---

The airlock sealed behind them.  There was no need to pump in air, but Brooks pressed on the ‘hold’ button all the same.  Now that they were back inside the Hurricane, he felt secure in talking.

He only need glance to Dr. Logus.

“Interesting fellow,” the man commented.

“With an active imagination,” Brooks added.  “What do you make of his story?”

“That he’s the rightful governor?  That Ban Tede is the paranoid one?  His clear bias against non-humans?  Or his claim that the CR killed a man by looking at him?”

“The last,” Brooks replied dryly.

“Fanciful, at best.  No CR on record has ever been able to do something like that.  And rare as they are, that’s still tens of thousands of cases.”

“So either the CR used some other method or it’s just an accusation.”

“It’s very common for Cerebral Readers to face this sort of problem,” Cenz noted.  “There are no reported cases among my species, but most others have similar conditions – in nearly all of them, CRs face a greatly increased rate of assault, murder, and wrongful imprisonment, along with general social isolation.”

“He’s made his goal clear as well,” Logus said.  “He wants more people.  Perhaps he hopes to barter the CR for your assistance in getting more people here.”

“I can’t say I would recommend the place based on what I’ve seen so far – as short as it’s been,” the Captain commented.

“Nor I,” Cenz said.  “And not even just among my own kind for his clear bias against me.  In the Governor and his entourage I see signs of long-term radiation damage and general poor health.”

Outside the airlock, Brooks noticed that Urle was waiting – and behind him was nearly every other person on the ship.

“We’ll talk more later on this,” Brooks told Logus.  “Gather the information you can, I’d like to know more about this place before I pass judgment on it.”

Opening the door, Brooks stepped into the ship proper.

“Captain,” Urle said.  “That seemed a brief meeting.”

“I’m going to go talk more to Governor Tede,” Brooks told Urle and the assembled crew.  “We have permission to move among the colony, though they clearly have issue with non-humans.”

“Would you prefer we wait on the ship?” Cenz asked.

Brooks shook his head.  “No, I’m not going to force anyone to stay on the ship after that rough ride we’ve had out here.  The Governor said we were welcome and I intend to take him at his word.  The colony still uses a market economy, so we’ll get you all some External Trade Credits, in case you’d like to patronize any small businesses here.”

“I am glad,” Cenz replied.  “I am highly curious to see more of such a young colony.  And still in a rudimentary form of capitalism as well!  It will be fascinating.”

Brooks glanced over them all.  “No one go anywhere alone – just to be on the safe side.  Their bylaws state that the open-carry of weapons is allowed, so I suggest that you all take sidearms.”

“Seriously, Captain?” Cenz asked.

“Yes,” he replied bluntly.  “In places like this they tend not to respect people who are not carrying weapons – I’ve known others like it.”

Urle nodded.  “I’ll unlock the armory and issue sidearms to anyone who plans on going out.”

The Executive Commander noticed Hannah watching through the rest of the assembled crew.  She looked nervous.  He had always taught his daughters to be respectful of firearms, and he knew she had taken to it with something approaching a phobia.

Someday, he’d have to teach her how to use one, he knew.  But he wanted that day to be far off.

“Excuse me,” he said, stepping through the crowd towards her.

“All right, I’m heading out,” Brooks said.  “They have a curfew at 2200 hours, and I’ve sent a sync to your systems to update them to local time.”

Brooks left out the hatch, and Cenz approached Kell, who seemed oddly lost in thought.

“Ambassador, I think I feel like going for a walk.  Would you care to join me?  I know you must be curious to see this new colony.”

“No,” Kell said.

Cenz recoiled slightly.  “Ah . . . my apologies for assuming.  If you do go out, however, please let me know – I will be happy to join you.”

“I will not,” Kell said, not even looking to Cenz.

“Just remember that the Captain has given a directive for no one to go out alone.  I believe this applies even to you, Ambassador.”

The Shoggoth gave no response and moved away, back towards his quarters.  Cenz was left with a puzzled expression on his face as Pirra approached him.

“It’s acting . . . weirder than usual,” she said softly.  Kell seemed out of earshot.  “I thought the Ambassador wanted to see these places.”

“And this is a very unique one, by his experiences.  It does seem as if something is bothering the Ambassador, and I fear he will ignore the Captain’s orders.”

“At least it’s staying on the ship for now.  Perhaps it’s too much too fast,” Pirra said.  “But on the topic of these locals . . . what are your thoughts on them, Commander?” she asked.

“I think I feel like going for a walk and finding out more,” he said.  “You and Alexander are free to join me if you wish.”

---

< Ep 2 Part 13 | Ep 2 Part 15 >

---

The hangar in New Vitriol could have fit a ship twice their size and three times their length, but the docking clamps and boarding tube hooked into place without difficulty.

“Connection isn’t very good,” Urle noted.  “Just above the minimum standards.  Air quality is pretty poor, too.  Nothing toxic, but a much higher level of bacteria and chemical compounds than I would call healthy for long-term exposure.”  He glanced to Brooks.

“Keep your kids on the ship for now,” the Captain said.  “And you stay here for the time being.  I’ll take Dr. Logus and Cenz and we’ll go meet their welcoming party.”

“Aye, sir.”

They went down the tube.  On the other end, the airlock door opened, and a man who could only have been the governor was awaiting them.  Along with him were a handful of officials and several guards, only the leader of whom had his face visible.

His grin was surely meant to be friendly, but nothing about it conveyed warmth.  His outfit was a mix of sensible and faded grandiose, with a high collar that appeared to have been cut down after some of the ribbing had folded.

“Welcome to New Vitriol, gents.”  His eyes went to Cenz, and for a moment his smile faltered.  He didn’t seem to know what he was looking at.

There was no gravity on the station, and Brooks floated himself forward, drawing the Governor’s eyes back to him.  “I’m Captain-Mayor Ian Brooks,” he introduced himself, before gesturing to the others.  “Dr. Arn Logus and Commander Cenz.”

“What is he, a fancy drone?” the governor asked, eyes going back to the Commander.

“I am what your people call a Coral or Polyp,” Cenz answered.  “From the Dulea system.”

“An alien,” the man said.  His smile had faded, and he gave Brooks a glare.

“We welcome outsiders, Captain-Mayor, but things aren’t free on New Vitriol.  And prices are higher for some.”

“We’ll be happy to take you up on your hospitality and pay you for your services,” Brooks replied.  “So long as it’s safe for my people here – all of my people.  It is one of the most important laws of interstellar trade – that all travellers can expect welcome and safety.”

“Everyone’s safe on New Vitriol,” the Governor replied, his tone turning a little sour.  “As long as you don’t plan to stay – we don’t promise that.  We got supply problems and we don’t want population in here that’s not going to help us get more population.”  He was looking pointedly at Cenz, then shrugged expansively.  “More bodies means more workers and more workers means more resources.  Surely you understand.”

“None of us are coming to stay, Governor . . .” Brooks trailed off.  “Perhaps a proper introduction is in order.”

“Nec Tede,” the Governor said, then gestured to the guard without a helmet.  “This here’s my Chief of Security and second-in-command, Hoc Rem.”

Brooks nodded to the latter, who regarded him coldly, saying nothing.  He didn’t look like a local; his neck was thick with muscle, as if he’d come from a place with much higher gravity.

But Nec Tede was still talking.  “I’m not just the leader of New Vitriol, but the Rightful Governor of this system – though you wouldn’t know that by talking to that Judas, Ban.”

Brooks wasn’t sure who Ban was, and the Governor must have noticed.  “I heard you just spoke with him – the head man over at Old Vitriol.  Ban is a crotchety bastard who hates meeting face to face.”  The man slid a thumb across his throat.  “Paranoid, ya see, about assassins.”

“Oh my,” Cenz said.  “I was not aware there was a substantial risk of such violence in this system.”

Nec chuckled.  “Just in his mind.  Man is the reason we were banished.  He doesn’t trust anyone with a claim on the Tede line.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Brooks said.  “Governor, we’ve come to speak to you about-“

“I know who you’re looking for.”  The man grinned and tapped his head.  “Word spreads faster than light in this system.  I know the freak you’re looking for – and she’s here.”

With how unfruitful the trip had been so far, even this kind of response made Brooks feel like this was going too well.  “Can you arrange a meeting?  I would like to talk to her.”

“Sure,” the man said.  “That’ll be no problem.  Except you might not live to get a word out.”  The man chuckled, an ugly sound.  “Seein’ as she likes to kill people just by lookin’ at ’em.”

---

< Ep 2 Part 12 | Ep 2 Part 14 >

---

Brooks entered the bridge.  Cenz had taken the watch and seemed distracted reading a tablet.  But the being’s attention could go in many directions, and he was fully aware of Brooks’s arrival.

“Commander,” Brooks said, giving him a nod.

“Captain,” the being replied.  “We are only seven minutes from entry to this system’s Kuiper Belt.  Our information indicates that the colony of . . . New Vitriol . . . is a mostly-rocky object approximately ten kilometers in diameter.  We are not aware of how large the population is, but some of the public records we had access to in the last two colonies suggest Vitriol had initially a population of 300,000 or so – thus New . . . Vitriol will have less than that.”

Brooks caught the way the coral hung up on the word.  “Is something bothering you, Cenz?”

“Ah, yes sir.  This name – Vitriol.  It’s hard to translate into my language.  And even when translated, I’m having trouble understanding it.”

Brooks moved to sit.  “Ah, yes.  Well . . . how would you define the word?”

“Angry critique?  But there is an element of the translation that I just do not understand.”

“That’s because the word implies more than anger – there is an element of intentionally wishing harm in it.”

Cenz was silent for a moment, and his face screen went to a strange sort of default blankness.  Lights in his suit flashed in confused patterns, and staring at it was dazzling.

“I understand that many species have had wars and conflicts.  My own people have become involved in those of the Sapient Union, but I was not directly.  In a way, I can understand that these stemmed almost always from material causes – the lack of or desire for something vital to life.”

“But cruelty is not something you are able to really understand,” Brooks commented.

“. . . that’s correct, Captain.”  He was silent a moment before adding; “In some ways I feel it gives me a permanent blind spot when it comes to other species.  Your natural evolution has, for some reason, given your species the ability to have these thoughts.  And yet . . . mine cannot seem to conceive of them.”

Brooks wasn’t sure how to reply to that; it was true, though.  His species was capable of cruelty; it was some kind of by-product of evolution that served a purpose that was hard for him to justify.  And humanity was not alone; most other sapient species had, at least somewhere in their history, shown such behaviours.

None of them were proud of it, but they could not change their pasts.  They could only try now to rise above.

“At times your own kind are difficult for us to understand,” he finally said.  “We’re singular minds, not collectives.  I suppose, though, I am glad that your kind can’t feel it.  You’re not missing out on much of value.”

“Why would they name their colony a term that implies such cruelty?” Cenz asked.

“Anger, I would guess.  They felt slighted, and they wanted everyone to know it.  It’s not a mature thought.  But we are formed largely by our environments and conditions.  Given certain kinds of conditions, we can turn out to think and act in ways that seem insane – even to others of our own species.”

He felt oddly cold, but the only reason he might have felt that would be if Kell was present; yet the sensors confirmed he was in his cabin.

Cenz turned to business.  “We’re about to come back into realspace in thirty seconds.”

Brooks put on the comm.  “All personnel, prepare for reversion to realspace.”

“I will be very grateful to have this shaking cease,” Cenz said.

“Are you feeling all right?”

“Well enough.  I might be what you’d call sore for a few days.  But hopefully we won’t have to leave here immediately, so I can recuperate somewhat.”

Brooks knew he’d have to make sure he fully understood the extent of harm that the being had suffered through the trip.  Cenz was a dutiful officer, and he was not sure if this trip had given him the equivalent of a headache or broken rib.

Making a note to himself to check on that later, he composed himself for their immediate concern.

With a lurch they re-entered real space.

Brooks glanced to Cenz and saw a placid smile on his face, which reassured him.

Checking that everyone else on board was fine, he then switched to external view and found the colony of New Vitriol.

“I’ve sent a message, but we’re just getting an automated reply,” Cenz noted.

Urle entered the bridge, followed by Kell.  The compartment was beginning to feel crowded.

“Uknown ship, follow beacon course laid out for you.”

It was a message, but not an open channel.

Cenz looked to Brooks for orders.

“Take us in,” he ordered.

Kell was staring off, not at the monitors, but just above them.

Urle caught his direction of gaze.  “What is it, Kell?  You look like you’ve just seen a Leviathan.”

“No,” the Ambassador replied.  “But I see something.  There is a presence here . . .”

“What kind of presence?” Brooks asked.  “Is it a danger?”

Kell shook his head.  “I believe it is the seer.”

“Seer?” Urle asked.

“It’s a very old term from the English language,” Cenz chipped in.  “For a being who is able to ‘see’ the future.”

“Or other things,” Kell said.

“Such things are superstition,” Urle noted sourly.

“Perhaps,” Kell replied.

Brooks arched an eyebrow but said nothing on the topic.

“I want everyone dressed and assembled for disembarkment in ten minutes.  We set down in fifteen.”

---

< Ep 2 Part 11 | Ep 2 Part 13 >

---

“I wanted to stay, though.  Captain can I stay?” Hannah asked.

Brooks smiled to her, but didn’t dismiss the idea immediately.  For a city-ship, having its younger populace take an interest in how things worked was something they both hoped for and cultivated.

This was not the most drastic of circumstances.  On a smaller and younger colony like this, it was likely they would be able to talk to the Governor initially via signals rather than a face-to-face after landing.

It was a place outside the Sapient Union, too.  Sometimes it was a mistake to only let the up-and-coming see how things worked internally.  It would mean they were caught flat-footed when they had to deal with outside officials.

“I’m all right with it,” he decided.  “Executive Commander, how do you feel about it?”

“So long as you stay quiet, Hannah, you can stay.”

“I want to stay too!” Persis interjected quickly.

Urle was calm but firm.  “No, Persis.  You can sit in another time, but this time Hannah gets to.  No pouting – this is not a game.  This is very serious.  Now go back to the cabin.”

“Next time?” she asked sadly.

“I can’t promise next time.  But eventually, yes,” Urle added.

The girl left slowly, but did go.  Urle confirmed via sensors that she had, in fact, returned to her room, while Brooks moved to sit in the co-pilot’s chair.

Hannah sat down on a stool in the corner and strapped herself down, watching with eager eyes.

Urle flipped on the intercom.  “Attention, we will be exiting the dash in approximately thirty seconds.  There is likely to be turbulence, so everyone please strap in.”

Checking that Hannah did so, and that the sensors confirmed everyone else had – save Kell – Urle watched the seconds tick down.

Unlike a proper zerogate, there was no exit to catch them.  It was more like being thrown, and the ship itself would have to engage a tenkionic braking system that would cause them to shed the colossal amounts of energy they had accumulated.  Simple physics rendered it impossible to be moving faster than light and exist in their own dimension.

No being could possibly have manually exited such a jump.  The timing was so precise, the speeds so great, that the most sensitive computers possible still found it taxing.

Urle simply watched the numbers tick down, and they felt the ship begin rattling with extra fervor.

The exit was rougher even than the journey, and they were all thrown forward – such exits were hard enough to cause injuries, and the Hurricane‘s own dampeners strained to keep it under control.

Brooks felt himself thrown forward, held back only by his restraints.  The whole ship lurched, then became still.

“Ow,” Hannah said flatly.  “Could that have been any bumpier, dad?” she asked.

“Shush, you’re fine,” Urle said, checking her readouts while Brooks suppressed his smile.

“Everyone seems fine,” Brooks added, checking the rest of the crew.

“Did Kell fall?” Urle asked.  He sounded a bit hopeful.

“No.  Barely even twitched, according to this.”

Urle sighed.  “Someday, the Ambassador’s going to be in a genuinely rough exit and regret not strapping in.”

Ahead of them, a massive and glorious gas giant loomed.  It was vaguely like Jupiter, but over twice the mass and far deeper in color.  Around it, moons nearly as large as Earth orbited.

Of those they could see, most were varied and extremely volatile; the tidal forces of the massive planet pulled them to and fro with each orbit, keeping their insides molten and active.

But one of the smaller moons seemed relatively stable, internally.  It was an iceball smaller than Earth’s moon, with a rocky core – certainly rich in the materials needed for a growing colony.

Heat readings from the moon broadcasted the presence of the settlement – even embedded in ice there was no way to hide the infrared energy of colony-scale fusion reactors.

“We’re in range,” Urle noted.  “Getting an automatic query.  Making our request.”

A few moments passed.  “Getting reluctant permission to talk to the Governor.  It’s your show, Captain.”

Brooks joined the channel.  “Greetings, Governor, this is Captain-Mayor Ian Brooks.  I have come trying to find a specific person who-“

“You came from Tede?” the male voice came back.  There was a visual channel, but the man wasn’t using it.

“Tede?” Brooks asked.  “We just took the dashgate from New Begonia-“

“Tede!” the man said.  “Those bastards lied to you, Captain.  They’re all liars and sneak-thieves.”

“Lied to me about what?” he asked.

“Anything – everything.  They’re a blight, a stain on the memory of Corran Tede.”

Urle gave him a confused glance, but Brooks kept his face a pleasant mask – he was broadcasting in the visual band even if the Governor wasn’t.

“I see.  That is unfortunate to hear, Governor.  However, I still have my mission – perhaps you’d be able to assist me in that.”

“Why?” the voice insisted.  “You’ve already been poisoned by them, I know it.  It’s all part of their plan, to destroy Tede’s legacy and set themselves up as no better than those decadent whoresons on the homeworld.”

Brooks let his annoyance show.  “Governor, if you have this much of a grievance with the other colony – whatever it may be called – I suggest you speak to them about it.  I am not here on their behalf.”

“No?” the voice challenged.  “We know they’ve been in negotiation to join your Union of false prophets so you can do their dirty work for them.”

“No, Governor, they have not.  They did not even want us to stay any longer than necessary, as a matter of fact.  We spent less than eight hours at the colony – far too little to work out any sort of accord.”

There was a long silence.  Brooks had a gut feeling that prompted him to continue on.

“However, if you wish to speak to one of our diplomats to be assured that we have not entered into any accord with the other colony – or to seek assistance in arbitrating your differences, then I will be happy to summon one who could arrive in a week or so.”

Silence.

Finally, a reply came.  “That won’t be necessary.”

“Very well, Governor.  Now, there is a person I am seeking – they are an unusual individual with strange gifts-“

“I know who you mean,” the Governor said.  “We threw her out.”

Brooks felt his heart beat faster.

“Do you mean to tell me that you spaced this individual?”

“No,” the voice came back.  It was reproachful, if anything.  “They’re with the other traitors.  Not the ones at Tede, the ones at New Vitriol.”

Brooks frowned.  “Another colony?”

“The cowards fled out farther from the system,” the Governor sneered.  “All a buncha mutants and rejects who didn’t want to keep with the true teachings of the Dawn.”

“As unfortunate as that sounds, I need to find this individual.  Where can I find New Vitriol?”

There was a pause again.  “We can send you the data and you can have permission to use our dashgate – on one condition, Captain.”

“What is it?”

“Tell them to go to hell.”

The connection was severed and Brooks looked to Urle.  The two men just stared at each other for a moment when Hannah spoke.

“He was so rude!” she said.  “And what’s a horse-on?”

“Nothing,” Urle said immediately.  “Forget it.  Now . . . go back to your cabin, if you will.  The Captain and I have work to do.”

“All right,” she said, pushing off her stool to float towards the door.  “And if you don’t know then I’ll go look it up.”

After she left, Urle groaned.  “Shouldn’t have let her stay.”

“Well, who could have known they’d be this crazy out here?” Brooks replied.  “I’ve heard of colonies getting insular and . . . unhealthy, but this is a severe case.  At least they don’t seem actively hostile.”

“I’m keeping all the sensors and the defense grid ready just in case,” Urle muttered.  “They did send us information, though.  It seems their jumpgate is on a nearby orbital path, lagging behind their colony a little.  It’ll be around to us in about six hours.  The dash, though . . . that looks like it’s going to be another eighteen.  I hope it’s a little better maintained.”

Brooks grimaced.  “All right.  Then let’s get some rest and hop it in a few hours.  The faster we get out of this system the better.”

“You go ahead and sleep through,” Urle told him.  “I’ll take a watch then get Cenz to relieve me.  You can take the shift after him.”

Nodding, Brooks got up and stretched.  “All right, then, see you later.”

---

< Ep 2 Part 9 | Ep 2 Part 11 >

---

“A dashgate?” Urle echoed.  “Well, the Hurricane is fit to travel through them, but I can’t say I’m thrilled at the prospect.”

“I’m not any happier,” Brooks replied.

After returning to the shuttle, Brooks had sent out a return signal to everyone with them.  He had no doubt that it would have been safe for them to stay out their fourteen-day visas here, but they were here with a purpose, and he did not want to push the patience of the colonists.  One day, they might actually feel ready to engage with the Sapient Union.

In the cockpit of the shuttle he had gathered Urle, Logus, and Kell.  Or the latter had, at least, decided to join them.

“What is the issue with dashgates?” Dr. Logus asked.  “They’re in standard use within planetary systems – they’re all over the home system.”

“Yes, but those are very well-constructed and maintained gates,” Urle explained.  “In frontier systems, things tend to be of lower quality and in poor repair.  On top of that, the tech is just rougher around the edges than a zerodrive.”

“I have not actually travelled in one,” Kell noted.  “I left Earth in a special ship that was allowed the use of a zerodrive further in the system.”

Urle took a deep breath.  “Likely because some people react poorly to dashgates and command did not want to risk you getting sick so early in our co-existence, Ambassador.”

Kell frowned.  “Shoggoths do not get sick.”

“Of course,” Urle noted dryly.  “But for explanation’s sake; for safety reasons dashgates don’t open a proper hole into zerospace, but sort of slide a ship halfway between that and realspace.  It works better for short distances like those within a system, but it’s energy-wasteful and can be very bumpy.”

“I am interested to try it,” Kell said.

Brooks looked to his Executive Commander.  “Urle, while everyone gets settled in, check the colony records for maintenance on the dashgate – get an idea of how safe it is.  If you deem it acceptable, then in one hour we’ll make lift-off and head for this second colony.”

“Vitriol,” Urle muttered.  “Sounds like a fantastic place.”

A small smile that was uncomfortable to look at crossed Kell’s face.  “I find this whole story quite amusing,” he admitted.

---

The dashgate was functional.  Both the Hurricane‘s onboard computer and Urle’s own calculations determined it to be well within safety margins.

But that didn’t mean it was a pleasant trip.  The gate was small – one of the advantages of a dashgate – and the ship rattled through nearly the entire duration of the four-hour trip.

Brooks knew it had to be hardest on Cenz, with each individual polyp of his body being jostled the entire way, and checked in on him.  But the science officer was his typical cheerful self.

“It’s an interesting sensation,” he admitted.  Yet the smile on his screen looked forced.

When they were ten minutes from re-entering normal space, Brooks went to the cockpit.

The door opened obligingly for him when he approached, and a child came tumbling out, literally doing a slow end-over-end in the zero-g, a high-pitched shriek on her tongue.  Brooks knew Urle’s daughters, of course, and helped catch Persis before she hit a wall.  Her shriek had turned to giggles, and Hannah floated out, holding what appeared to be a sensor wand as a sword.

“NOW I AM VICTORIOUS- hello, Captain Brooks!” the girl said, switching tone and manners in an instant.  She ducked the wand behind her back.  With her free hand, she gave him a salute.

“Hello Captain Brooks,” Persis said, still fighting her laughter.

“Hello, girls,” the Captain replied, struggling to keep his own smile in check.  “I need you to go on back to your cabin – we’re going to be coming out soon and I’m going to have to talk to people I expect to be both unfriendly and boring.”

“Can I watch if I’m quiet?” Hannah asked.  “I’ll raise my hand if I have a question,” she added.

Urle sat up and spoke, before Brooks could answer.

“Captain!” he said, getting up from the chair.  The fact that he hadn’t spoken up yet made Brooks wonder if he’d actually fallen asleep while the two were playing.  It might be the reason Hannah had been able to get the delicate sensor in the first place . . .

“Where did you find that?” Urle asked her, still holding the sensor wand.  “Did it float off the equipment rack with all the rattling?”

“Yeah . . . yeah, it did!” Hannah said, daintily handing it to her father.  Urle glanced to Brooks, looking quizzical.  Hannah also looked at him, alarmed.  He knew, of course, that she had been using it as a toy.

Brooks gave a shrug and a smile back to Urle.  “She was picking it up when I came in.  It seems she had quite a good sense of how valuable and breakable it is.”

“Oh, good,” Urle said.  “Okay, girls, time to go back to your cabin.”

---

< Ep 2 Part 8 | Ep 2 Part 10 >