying when I say that all of you would have quite a stellar career amongst the Mizol, given how you ran circles around the away team until Parat Nelonial panicked and went haywire."

"And what would have pitting us against the same away team proven? Given our improvised weapons we would barely have a chance against a fully decked out and alert away team in a fortified position and heavy perimeter surveillance running."

"Your skills and determination. I got the feeling that you still have more abilities up your sleeve, like that display of telekinesis. I wanted you to dig deep in your bag of tricks, to be challenged and wanted to see how you possibly face defeat. Rooted in despair, or fighting to the last? Still bent on fulfilling your objective, or going rogue?"

This is a so Mizol way of doing things. Roundabout and in a backhanded way., Argent groused.

"Let's say we accept. What would it be?"

"As I've said. You would get new identities, well-protected within the folds of the Hos'te Blec clan. They're known to be reclusive, and only few outsiders are granted knowledge about its inner workings. Mind you, secrecy and anonymity would protect this male as well. Your unique talents would make you suitable for stealth and recon missions, for example."

Bastal opted not to mention sabotage and espionage, that would not go over that well.

"And the alternative?"

"Even if we maintain a strict hands-off policy during your time as a diral - what do you think would happen when you leave the isolation? This male would be difficult to explain to your caste Elders, and they could opt to disqualify you because you did recruit outside help. Furthermore, I have no idea what would happen to him as well, and while we may put his talent to a productive use, it could very much be possible that with everyone else he might end up in a lab. And... perhaps you as well, to find out how the contact to the male changed you."

For the first time, Coldfire's thoughts cut into Argent's.

'She does make a valid point. There's no guarantee that Natan would receive a hospitable treatment even from our Elders. We hoped he would, but it was never sure. She makes it sound like that the Mizol might be our better bet.'

"But... indulge an old woman. I'd dearly like to see that strange male of yours, if only to make sure that he is alive and well. Our Listel made it a mission to learn about everything she could from the sample of his blood, and if he is not well, maybe she could already give pointers on what medicine might be suitable for his biochemistry."

"That Listel that shot him?!", Copperspike bursted out.

"She regretted her deed deeply as soon as she was back on the station. She ... looked up to Nelonial, but her making herself shoot the male made Coral lose the respect she held for Nelonial. This is her way to try to make amends."

'Natan gave me some pointers on how to 'read' persons even without sanzai... And she genuinely regrets how things have gone this way. She honestly fears that he is indeed dead and wishes us to assuage her worries', Coldfire supplied.

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Zarya
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Re: [WP] New Frontiers (Story Thread Only)

Post by Zarya »


‘Snow, can you please check on Natan and Poisoned Claw?’.

Argent took a deep breath and looked at the torimor without saying anything.

Leaning on the backend of her stick, Bastal in turn observed the white haired leader and nodded at her.
The only sound in the background was the crackling of the fire.

The girl had appeared a walkover but she had a great team around her. Obviously she had to learn how to deal with dirty tricks and snake pits populated by Loroi such as herself, but it had been a revelation to see how she handled dissent within the group. Tolerance for a reasonable amount of pushback by the other initiates was amongst the rarest of leadership styles you’d see at this level.

353 tozon ago Bastal's own diral leader had been a tyrant that had surrounded herself with copies of herself. Still regretting that she had been one of those, she remembered all too well how the initiates of her group had barely survived the trials. Upon return most of them had been severely malnourished, all of them demoralised and in a sorry state. The group’s leadership evaluation had been devastating and - after the fact - their mentors had showed how many things had gone wrong from a group dynamics point of view. The damage had already been done though and time had never fully healed all wounds that period had burned in her soul.

Staring into the fire and feeling somber she sighed.

It was glaringly obvious that this diral was in a far better shape. It's initiates were confident and they clearly prospered. All things considered, she could have wrapped it up without much thought, but her gut feeling had told her to personally check it out and she was glad she had.


‘Natan and Posioned Claw are underway’ reported Snow.

‘How’s he doing?’

‘Looking pale and tired’

‘Tell them not to rush’

‘They already told me it will take a while’

‘Can someone help to organise a seat for them?’

In a silent choreography two girls stepped forward into the circle of light and moved one of the beams closer to Argent and Bastal, in between the two of them.

Nothing could be read from either of their faces until Argent broke the silence:

“Torimor, would you like another bowl of tea?”

“I’d love to, thank you”.

“It may take a while before they’re here”

“I understand, we are not in a rush”.

“How is your nose Torimor?”

“I think it is fine, bleeding has stopped”.

Then, looking more cheerful than a few moments earlier Bastal looked up at Copperspike.
“Thank you for the handkerchief.”

Copperspike responded with the slightest hint of a smile.


'They're now coming Argent'

‘Thank you Snow'

Leaning on Poisoned Claw Natan manoeuvred towards the light of the fire pit. After landing on the log, he unceremoniously used both hands to help stretch his leg forward. Poisoned Claw positioned herself behind him as a support to prevent him from falling over. She held her hands on his shoulders. To Bastal it looked as necessary as it appeared intimate.

Sweat pearled on his forehead and feeling out of breath Nathan made sure he was well seated before locking his blue eyes on Bastal.

In perfect Loroi trade he then said, “Good evening, it’s good to meet you.”

Bastal, visibly shaken by his appearance found some comfort in reciprocating the courtesy.
She added “My rank and spoken name are Torimor Bastal”.

“My full name is Nathaniel Hutchins. My friends call me Natan”.

While his full name had unfamiliar sounding phonemes, Bastal found the given name easy to remember.

“What does Natan mean?” the Torimor asked.

“My mother once told me it means gift of god”.

“You are a gift, it suits you well.”

“Thank you Torimor.”

“May I use your given name?”

“Yes, call me Natan”

“Thank you Natan”

The Mizol looked worried and pointed at his leg. “Is your wound clean, any signs of infection?”

“The wound is fresh. By tomorrow I should expect some fever”.

Copperspike standing next to the Mizol added, “Blood-loss our first worry. Then the bullet lodged in the leg, close to his femural artery. We removed it and closed the wound. Sterile as far as we can manage to do that here.”

Firebrand completed the picture, “No Loroi pain relief or antibiotics used. It might kill him”.

A silence fell as Bastal thought about that. Proposing a new challenge now appeared painfully foolish. She shook her head.

Argent raised her hand to attract the Mizol’s attention.

“It's of course tempting to deal with the one that is responsible for shooting Natan, but we may not have the time or zeal to play wargames”.

“Yes, I can now see why”.

The Torimor appeared on the brink of calling in the best care the Loroi empire would be able to provide, but held back.

“Natan” she started, “I really want to prevent you getting ill. I also want to keep you together with your friends.
 We have two options: stay here on Deinar and call-in the one who was ordered to shoot you to provide you with medical help, or we arrange to transport you off of Deinar to which you most likely won't return any time soon. I can make this decision for you, but feel this choice is best left up to you.”

“Torimor Bastal, I want to be here and with your team when they investigate the timo Soia”.

novius
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Re: [WP] New Frontiers (Story Thread Only)

Post by novius »


"Is there something amiss?", Nathanial asked after a few moments.

Bastal sighed. "You have to excuse me if I stare. But you look ... different from what I expected and how you were described in the debriefings. This is your natural looks, I presume, and the away team saw a disguise?"

Nathanial looked at his own hand. The coloring had been washed off in the meantime, and Poisoned Claw used the headband as a compression bandage to stem his blood loss.

And she almost never left his side ever since. Even now he felt her shape in his back, giving him support where his propped up leg shifted him off-balance.

"Vendi Berries. Boiled and strained, the extract made for a rich blue colour. And this....", there he gestured to his ears, "... the headband covered parts of it, so they never guessed."

"Still it is eerie how similar you look like our males. Larger, sure, more muscular, alright. We have discovered a number of different species so far, all vastly different in their looks. Finding one that looks that close to us is definitely a first and will be the focus of quite some interest."

"Torimor Bastal...", Argent cut in, "Please be aware that his people have little to no technology to speak of, and a rather rudimentary understanding of astronomy - the idea of other sapient species is one of belonging into the realm of myth and legends."

"Truly?", Bastal was taken aback, measuring Nathanial with renewed surprise, "Please, do start at the beginning. Starting with the time you realized that you were not at home... or better, even before that. When you noticed that something was unusual."

Nathanial exchanged a look with Argent, one Bastal was sure was laced with sanzai.

I dearly hope they will come to trust me enough to drop that Lotai of theirs. It is disconcerting to see them all, and not sense them or their thoughts. No wonder the away team panicked, especially once he showed up with a pack of vicious animals in tow. Is that another ability of his, to command base animals to do his biddings?

"I am not sure if this is how it began. I was on a hunting trip away from my family's homestead, and a distant rumbling let me think of thunder, but now I'm not so sure if it hadn't been something different. I remember walking through some dense fog... and ending up in this strange land where nothing looked anything like what I remember", Nathanial summed it up.

A slight frown told everyone that Bastal might have expected more than this. "And then?"

"I was on my own. For... quite a long time. More than two tozons, by my counting. My provisions didn't last forever, so I had to learn everything from scratch. What I could eat and what gave me horrible stomach pains. I searched and searched, but there was nothing here that looked familiar to me. Trees, yes, grass, yes, but they looked different. And then, they happened to come across the clearing and the cabin I built for myself."

Argent hung her head, eyes lowered. "He tried to defend his home from an intruder, which, technically, I was."

"Imagine my shock on noticing that I injured a girl. That was nothing compared to when I realized that she was blue skinned, pointy eared and bleeding blue. For you this might be quite ordinary, but I had never seen suchlike so far."

Bastal tilted her head, eyebrow raised. She was sure there's much more to their tale, but both Natan and Argent were hestitant... ashamed, perhaps? ... to share it. But something else in his words clamored for her attention.

"Wait. More than two tozons, alone? By the time you should have succumbed to the Flames..."

Argent hastened to cut in. "Seems humans don't suffer from this. Please do not make the same mistake we did - we assumed that they are quite much like us, and in many things they are, but there still are some big differences."

"I see", Bastal relented, "this might be a topic for another time. But... try not to get annoyed when we ask questions about your people", she directed towards Nathanial, "you are as strange and curious to us than we might be to you, and every question we ask may tell us something about ourselves and would only lead to a better understanding. Yet the question remains, how you came here, or rather, what brought you here without you noticing?"

"This Soia ruin, you surmise." Nathanial supplied.

Bastal nodded. "The Soia were ... ancient people, coming long before us, and they ruled over a vast empire. But the nature with any government is, without decent transportation, an empire can only grow to a certain size until it starts to fray at the edges. And, the Soia Empire was larger than ... the modes of travel, as we know, would allow for. It should have collapsed on itself, but it didn't. And you being here in Deinar may be the proof of such a transportation system... something that had you take just a step to get from your planet ... what do you call it, by the way? ... on to Deinar."

Nathanial counted himself lucky to have had several glimpses into Argent's mind and knowledge, else Bastal would have surely lost him partway through her explanation. But even now he was sure that she redacted her words, for the sake of comprehension.

"Earth. We call it Earth. But ... if you are right, wouldn't that mean, that this transportation system is on Earth, too? Another set of Soia ruins? And that this Soia Empire included it as well?"

"Likely. But that's something we're intent to find out... and if we can discern the nature of this transportation system and if we can make use of it." Bastal admitted.

Argent swiftly met his gaze with her own, rather sorrowful one.

Of course his thoughts would turn towards the possibility of a way back. And it looks like our esteemed diral leader wouldn't be all too happy about this prospect. She seems to have become quite infatuated with this alien - she and this dark-haired initiate - Poisoned Claw? - who didn't let him go the whole time, and by the looks of it, the majority of this diral.

Is it just him being the first male they had extensive contact to? Sure, there is some rugged charm to him, but that can't be everything there is to that. Perhaps this is connected to how this diral is well-off even under adverse conditions, and this Lotai of theirs. Somehow he garnered their respect, and now I'm sure they'd react poorly on any attempt to separate them... it's either all of them or none of them.


"Then, how do we go from here?", Argent prompted.

"First, I would still like to have Listel Tozet Coral have a look at his wound. She deems it unlikely for an infection to set in, given his different biology, but if there is even just one way to accelerate the healing, I'd gladly take it. And, as said, without Nelonial's influence, she deeply regrets what she had done and would like to have the chance to atone for her transgressions."

"Especially Firebrand and Copperspike won't take it lightly if someone else butts into their work."

"Granted", Bastal relented, "have them double-check Tozet Coral's work if they feel inclined to. Since she's no Doranzer, perhaps she'd like to discuss treatments with them on her own volition as well. From what I see, your two initiates did do outstanding field medic work, given the circumstances."

"That was the first. What's next?", Argent followed up.

"We still wish to investigate the Soia ruins. Preferably together with Natan, if, and only if he can safely travel. 'We', that would include myself, Lennai Songbird, Tozet Coral and Ranzadi Neat - and, by your wish, yourself and some initates at your choosing. I'd offer you a lift to the ruins by shuttle as well, but I'd understand if you are hestitant to take me up on this offer and choose to travel by your own means."

"All this trouble because of these ruins", Argent groused.

"Not quite. Had Nelonial chosen to not to bother you with that message of hers but simply airdropped the team onto the ruins, we all might have been none the wiser... well, until perhaps you had chanced across the away team in search for more meteorite iron. But, I am sure we can turn this burning latrine into something that is beneficial to all of us."

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Razor One
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Re: [WP] New Frontiers (Story Thread Only)

Post by Razor One »

“Allow me to confer with my fellows,” Argent replied.

“Of course, take your time,” said Bastal.

The old mizol needed a moment to think on the entirety situation. She had perhaps understated things when she had said that Natan would be a person of interest to the Loroi Union.

To say that Deinar, Taben and Perrein were the sister worlds of the Union was a most apt metaphor. Like family, the sister worlds had fought bitterly against one another in the Splinter Wars. Though she had not lived in those times, she had lived in the aftermath of the conflict, often being assigned to various zones and provinces that had fallen to anarchy, ruin, or delusions of independence.

Bastal had dueled pirate queens and brought down cartels that had thrived in ruin and decay, she’d killed traitors that harbored the dream of rebellion and put down more than a few Torrai who had thought to bide their time and restart the splinter wars when the time was right, and if there was one thing she knew, it was that unity of the Union had a price in steeped in blood and piled high atop a mountain of corpses.

Through all of that, the single most effective tool to unite otherwise bitter and recalcitrant enemies hadn’t been the weight of a gun, nor had it been the force of personality that Loremark had possessed, ‘Tempest Reborn’ as some of her more loyal subordinates sometimes styled her as at the time.

No, what had cemented the unity of the Union were ideas. The idea of inheritance. The idea of their great heritage. The idea that they were the last descendants of the Soia Empire. The idea that their inherent telepathy raised them above the other species in the universe, that they were special, that they had a grand destiny to restore what was lost and make it greater than ever before.

Ideas had helped to build the Union into what it had become… and ideas could also bring it down. The idea that the Seren sector was mistreated. The idea that Perrein was merely the junior partner to Deinar and Taben. The idea that the current Emperor was weak. The idea that one sector plotted against the other, that governors were more sovereign than their own sovereign… all held at bay by the idea that unity was the path to their former greatness.

Natan was a threat to that idea. If the Loroi were merely another species, mirrored and uplifted by the Soia, then the Loroi had no grand destiny. There was no empire to restore, no reason that they were a step above all the other species, and no reason to believe that they were special.

Bastal had no particular attachment to the ideals of Loroi superiority. The ideal served the purpose of suppressing their desire for conflict, and so it was useful. Natan was a threat to that ideal, but she was not so short-sighted as to simply have him killed to preserve a comforting lie.

Others, however, she was not so certain of. Some of her superiors would not hesitate to have Natan killed to preserve the ideal of their superiority. Others would go further, likely going as far as to have his species wiped from existence. Others still would take solace in such, seeing it as an opportunity to find further common ground with the Barsam and other Soia-Liron species, to say nothing of the kinship they’d feel towards these humans.

And by that same token, Natan was as much an opportunity as he was a threat. Here in front of her was their template species, and the only other telepaths in existence. She envied these young girls in front of her for having the opportunity to properly communicate with an alien in such a way, and she was excited and fascinated to see how human telepathy had diverged from loroi telepathy. What they could learn and gain from even a few moments of contact was something she would have happily killed for, if it turned out to be necessary.

Finally, she mused upon more pragmatic matters; how to make use of all this. Everyone had her use under her command, and as she had learned long ago, one did not dispose of people or tools that remained useful. Nelonial, in spite of her failings, was still useful to Bastal. Her punishments would be severe, but she could not simply get rid of her like she would something that was merely useless.

She could already envision Natan’s uses. With a perfect lotai at his disposal, and his already demonstrated ability to extend that to others, she could imagine stealth assault squads hitting at dissidents without warning. She could envision courier vessels invisible to farseers crossing borders, untraceable assassins, and even simple stealth recon missions.

Yes, she could definitely use him for what was to come. This was not the only soroin group going through their time of trials on Deinar. Their clan was perhaps more traditional than most, but tens of thousands were undergoing such trials already with numbers trending towards the millions in the near future, and all were slated to have time with a male at the end of their trials.

Such a buildup of personnel bespoke of only one thing: war. As it stood however, their neighbours were mostly friendly and the mannadi were mostly pacified. This fact, amongst the more disturbing rumours from the middle colonies and the periphery, had sent icy shivers down Bastal’s spine more than once and kept her from restful sleep in her old age.

The Union was headed for another splinter war. She could feel it in her bones. These young girls had been isolated from the politics of the Union, partly because of their clan, but also partly because it was the role of the young to disdain politics, but nonetheless, they were not immune from such politics.

If they stayed the course, Bastal had no doubt they would soon find themselves in a new series of splinter wars between the Sister Worlds and their various colonial sectors, most of them would die, and the few that lived would live brutish lives of eternal conflict. She had lived in the aftermath of such a conflict. She had studied intensely as to the hows and the whys of it, if only to understand why the world was as it was.

But the world could be changed. She had seen it change. She had made it change. She would see to it that this war would be prevented, and if not prevented, then made as short and bloodless as possible. It had been the core of her motivation in trying to find the ancient Soia transport system in the first place.

If such a thing were to be found, then the distance between the colonies and the core sectors would become effectively nil, which would spur reforms, end the Axis system of sectorial governance, and remove the possibility of such a conflict, to say nothing of the advantage it would give to the Union over any potential enemies. And if such a conflict were truly inevitable, then such a transportation system would become an insurmountable strategic edge over any other contenders and end the conflict all the sooner.

Natan wouldn’t be the strategic edge she desired, but he was definitely useful in a tactical sense. Making use of his people if they could be reached would change such a thing to a strategic advantage, but failing that, she had to settle for him, and this diral he’d apparently attached himself quite thoroughly to.

They already had a rapport and familiarity with Natan, one that she had no intention of breaking so long as she could use it to use Natan in turn. The key in making use of Natan then was to turn Argent’s diral to her cause and make them subordinate to her. Not easy given Nelonial’s blunder, but not impossible either, all it would take would be to present the correct information and the proper use of manipulation to get them seeing things her way.

And that in turn begged a few questions. What were their clans politics? How would they feel about being raised to fight other loroi? Could they see the honour in preventing a war with a few well placed words instead of endless bloodshed? Their apparent isolation from and ignorance of politics was certainly a boon in manipulating them, she wouldn’t even have to lie, a thought that gave no end of amusement for Bastal.

She watched them as they conferred animatedly via sanzai. An angry retort, a mirthful remark, a conciliatory question, all such and more flowed between the members of the group, and all centered on Argent who either silenced with a look or encouraged with a gesture, sent a counterpoint with a stance, and considered matters with shift in her posture.

Watching others was what made Bastal truly excellent at being mizol, and the more she watched the diral discuss amongst themselves, the more convinced she was that Argent was the linchpin she needed to convince to get the rest to see things her way. Convince Argent, and the diral would follow. If the diral followed, then Natan would follow, unless they made contact with his people, in which case she’d have less need for the diral and her plans would change.

The discussion came to an abrupt end as Argent approached Bastal.

“Torimor, we’ve come to a decision,” began Argent, “we accept your proposals with a few conditions.”

“Name them,” replied Bastal.

“Nelonial is not to make contact with Natan under any conditions, wherever Natan goes he must have at least four of us as armed escorts, and he must not be taken offworld unless his life is in grave danger,” stated Argent.

“You understand that if he should require medical care aboard my station it may be difficult to enforce the first of your conditions?” Replied Bastal.

Argent made a face at the notion, clearly unhappy.

“I counter-offer that if Nelonial should make any contact with Natan, that she will be unarmed and will do so only in the presence of your selected escorts. Will that be satisfactory?”

Argent looked over her shoulder at the rest of the diral before nodding her assent.

“Good, then I will signal Coral to come down and will agree to your conditions, on one condition of my own,” said Bastal.

Argent’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, her stance becoming tense.

“Which is?” she pressed.

Bastal held out her hand expectantly.

“That we have a proper exchange instead of using words.”
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Werra
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Re: [WP] New Frontiers (Story Thread Only)

Post by Werra »

Argent hesitated to take the offered hand. Direct contatct with a Mizol had been a daunting prospect even for her aunts back home. To Argents knowledge, none of her family ever even had to make semi legal deals with one either. But Bastal seemed open and honest enough and she had already seen Natan, so how much worse could it get?

As Argent firmly grasped the hand, the Dirals Sanzai chatter surrounding them stopped. Every single pair of eyes and ears focused on the two of them. The only ones still sending were those relaying what was happening to the outer watchposts around the camp. Since those send privately to single individuals, the silence around Argent was near complete. For one long, arduous moment the anticipation that kept the Diral still, stretched out around them.

The moment didn't end for now. Bastals hand felt warm and real enough in Argents. There she was, in Argents mind, the older Mizol and her thoughts and emotions. It was all clear to Argent; this woman hadn't come to deceive and not once spoke a lie this evening. If she was deceitful, it was beyond Argent to notice.

Bastal felt loud and clear in her mind when she send. „Hello, Argent. Can you drop your Lotai now?“

„Yes, I am here, Bastal. What do you mean?“ Argent answered.

While Argent waited for Bastal, she was able to muster the face of the Mizol. Confusion and growing annoyance played across it. Hadn't the Mizol heard her?

„Please, as amusing as this game was, do drop your Lotai.“

„There is no Lotai I can drop, Bastal.“ Argent send back with more force. Couldn't she hear her at all?

„We're on the same side. Really.“ came from Bastal with a hint of trepidation and a healthy dose of disdain for teenagers.

„I hear you!“ Argent practically shouted at Bastal. Usually her sending was stronger than this. She hoped that the Mizol was just getting deaf in her old age.

Copperspike and others immediately send her questions on why she was shouting so loud. Argent had to remind herself to not let her own worries creep out into the larger group so much, as the already strained situation became quite a bit more tense.

Bastals patience had also become strained as she switched back into verbal communication.
„Is there an issue we need to clear up before you drop your Lotai, Argent?“ she asked.

Argent was just about to blurt out to the Torimor that she wasn't keeping up any Lotai when Coldfire stopped her with a warning. „Don't tell her! She thinks we're doing this Lotai ourselfes.“

„It's complicated and new to us ourselfes, Bastal.“ Argent managed as cover.

Bastal seemed to evaluate her words for a moment, the thoughts Argent received from her hand sounded all like harmless musings about the current situation. Then, suddenly, Argents eyelids snapped shut. When she had managed to force them open again by lots of angry blinking, Bastal let go of her hand.

„Sorry about that, just a test.You can receive but don't send. I suspected something like this. When did this Lotai start?“

„Shortly after Natan was shot.“ Argent replied sounding less confident than she would have liked.

The Mizol gave her a surprised look. „He taught you this technique while wounded?“

With that question, Argent was caught. She wasn't shrewd enough to hide her expression in time and Bastal didn't bother to keep that knowledge out of hers. With a heavy feeling Argent sought for something to say, but came up empty. The only saving grace she was able to think of was how genuine Bastal had felt, sending before. Argent made the effort to send this bit to her Diral to answer their mental groans.

The Mizol continued. „You know as much as I do. Let's work the problem together. Is there a range on this Lotai?“

„A couple of hundred meters. We don't know how much as „

„As you can all send to each other.“ Bastal finished her sentence for her. The Mizol had begun to walk from left to right in front of her, evidently in thought. She now spoke more to the whole Diral than to Argent, the whole matter being treated by Bastal now more like an academic subject at the academy than anything else. The absurdity did a lot to dispel any sense of danger that the Mizol still gave off.

„And because you can all still send to each other now, you can't test it either. Or you would have noticed that you turned mute.“

„Mute?“ Argent asked.

„This morning I was still able to send and receive just fine, thank you.“ Bastal answered with mock hurt. „A few hundred meters centered around what anyway?“

Caught again, thought Argent. That Mizol seemed to miss nothing. Argent resolved to better learn quickly or she'd have to hand over talking to somebody more capable at it than her.

„Around Natan.“ Argent admitted.

„Wait, Natan is keeping up this Lotai?“

„It seems so, Torimor.“

„That's....not good. An effect this strong and this big must be a strain on him. It's important that we begin having a proper look at him, for his health if for nothing else. I'll call in Tozet Coral now.“

"You agree to have us continue our Diral then?"

"Yes, you seem an able bunch and pleasantly interested in Natans well being."



Coral arrived shortly afterwards. There was a roar in the night sky, a focused bright light and a quick rappel from Coral completed her sporty entrance.

She was tall, Argent saw. One of the tallest Loroi she had ever seen in fact. She wore an infantry uniform even though she must have come down from space and her curled hair was now recognizable pink in the bright floodlight of the dropship. Coral wore a duffel bag over her shoulder, which she hefted around as soon as she had hit ground. Her gaze shifted from person to person full of suspicion.

After the roar of the engines of the withdrawing dropship had subsided, Argent and the Diral heard Coral speak for the first time. It was directed at Bastal, but spoken loud enough for the clearing to hear.

„Why can't I sense anybody?“

„You're here to find that out, Tozet. The effect is caused by Natan.“ Bastal informed her. „Follow these two, Copperspike and Firebrand. They will show you to him.“ she said while pointing at the two named Loroi who were each more than a head shorter than Coral.

The Listel curtly turned away from Bastal and towards Copperspike and Firebrand. Argent still stood next to Bastal, so Coral had turned her back on her as well without so much as a greeting.
„Show me to him then.“ she said to the two.

„Coral.“ Bastal called out again.

„Torimor?“ the Listel asked neutrally.

„Coral, this isn't a combat zone. There is no need to be armed. Hand me your knife.“ Bastal ordered. Argent then noticed the knife Coral wore on her lower back, almost fully hidden by the bag. Had she wanted to hide it from the Diral? If so, this Coral needed to be watched closely. A thought she immediately passed along to Copperspike.

„Torimor, I am to meet an alien of unknown disposition for data gathering. Protocol is clear on this.“ Coral protested.

„Listel Tozet, his disposition is known. It's ..friendly.. Your knife.“

This direct order form Bastal resolved the conflict and Argent relaxed a bit when she saw Coral remove the knife with hilt from her back and toss it to Bastal. She then turned without a single word, leaving the circle of light cast by their fire.

This was a strange way to make amends, judged Argent.



Nathan sat on his bed with his bad leg lifted up and the other half on the ground. He was leaning against the wall of his woodhut and tried to convince Poisoned Claw that he didn't need a blanket for the moment. The cool night air actually felt good on his wound. That awful roar of one of these planes made him jerk up his head. This time the noise was closer, and seemed to hover in the air for a while, before retreating back into the night again with vanishing thunder.

Poisoned Claw let the blanket that she was holding drop.. „Copperspike and Firebrand are bringing this Coral here.“ Her reassuring smile she showed him was all but, Nathan thought.

„The Listel?“ he asked. Most of the castes were still new to him.

„Yes, she'll have a look at your wound. I'm sure she'll make you feel better. Bastal said Coral feels really bad about that.“ Poisoned Claw told him just as the door opened and Copperspike and Firebrand entered. They were followed in by a Loroi with pink hair, wearing a kind of blue and white uniform Nathan had never seen before. There were also dim golden lights glowing on her uniform. Signs of her rank, as Poisoned Claw quickly supplied via sending.

Coral put down a duffel bag with an audible thump on the rough floor. The first thing after she did, was to sniff the air loudly.
„Is this coming from his wound or is that normal?“ she asked noone in particular.

„It's normal.“ Copperspike said with narrowed eyes. But neither of the three Diral members met Nathans gaze for a moment.

„Loroi are often very direct.“ Poisoned Claw explained to him.

Coral had by then opened her bag and gotten thin looking gloves and a paper mask. She put the mask and two pairs of gloves on, before getting out a grey board and moving closer to Nathan.

Nathan didn't like how this Coral mustered him from head to toe. She had the same dispassionate, calculating look in her eye he had once seen on a livestock trader when his father had taken him to the market.

„Listel Tozet Coral.“ she said. „I am here to give you a check up. Hold still.“

Nathan did as Coral kneeled down and mustered his wound. She took his leg in both her hands and turned it around as if to muster it from all sides. Her gloved hands felt strange on his leg. He had never before seen such a material. It was barely familiar to the cloth from which Loroi clothes were made.

„Who dressed this wound?“ she asked.

„Firebrand assisted me in taking out the bullet and closing the wound.“ Copperspike answered from over the Listels shoulder.

„I see.“ Coral said, while she held the grey board against his leg. Nathan realised that it must be some kind of Loroi technology as she saw a light begin to illuminate Corals face. His two medics both leaned over to watch what Coral was doing. Nathan tried to see for himself too. What he saw looked like part of a bone surrounded by grey and black.

„I see.“ repeated Coral. „Do you see this dark grey blob here? That's where his wound is. Have you regularly drained the wound?“

„We took out the bullet, cleaned it and then closed it.“ informed her Firebrand.

„I thought so. This wound would have healed shut very quickly otherwise. There's a minor problem.“

„Which is?“ asked Copperspike.

„The wound's healing from the top. Meaning the pus aggregates. You need to make sure the wound heals from the inside out. That's easily corrected. Hand me my operating bag.“

Copperspike went to get the bag. The prospect of facing another operation didn't sit well with Nathan and he shuffled nervously on the bed, involuntarily drawing himself away. The memory of the last time was still too fresh. Poisoned Claw squeezed his shoulders reassuringly.

„Did you bring narcotics this time, Tozet?“ Firebrand hesitantly asked.

„No.“ was Corals answer. Then she added as if in an afterthought. „Without proper tissue samples we don't know what works on this alien.“

„Well, if you think it's necessary. What will you do, Coral?“ Nathan addressed the Listel for the first time directly. In response she turned to look at him directly, still appraising him. But at least this time she looked him into the eye.

„Bastals orders are to make sure your wound is safe. This isn't strictly necessary. The worst that can happen if left alone should be an uncomfortable but not threatening abscess. But...I need tissue and pus samples anyway. So I will reopen your wound now, clean it, put in a small tube for drainage and some material to stop it from closing.“

Nathan saw Coral then open up a bag given to her by Copperspike. Inside were several metal instruments, knifes, pliers, a saw and similar. She took out one of the knifes and made a move as to start operating. Involuntarily, Nathan grasped the blanket he sat upon and leaned back into Poisoned Claw.

„Wait, you want to start just like that?“ Copperspike asked with her mouth hanging open.

„Oh yes. Hand me that spray can from my bag too. It'll freeze the skin and numb the nerves there. Should alleviate the pain. How forgetful of me.“

Anger welled up in Poisoned Claw who still held him firmly and not uncomfortably. Nathan puzzled a bit over it. Forgetting something like this seemed like a real oversight. But then Coral seemed very averse to actually talking to him. Maybe, he thought remembering Bastals words, she just doesn't know how to deal with guilt and is nervous. If what Nathan had heard was true, their physical similarity was also a big issue amongst Loroi. Considering the circumstances, forgetting something was easy to do.

The spray really did help. It made the skin on his leg feel very cold and Coral deftly cut his wound open during her window of opportunity. Nathan still supressed a yelp of pain and curled his toes and fingers up, but he'd been through worse and the pain faded quickly. Coral cleaning his wound was less painful but felt worse. She used a piece of what looked like cotton and pliers to get the pus out. Then she stuffed a plastic tube and another cotton piece into the wound and bound it again with bandages from her bag. All the while Copperspike and Firebrand peered over Corals shoulder full of worry and suspicion.

„There, done. Clean the wound at least once every two days and change the cloth daily. Every couple of days put the cloth in a bit shallower.“ Coral explained to Copperspike afterwards.

„How long do you think this will take?“ she got asked by Copperspike.

„Hard to say how much worse he is than a Loroi. Maybe a month?“ Even Nathan started to feel annoyed with Coral. That sounded like a clear insult. But hadn't Argent explained to him that spoken language was unusual to many Loroi? Maybe she hadn't meant it like that.

„Ok, now I'm going to take a hair sample, a tongue scraping and blood sample from you.“ she addressed him again directly with that statement. While he didn't know how a blood sample was taken, he was pretty sure that people usually asked for it.

A few of his hairs, torn out with roots were quickly gathered and stowed away in a clear container. Coral then turned back to him with a small brush in her hand under the watchful eyes of Copperspike.

„Open up your mouth and stick your tongue out.“ Coral prompted him. He followed that prompt but did so only reluctantly.

When next she turned back to him, she had a needle and two empty vials in her hand. Nathan shifted on his bed, moving to a fully upright position.

„Put out your arm.“ she demanded of him.

„No! You've been avoiding it but you owe me an apology.“ Nathan told her.

„For what?“ she flatly asked.

He gesticulated at his bandaged leg. „For shooting me!“

„You realise I only shot you in the leg because Nelonial ordered me to?“

„You are still the one who pulled the trigger. You can't just put all responsibility on your orders!“

Coral didn't answer. She sat down on the bed beside Nathan and took off her mask. Nathan realised that the Listel needed some time and so send to the other Loroi in the room to give her that time and let Coral speak.

„Look, I'm a Listel. If you want nice words speak to Bastal, Nelonial or Songbird. I can only offer you honesty.“

„Honesty is good.“ Nathan prompted her to go on.

„Fine.“ she shrugged her shoulders. „What did you expect to happen that night?“

„I didn't expect to get shot!“ he said angrily, realising that no apology was coming.

„Is your intellect typical for your species?“

„What? Are you serious?“ he asked her before his anger could catch up to his ears.

„Are you quick witted or slow for your people?“

„What does that have to do with anything?“ Nathan heard himself grow louder but infuriatingly, Coral remained completely unconcerned. She still mustered him with the same impersonal interest she had shown from the beginning.

„This,“ she pointed at his bullet wound, „is the consequence of your actions. Identifying as a savage invading our lands, threatening us, using poison on us would have made any Loroi a criminal. And then you appear next to us within pistol range believing a bunch of animals stops Loroi warriors? You should be grateful a Mizol was in command that night.“

„You honestly expect me to thank Nelonial?“

„My old Ragan wouldn't have ordered me to lower my aim.“ she stated and then rose. While what she had said sunk in, Coral packed her duffel bag again.

„I think you better go now, Coral. My friends won't like hearing what you just said.“ Nathan told her.

Already in the door, Coral turned one more time.

„Whatever. Since we're honest to each other, let me give you one piece of advice. Take whatever offer you can get from Bastal. Amongst these Loroi you light up on thermal imaging like a candle. It won't be long until others know you're here. If you're lucky, it will be a zoo keeper.“

Then she was gone, leaving behind only a pack of bandages and some of that cloth.

novius
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Re: [WP] New Frontiers (Story Thread Only)

Post by novius »


"Now listen here!" Nathanial raised his voice, and it took both Argent and Poisoned Claw to keep him in place to not to aggravate his wound, but it was enough for Coral to show up in the doorframe again, visibly annoyed.

"Where I come from, every man, woman and child has to defend their home against savages and raiders. If we don't do, we'd be killed, simple as that. For about two years I lived here on my own and as far as I looked, there was no living soul and this land looked as good as unclaimed. Then there is this diral which in itself planned to be here only temporary, and then your bunch showed up on the scene with something as good as an eviction notice."

Coral fully turned towards him, with an expression that clearly stated "get to the point."

"So I did what every good American has to do - defend the homestead and everything he holds dear. Want it or not, that includes these ladies now. You should be lucky that these traps were designed to harass you, with a few spikes or a different concoction they could easily have KILLED you, one by one. You could have turned around on your trek through your forest and noticed your rearguard missing, without you none the wiser. But I didn't."

"The arianesin posed a lethal danger. We reacted with equal force.", Coral stated.

"Equal force would be just to shoot them, and not them and me.", Nathanial countered.

"It was on Nelonial's orders.", she repeated her prior words.

Argent felt his muscles tensing and redoubled her efforts to keep him in check. She was sure Nathanial would have jumped up and things would become physical, open wound and draining tube be damned.

"'I was following orders' was NEVER an excuse in our military, and never will be! Base soldiers can be tried for war crimes they committed, together with their officers. My father should know, and he taught me to tell right from wrong!"

Coral blinked once, twice, with a pensive look on her face.

"Males have to defend their homes?" She asked after a while.

Thrown into a loop by her unexpected question, Nathanial's ire evaporated, mostly.

"Men, women, even children if there's need to. Basically everyone capable of holding a gun."

Another blink of her eyes. Nathanial realized that Coral might have even more difficulties to accept that males can be fighters than Argent and the rest of the diral had.

"I... see", she started haltingly, "you did what you had to do. As did I. Want to place blame? Blame Nelonial. But ... stay strong. You'll need it."

With that, Coral turned on her heel, finally leaving for good.

'Bastal said that she regretted her actions. Either she was sorely mistaken or she outright lied to us.', Nathanial sent, his thoughts having a dark undertone.

'I'm sure Coral has her share of regrets. Were her infractions any larger, she would have shaved her head in shame. Nelonial on the other hand - if we ever see her again, it is likely she sports a new haircut.'

'Uh... I'm missing something here', Nathanial puzzledly sent, 'what does your hairdo do with it?'

'Oh. Right. It never came up.' Argent tried at a bit of levity. 'The length of the hair denotes the honor the bearer earned. And if a warrior feels she has shamed herself or because of a severe transgression, it is cut off. Or ordered to be cut off. As a visible sign to the others. So by the length of Bastal's hair you can see that she has an unblemished track record.'

'Isn't that a bit impractical? Father told me that soldiers often cut their hair, so that their enemies can't grab and pull it back to slice the jugular with a knife.'

Argent smiled. 'If someone comes that close to achieve this, something has gone seriously wrong. Or the warrior would deserve this fate for her lack of situational awareness.'

Nathanial winced. 'Harsh.'

'Oh, and for something different - please do know that Coral might not have even seen a male for considerable time, much less having to give medical treatment to one or even just be in one's company for a prolonged period. And there you gave the whole away team quite a show at their camp, and before.' Argent sent.

'What? You don't mean...'

Poisoned Claw cut in, for the first time.

'Come now. You already know what effect you have on us. It's likely the same with Coral, only that she hides it much better by staying focused on the task at hand and her own regrets and anger.'

Nathanial shook his head. 'I don't know whether I should find this thought endearing or scary.'

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Zarya
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Re: [WP] New Frontiers (Story Thread Only)

Post by Zarya »


The arianesin kept returning to the clearing expecting food and Bastal was looking at how diral members were throwing skinned hoppers over the ditch into the huge mauls.

Blissfull grunts and smacking sounds came from the dark which made it quite a spectacle and Bastal was intrigued by the behaviour of the two matriarchs that made sure the food was equally distributed amongst the cubs. Somehow she felt happy witnessing this strange feeding ceremony.

Sensing that Coral was approaching Bastal turned around. It soothed her that sanzai was possible with her own crew even though she clearly felt the listel was in a foul mood. As usual Bastal hid her own feelings inviting the listel to report.

Patched it up. It’s lucky to be alive. The doranzer girls did a good job.’ was her terse comment.

Bastal chuckled, ‘I take it that.. he.. is well enough to complain that you have shot him?

Says he could have picked us off and killed the entire away team.

Yes, it doesn’t require a listel to analyse how that could’ve played out.’

Bastal turned towards the arianesin again.

Just look at these animals and also check the crossbows the initiates are carrying.

Bastal pointed at the initiates that were now feeding more than a dozen cubs.

These kids master this terrain and are armed to the teeth. They have also found an effective way to deliver a powerful nerve agent which they can harvest any time they want. They’re capable of organised resistance on the ground. Nelonial was lucky to be defeated in such a gentle way.’

Before Coral could protest Bastal raised her hand to silence her.

I will personally kill you if you let anything happen to the alien. Your mission is to protect him and keep him alive. Understand?’

Coral looked like she was about to curse, then with the sanzai equivalent of a sigh sent her clear affirmation.
After a pause she abruptly changed the subject.

“The timo soia...” she said... the spoken words apparently coming out of nothing sounded strange.

“Yes, we should investigate” responded Bastal. “I proposed a first visit to the site at day brake. We’ll fly over and take the alien with us”

With a sigh Coral looked around and sent ‘where is the diral leader?’

Argent? I don’t know. I still can’t sense anything here, except for those arianesin’.

Bastal sent an image of Argent, adding ‘She should be here on the clearing though’

Fine, I am going to tell her that she must wash the alien before we let it aboard the shuttle’.

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Werra
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Re: [WP] New Frontiers (Story Thread Only)

Post by Werra »

With a hiss Nelonials office door opened. The room behind was just like she left it when she had called it quits for the day. As orderly as was possible will stacks of supply forms to be checked, personal request orders to be approved, reports on the Kakiri stations sub sections for her to read; it all piled up on her desk and the surrounding area in shaky piles. All there just to keep her busy, with warm regards from Torimor Bastal.

The one thing that had changed was Coral, who was sitting nonchalantly in a chair in front of her desk. As Nelonial made her way to her desk, Coral didn't bother to turn around and neither of the two made telepathic contact.

From behind her desk Nelonial fixed up Coral with eyes still sticky from her recent sleep. As relaxed as Corals content expression looked, the Listel made an overall sorry sight. Her right arm was in a sling, a field dressing. Her face was bloted by dirt and blue blood. The thick weave of her hair still had twigs and pieces of moss in it. Still Coral was born and bred for the infantry and carried herself with dignity. From time to time a telepathic moan of pain comming from the small hospital of the station. Neither Coral or Nelonial acknowledged them.

"Coral, why is there a bunch of kids on Kakiri and why are they in such a poor state?" Nelonial asked at last.

"Commander, the Diral and our unit came into conflict with an expedition of the Northwest Mestirot Prospecting Guild." Coral reported.

"Drop the Commander, I can't deal with that now." Nelonial retorted bluntly. "How can civilians force you to evacuate, Coral?"

"Most of that was the Ragan."

"How do civies get hold of a Teidar?" wanted to know Nelonial.

"From the same place they got military gear and training from, it seems. Nelonial, they knew of Natan. They wanted him."

Nelonial had to take a moment to process the implications. Prospecting guilds were common on Deinar with its landscape dotted richly with Soia era ruins. A salvageable piece of technology was worth a fortune and even a large mass of compressed materials caught a good price. The costs were minor on a planet on which a jeep with a full tank and a couple of spades were enough to get started. But most these guilds were nothing more than fortune seekers who scrounged together a living, following up on rumors. A guild of them having military gear and a Teidar leading them was impossible. But so was the presence of the Lorois progenitor species on Deinar, which they knew about.

"I think those weren't civies, Coral." she sent to the immediate assent of the Listel. "What happened to Songbird?"

"Helped the rest of us to evacuate." Coral answered.

"The Ragan just let you evacuate Natan, their objective?"

"She had her hands full with Bastal. That is until the Arianesin came, Commander."

This time Nelonial let the title slip. She would never get used to it if nobody called her that. Better if it was Coral who saw her flinch the first few times, as the Listel was experienced enough not to tell. Instead Nelonial decided to act like a proper Commander. So she tackled the problem as only the military could. By opening a fresh report file.

"Now, start from the beginning, Tozet."

"Yes, Parat. When Torimor Bastal visited the Diral, she parleyed a joint excursion to the Soia ruin in the area. Two days later after our return to Kakiri station Torimor Bastal, Lennai Songbird, Gallen Ranzadi Neat and I returned down for this excursion."

"Why did you wait two days?" Nelonial asked with split attention between her screen and Coral.

"The alien, Natan, was still wounded. Torimor Bastal agreed to take him along. We returned when he was ambulatory with a crutch." sent Coral dutifully.

"Continue." Nelonial sent still typing.

"We landed an hour after sunrise local time. Because of the terrain we had to rappel straight down into the camp. The Diral was expecting us and had already moved the left behind equipment. While Torimor Bastal and Lennai Songbird talked to the Diral leader and Natan, Neat and I checked the equipment."

"What happened after that?"

"When we were done with the equipment I took Lennai Songbird on a walk along the perimeter that the Diral had constructed. I showed her the traps and defenses built by them."

"They just let you see all their defenses?" asked Nelonial in earnest surprise.

"We were followed by distrustful eyes the whole way. I don't think they grasped the full consequenses of what we did. It was hard to tell due to the Lotai affecting the area."

"I understand this Lotai was inactive when the fighting started." sent Nelonial. The reports that woke her had been hurried and lacking in detail, but the telepathic chatter of a full Diral worked fast. Nelonial had surmised a few things even when she had been still within her cabin.

"Yes, I wasn't in range of the camp at the time. Songbird noticed it first. A flickering of minds she said, like a weak powergrid barely keeping the lights on."

"What then, Coral?"

"I still had the medkit, so I ran as fast as possible."

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Werra
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Re: [WP] New Frontiers (Story Thread Only)

Post by Werra »

"I came to a sliding halt between the central fireplace and that wooden cabin. The looks I had drawn sprinting had been hostile but otherwise relaxed. Of course, they could sense each other like usual, so they were completely unaware of the flickering.
In medical emergencies every second counts, so I didn't bother to explain. Instead I barged right through the door. Only some alien memorabilia, a cot and an ancient looking rifle and no Nathan were inside.But I needed to be thorough, so I crossed the room in two steps and tore off that dirty blanket from the bed. The smell that hit me was intense. Nathan must have been sweating in his sleep for days beforehand. When I turned around again one of the medics, Firebrand, was already doing her best to look mean and tough in the doorframe.
"What are you doing?" she demanded to know verbally.
Instead of wasting my breath I just sent to her: "Where is Nathan?" Fortunately that one is not the slowest in the Diral. She understood the implications immediately.
Deflated she answered with a sending: "He went to the stream, said he needed some air and cold water."
Later I would find out from the others that Nathans alien stomach has trouble with deinar food. That meant that everybody was used to Nathan feeling unwell from time to time. Which could explain how they missed the symptoms. But that didn't matter back then.
Copperspike and me, we sprinted through the camp. Downstream and out of sight, somebody had found Nathan already. We could hear the worried Sanzai while approaching. A crowd had already formed and they could hear us too.
One of them turned around and signaled me to stop. She even went so far as to tell me: "No, not you. He is indecent." Can you believe that?
Anyway, I run her over and pushed my way through to Nathan. He was indeed indecent. Somebody had put him into a stable side position. His eyes were rolled back and a small puddle of foam had formed under his mouth. Several kids tried to suppport Nathans body with their hands. The whole scene looked bad. I told them to step back and went to check his vitals, breathing and pulse. I would have used proper diagnostic tools, but Nathan is a strange alien. No computer has any useful data on him. Which forced me to rely on my gut.
Are you familiar with telepathic depletion? It's very rare nowadays. Farseers had it and some Teidar with early amplifiers, too. If the mind is overexerted for long periods of time it's possible that the brain gets disordered. If that happens then basic tasks that usually run in the background can start to go wrong. It causes a progression of problems and the brain often has no way of stopping it. Only rest helps, but once it's an actual emergency, the singular solution is to restart. Flush the system and start new. It's dangerous of course and I wouldn't have done it if there had been any other way. Completely untested in humans, too. Especially with a dosage I had to calculate by hand the day before, since medical computers are useless for a species so new.
Not one of the Diral would have let me go through with it, had I told them. I simply started and hoped that the sheer audacity of it would see me through. I told Firebrand: "Get cold water, lots of it." Then I took two syringes out of my pack. One was small, with a very fine needle, the other larger and tougher.
The first I shot into Nathans neck. It went straight to his head. No more than 15 solon later and he stopped moving. First step done, but to be sure I checked his pulse again. When I couldn't find one, I proceeded to remove the clothing from his chest.
"What are you doing?"; "He stopped breathing!"; "What did you give him?" and other such nonsense began to rise around me. I concentrated on counting the rips and preparing the second syringe. This one contained a mixture of various stimulants I had tested on human tissue before. Injected straight into the heart they should hopefully get the second step done as well.
I took off the safety cap, raised my fist high up and plunged the needle down.It must have looked very martial. Once the syringe was empty, I immediately started a cardiac massage. Might have broken a rip or it might have happened later. In the moment I was concentrating on the rhytm and not on distractions like the gasps and curses my act produced.
When I saw Nathans eyes moving, I shouted to Firebrand to pour the water over him. She did and the shock pushed his body over the edge again.
I got up, suddenly far heavier than before and told probably all of them at that point: "Force him to walk. Don't let him rest until he's fully there again. Then have him walk some more. And don't sanzai him!"
To me that seemed to be it. We had a proper medical emergency, a reason to tell the Diral what a monumentaly stupid idea it was to leave an alien male in the wilds with them. Tell the alien to get into his cage and bring him to proper medical facilities. No, instead Bastal was approaching. She had intercepted Songbird and was coming at me with Argent in tow. She looked about ready to follow through on a threat she made beforehand."

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