New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

---

She must have fallen asleep.

Pirra sat up in the command chair, blinking and looking about blearily.

The room was dark.  Wait, what room was this?

It was the bridge of the Monitor Station, she realized.  Right, she was stationed here for a few days while Iago took the rest of the team . . .

She remembered the whole thing, rubbing her forehead.  They were in the outer reaches of the Terris system.

It was so dark.  Why were the lights off?

“Computer, lights,” she ordered.

They increased – but just slightly.

“Computer, why are the lights dim?”

“Operating on emergency power, due to primary reactor being offline.”

Offline?  “Why is the primary reactor off?”

“The Primary Reactor has been taken offline for a Level 12 diagnostic.”

Damn it!  She hadn’t realized that that’s what Tred’s diagnostic entailed.

Looking at the time, her system helpfully informed her that she’d been asleep for nearly an hour.  “Where is Tred?” she asked.

“Engineer Tred is in the engine room.  His condition is normal.”

She almost forced a laugh.  The system had read her so well that it knew she was concerned.  Damn her if the AIs were almost too smart.

“All right,” she said, realizing that there wasn’t a deep problem here.  As long as the reactor would come back on in time for Iago’s return all would be well.

Unless something went wrong . . .

“Computer, do we have external communications?”

“We can receive messages but we cannot send messages,” the AI told her.

That would be okay . . .  If they got a message from Iago then they could interrupt the scan and be ready to help them.

That settled that.  The system would have awoken her if there was a message – and she double-checked to be safe – so there was no issue with having fallen asleep.  She hadn’t even felt tired before.

It felt so claustrophobic on the bridge.  She reached for her drink, fumbling as it wasn’t where she thought she’d left it.  Finding it, she took a sip-

And spat out the nasty stuff in there.

“What the hell?!” she asked.  This wasn’t her drink!  She’d been drinking salt water, but this was . . .

She looked down into the cup.  It was coffee in there.  She never drank coffee.

It wasn’t her cup, either.  Putting it back, she looked around for her own.

But she couldn’t find it.  This wasn’t right.

“Computer, has Engineer Tred left the fusion reactor area?”

“He has not,” the computer replied.

“. . . Has he been asleep?”

“Yes.  Engineer Tred’s sleep coincided with your own.”

Something was wrong here.  “Computer, why did-“

A blood-curdling scream came over the comm.

Pirra lept to her feet, hand going to the spot her sidearm should have been.  But those hadn’t been issued for this mission, she realized.

“Tred!  Tred, come in!”

“Lieutenant!  Are you all right?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she replied.  “Was that you?”  It hadn’t sounded like Tred, but she couldn’t be sure.

“No!  I thought it was you, but it sounded human . . .”

It certainly hadn’t sounded like a Dessei.  “Scan the station.  Confirm we’re alone-“

The door to the bridge opened, and a man she had never met before stepped on.

She stared at him, and he stared back, shock making them both pause.

“Who are you?” she demanded, snapping back to reality.

The man said nothing, taking a hesitant step back.  His uniform was SU, but her system provided no information on him.

“Identify yourself,” she said, taking a step towards him.

The man panicked and ran.

“Stop!” she ordered, chasing after him.

She thought she could catch him, but as she followed him down the curving tunnel everything distorted.

It felt like the air was knocked out of her.  She staggered – but the other man kept going, opening a hatch and jumping through.

Trying to get back into stride, she stumbled to the last point she’d seen him.  He’d gone deeper into the station, where the gravity was lower.

The room was almost empty, with just a glass meeting table in the center.  There was nowhere to hide.

She queried the system to give her data on the opening and closing of doors to hopefully track the man.

“The door across the room has not been opened for six years,” the system informed her.

But the man had come in here, and there was no other way out.  Yet he was not here.

“Locate all individuals on the station,” she ordered.

A list came up.  It was just her and Tred.

---

< Ep 3 Part 31 | Ep 3 Part 33 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

---

It has been two days since I dispatched Response Team One to violate the Exclusion Zone around the Terris System.

Dr. Verena Urle has communicated with me very sparely since my action.  I know that she is no longer capable of feeling hurt or insult, and so she must instead simply be unsure of my judgment or unable to trust me.

I regret that, but I still believe it was a necessary move.

Michal Denso’s condition has remained mostly the same; his mass has continued to increase, but at a slow rate.

I have attempted to speak to Ambassador Kell regarding the situation, but the being has refused to respond to any message I send nor open its door.  I am hesitant to press my luck with him again on this matter.

There is nothing I can do but wait.

The time has not been unproductive, however.  We’ve gotten many of the cloning vats we confiscated from New Vitriol transferred to the care of the doctors on MS-29.  Thus far, their prognosis for the clones has been better than we hoped, and they now estimate that as many as 60% will survive.

It will not be long before the oldest of them comes into this world.

As well, we have been welcoming aboard the thousands of people from the Medical Station who will be leaving with us.

The ship is beginning to feel crowded.

---

The last of the crawlers went through the door, and Sulp let out a relaxed sigh.  “That’s it,” he said, grinning.  “Once that line gets off the ship, we’ll be done with this whole mess.”

“I will be very pleased once the last of them are receiving proper care,” Dr. Y replied.  “Your description of it being a mess is due to the spillage and biological waste, I presume?”

Sulp grunted.  “Just don’t like them being on the ship.  No fault of theirs, but all the same.”  He turned and marched away, towards his office.

Dr. Y waited patiently, running simulations on various meanings of the man’s words based on his knowledge of the man.

Spacerfolk like his – who lived in the void in caravan fleets and never called a star their home – were often considered quite callous by outsiders.  But he knew from a great number of sociological studies that these hardnesses, and especially their manner of speech that seemed to place lives in low value were only coping mechanisms in their culture for the elevated mortality rates.

Humans often needed to devalue the dead to cope with the numbers lost.  An unfortunate thing, but psychologically understandable.

Still, perhaps the man simply was uncaring.  He was known for being incredibly rude to many, at least by normal standards of behaviour, and-

“Doc,” Sulp said, shoving a small box at him.  “Make sure Dr. Urle gets these.  Or whoever’s in charge of the vat kids.”

Y took the box.  They were slips of paper with common spacer names on them.

“What is the provence of these?” he asked.

“They’d been stuck to a lot of the tanks,” Sulp explained, taking out a cigar from his pocket and putting it in his mouth.

“Commander, to inhale smoke fumes is supremely unhealthy.  While I can replace damaged lungs, I’d much prefer not to have to-“

“Just the once, doc.  I need it.”  Sulp’s voice was softer than normal.

Full of emotion, Y thought.  Yes, his simulations agreed; the man was weighed down with feelings.

Dr. Y analyzed that; not in terms of quantifying it, but taking it as true and extrapolating from there.

Cloning was a very deep taboo among spacers; though sometimes desirable, it rarely went well.  He scanned over the report Pirra had given to Cenz and hence been shared to his department, regarding Sulp’s comments about it.

“So these are the names of the clones,” Y said, looking into the box.  There were two-hundred and forty-seven slips.

“Yep,” Sulp replied.

Taking one in his hand, Y looked over the text.  The name Gres was written sloppily on the paper.  It was crinkled in spots that made it seem to have gotten wet.  He analyzed the surface; was it spilled nutrient fluids?  If so it was likely crawling with bacteria . . .

But no.  There was a higher salinity than expected.  Mostly water traces with lipids and proteins-

Ah, yes.  He understood.

Below the names, he saw, in neater writing, a tube number.  It was Sulp’s handwriting.

“I will make sure that these get to the clones they came from,” Dr. Y said.

“You do that, doc.  I’ll be grateful.  I bet Lieutenant Pirra will be, too.”

Dr. Y looked to the pile again.  The odds on these clones surviving had risen.  But 40% of them would still likely go unused, if they were distributed evenly.

He hated that, he realized.  Rarely in his existence had he found he hated anything, not even biological beings who feared and distrusted AIs.

But he hated it when he could not save a life.

“It is unfortunate Pirra is not here to say goodbye,” he commented.

“Better she isn’t,” Sulp growled, turning and walking away.

Standing a moment and sifting the names, committing them all to memory, Dr. Y then turned and left the empty room as well.

---

< Ep 3 Part 29 | Ep 3 Part 31 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

---

The equatorial ring of the Craton never slept.  With her population in the tens of thousands, there were always some awake and about, no matter the hour.  The ship kept a 24-hour day/night cycle, but even late at ‘night’, when the lights dimmed and the great screens overhead showed a night sky, people were enjoying the amenities of the ship.  It was noticeably fewer than in daytime, and the dimmed lighting lent it the feel of an evening, but that was all.

Dr. Verena Urle had gone nearly halfway around it, seeking to just walk and exhaust herself, before she realized she was being followed.

Her system did not recognize the man.  He was neither a member of the Craton‘s complement, nor from the Medical Station.  He was not even one of the recent people who boarded the ship from the Begonia system.

That left only one option.

Stopping, she turned to face him.  “Ambassador,” she said politely.

The man continued towards her, stopping just a few feet away.  “Good evening, Doctor.”  His hair, that had been a dull brown, turned green.

“I was under the impression that your people kept their hair green to allow us to know who you are,” she said.

“It is a courtesy,” Kell replied.  “Not a promise.”

“Is there a reason you were following me?” she asked.

“You wished to find me, and so I presented myself.  I am not adverse to talking to you.”

Unless Zachariah had told the Ambassador, there was no way he should know about her interest.  But seeing as he did, his answer made some sense – it served her purposes to play along for now.

“I see,” she replied.  “You are correct.  I do wish to speak with you.”

“Ask your questions,” Kell told her flatly.  He blinked; a slow deliberate action.  It seemed practiced at appearing fully human in such behaviours most of the time; she wondered if it made this conscious error to appear less human or if it was truly distracted from its . . . performance.

“When I first met you on the Medical Station, I was surprised by my lack of reaction to you.  It is very common, as I understand – and as well, there was something about you that was . . .”

“Familiar,” Kell supplied.

“Precisely put,” Verena said.  “Why is this, Ambassador?  At first I believed that perhaps it was your shape itself.  That you replicated someone famous.  But that does not fit; I have run your appearance through multiple databases and found nothing.”

Kell arched his eyebrow.  “Perhaps we should walk as we speak.  There are many around.”

She considered, then nodded.  Curious that the being should wish to walk; part of her thought his desire bespoke a discomfort; the adrenal urge to flight.

But he was not human.  Perhaps Shoggoths had similar patterns of behaviour, but she did not know.

They took a turn that brought them into one of the ship’s gardens.  The green oasis in the ship was both a garden for making fresh food for the populace as well as helping morale; seeing the plants and water served to calm many.  Fish swam in some ponds, and though they could theoretically be eaten they largely served to simply help make the system more natural and appealing.

Water, though, she noted.  Shoggoths were aquatic beings, she understood.  Another comfort for the Ambassador, perhaps?

She did not give voice to that question, though.  She had more important information to acquire.

“Can you tell me why you seem familiar to me?” she asked.

Kell had fallen into step beside her, and glanced to her.  “Your kind are always asking us questions.”

“Doctors?” she asked.  “And it should be noted that you came to find me.”

“It was merely an observation, and I meant humans.  The alien beings sometimes ask questions, but humans do so more than any.”

“So you will answer my question, then,” she replied.

“First I would like to make a statement; do you understand why my kind are so bothered by the endless questions?”

“No,” she admitted.

“Because we do not ask each other questions.  We have been the only beings we . . . communicate with, for a very long time.  And we do not even have a way to ask a question.”

“That is intriguing,” she admitted.  “How, then, do you impart information?”

“When two Shoggoths touch, we share our knowledge.  It is not a willful event, but the inevitable result of contact.  Thus, among my kind the only way that one might keep a secret is by . . . isolation.”

“I see.  I must guess then, either your people accept that all information is shared or else you are all very hermetic.”

“A mix of both.  Anything one of us knows will be shared between all of the rest of us eventually.  the amount of time does not matter, because it will be known and we will all still be alive for the repercussions.”

“This would seem to suggest you would be more open with your information, rather than your . . . notable lack of interest in answering our questions.”

“The structure is strange.  And your kind – you can keep secrets.  I have told Zachariah Urle before that my kind do not lie.  It is something of a lie in itself; we are more than capable of the act, but we choose not to, even to your kind.  If any of us did, it would become known among us.”

“And you would disapprove of that?” she asked.

“In a sense – yes,” he answered.

“So because you are unaware of lying ever being done you assume that it will never be done,” she said, touching her chin thoughtfully.

Kell hesitated before answering.  “I suppose that would be correct.”

“Given how your universe has changed in the last few months, can you really be certain that none of your kind are lying right now?  They may not care of the ramifications – or they may decide to avoid others of their kind for all of the rest of their lives.”

Kell scowled.  “I do not believe that.”

“Nevertheless, you cannot prove it is wrong at this moment,” she observed.

“This is another reason I dislike questions.  Your kind immediately run with them and then pose more.”

“That is what our circumstances have dictated we become,” she noted.  “But we have digressed from my original question.  How do we know each other, Ambassador?  Because I feel certain I have met you before – some way, some how.  There is a familiarity about you that is . . . were I capable of feeling it, I would likely describe as terrifying.”

Kell stopped and turned to face her.  She mirrored him.

“You have met something like me,” he replied.

The words hung in the air, distant voices and the burble of flowing water the only sounds.

“At Terris,” she said.

“Yes,” Kell replied.  “That is the connection you feel.  I both am and am not like the beings you call Leviathans, just as I both am and am not like other life from Earth.”

She looked away.  Adrenaline was flowing through her body, she realized; her heart rate was up.  But she felt nothing; her body’s automatic reactions had kicked on, but her mind could not process the information.

It was the closest she had come to feeling in years.  But it was not the real thing, it was only a mockery of true emotion.

Kell was watching her carefully, and she saw an emotion on his face; sadness, she recognized.  But why?  At one time she might have understood, but right now she didn’t know why he would feel sad when she felt so hollow.

“I cannot help you, doctor.  I am sorry, but . . . I do not know how to heal others.”

“But you see the damage?” she asked.

“Yes,” he told her.  “It is . . . not damage, not per se.  A part of you has changed, and it cannot be changed back.  I saw this, from the moment I met your daughters.”

She looked up to him sharply.  “My girls?  You saw this change in them?”

“Yes and no.  There is a connection between you and them – they came from you and the connection between you all is strong.  When you were changed, so were they – in a lesser way.”

Her mind was racing with this new information.  She should not be taking the word of any being without proof, but she found that she could not disbelieve him.  Even besides his claim of not lying, his words simply spoke to something . . . real.  Something that she could not quantify, but believed.

“It will not cause them harm,” Kell told her.

“But it’s why they did not have a reaction to meeting you, isn’t it?” she asked.  Getting the words out were difficult; she felt nothing, but her body was reacting with a weakness that she could no longer understand.

“I believe so.  What you encountered at Terris was something of a scale that dwarfs my existence, its effects so profound that . . .”  Kell trailed off.

“What?” Verena asked.

“I have said enough on the topic.  You understand the ramifications well enough,” Kell replied.

Verena took a moment to try and calm herself.  Her heart was still pounding in her chest, and she felt clammy.

“I can understand now why Captain Brooks holds your word in high regard,” she said.  “Are you aware that he has sent a mission to the Terris system?”

“A prudent move,” Kell replied.  “Just as a thread exists between you and the Leviathan of that system, a far stronger one is between it and the being you call Michal Denso.”

“We have never seen a reaction like this before.  Are there others who are just as affected?  Is everyone who was at that battle connected to it in a way?”

“In their own way.  It will manifest differently in each individual.”

“Captain Brooks told me that you believe we should destroy Denso.  Do you stand by that?”

Kell nodded emphatically, a single sharp gesture.  “Yes.  You must destroy it.”  His eyes closed, and his head hung, as if a great weight lay upon him.

“While you still can.”

---

< Ep 3 Part 28 | Ep 3 Part 30 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

---

“Verena, come in,” Zach said.

“I apologize for being late,” Verena said.  Zach tried to look past her flat tone and just accept the meaning he knew it had.

But she was almost an hour late.  That was too long for children to wait, and they’d started eating a half hour earlier.

Now, as they were enjoying dessert, Verena finally sat down.

Urle had hardly eaten, his food just moved around on its plate.  Verena took a bite of her chicken, making no comment on it.

“It is good to see you, girls,” she said.

“Hi, mom!” Persis said.

“Hi, mom,” Hannah echoed, with much less energy.  Her sweet pickles sat on her plate, and she poked at them.

“Go ahead and finish your dessert,” Zach told them.  “Your mom and I have something exciting to tell you.”

“Ooh, what is it?” Persis asked, grinning.

Hannah looked alarmed.  Her eyes went from her father to her mother and back, but she said nothing.

“Let’s not spoil it right away,” Verena said.  “First I have some presents for you girls. And then I would like to hear about how you’ve been and what you’ve been up to.”

“Yay, presents!” Persis said, hopping up and running over.

“Don’t forget to finish your- ah, it’s fine,” Zach said.  They’d eaten dinner already.  Getting them to finish everything was always a challenge, but since Verena had been coming he’d picked things he knew they loved the most.  It had worked for Persis, but Hannah had been moody all evening.

The gifts Verena gave them were pendants of dolphins – the girls had always loved them, and wanted to see them in person.

“Thanks so much!” Persis said.  Hannah said nothing until Persis elbowed her.

“Ah – thanks mom,” she said.

Urle tried to hide his concern.  His eldest daughter had been in a funk since she’d learned they were coming here.

It was hard to blame her.  She’d been five when Verena had been changed, old enough to remember it – at least somewhat.  And her mother going missing for months had definitely been an ordeal for her.

Even after they’d met her again – Verena had barely reacted to them.

She had changed a lot since then, he thought.  Now she was reacting to the girls in every way she should – albeit flatly.  That was at least better than at first.

“This is my Tedian Moon Fluff, her name is Penelope,” Persis said, holding the little fake pet.

“Ah, I see.  I have not heard of those,” Verena admitted.  “Is it actually alive?”

“No.  It’s just a machine but I still think it likes me,” Persis said.  “I mean, machines can be people too, right?  Like Dr. Y.”

“That is true, but this is not as advanced as Dr. Y,” Verena told her.  “It seems cleaner than a hamster, though, so I am glad.”

She looked to Hannah.  “Do you have a Moon Fluff as well?”

“Yes,” Hannah replied.

“What did you name yours?” Verena asked.

“I named him Genocide,” Hannah said, still poking at her pickles.

Zach sputtered and nearly choked on his food.  “Hannah!  You did not name it genocide!”

“I did!” Hannah snapped.

“That’s a horrible name,” he replied.  “Why would you do that?”

“Because everything is horrible!” she yelled, jumping up.  “You said mom was here, but that’s not mom!  She’s as real as the moon fluff – just a weird thing that looks like it’s alive!”

Zach was too shocked for words.  He looked to Verena – and saw that she was looking at Hannah as if she was an interesting experiment instead of her daughter having a meltdown.

“Go to your room,” Verena said calmly.  “And let out your emotions in there if you need to, Hannah.  Your father and I will be out here.”

“I hate you!  You’re nothing to me!” Hannah yelled.  She ran towards her room, a loud sob coming from her as she disappeared.

Zach rose to his feet swiftly, but Verena grabbed his wrist.

“Let her calm down for a time,” she suggested, before looking down to Persis.  “Are you okay?” she asked her youngest daughter.

The girl nodded.  “I think I’ll go to my room, too,” she said softly.

After she was gone, Zach slumped into his seat.  “That could have gone better,” he muttered.  “We didn’t even get to bring up your idea . . .”

“I am not surprised.  Children are emotional.  I know it is unfair, but I believe it would be better if you spoke to her after this.  I do not feel that she will be willing to open up to me,” Verena replied calmly.

And Zach knew that Verena probably had no idea what she should say, either.  He nodded.  “I’ll do that.”

“Before I go, there is something else important I need to ask you about,” Verena continued.  She reached into her bag and took out a pad.

“Tell me what you know about the Shoggoth Ambassador.”

Zach sat up.  “What?”

“Kell, it is called.  I understand you’ve interacted with it on numerous occasions.  I’d like to know more about it,” Verena said.

“You want to talk about Kell?” Zach grunted.  “Verena, I’m not sure this is the time to-“

“I know that emotions are high – surely for you as well.  But I need to know more – this is important, Zachariah.”

Urle stared at his ex-wife for a long moment.  The woman still seemed completely calm and collected.

“What do you want to know?” he asked wearily.

“What does the ambassador tell you about its past?”

“Nothing,” Urle said.  “We’re not close, Verena.  He’s spoken to me a few times and I’ve spoken to him.  I’m not particularly comfortable around him.”  He paused.  “Though that has been getting better recently.”

“Yes, I understand ‘Shoggoth Shock’ is very common – some say universal.  However – I did not have that reaction,” she told him.

“Okay.  Well, I’ve actually seen that before,” he said.  “The girls never seemed bothered by him.  They’ve even met him up close and they were . . . well, they seemed just very curious about him.”

Verena leaned forward pensively.  “The girls?  Has anyone else had such a mild reaction?”

“Not that I can think of,” Urle replied.

She thought for a moment.  “Zach, whose body is he using?”

“What do you mean?”

“His form – it is a very detailed recreation of a human.  Is it a specific person?  If so, who?”

“I . . . don’t know, to be honest,” Zach replied.  He’d never thought about it before.  “Why?”

Verena studied his face, hesitating a moment.  It made Zach uncomfortable in a strange way; the woman no longer felt any nervousness, so why was she waiting?

“When I met the Shoggoth for the first time, I felt that I had met it before,” she said.  “I did a search to see if I could match its form to anyone I have met – it occurred to me it might take a shape familiar to strangers.  But my searches turned up nothing.”

“Then perhaps he just invented a person,” Urle suggested.

“If so, then its ability to mimic the human form is so much better than we anticipated.  His body displays healed scars, small asymmetry at a deep level, and even puts out the chemical signals of early osteoporosis.  Why would it go through so much trouble to recreate these signs?”

Urle hesitated.  “Dr. Cenz has reported before that he even has a full organ system.  It’s . . . mysterious, but I’ve never questioned it deeply.”

“I am,” Verena replied.  “Zach, there is a situation on the station.  I cannot go into details, but I am concerned that it may . . . escalate.”

Zach felt the back of his neck prickle.  “What do you mean?”

“I cannot tell you details.  But I must inform you that there is the potential of a threat.  I do not know how large.  If it was large enough, I cannot guarantee it will not endanger this station.”

“Do you and the Captain have it under control?” he asked.

“No,” she replied.

“How can I help?”

“By promising me something, Zachariah.  Promise me that if I tell you to take the Craton and flee you will do it.  You will not attempt a rescue of anyone on the station.  Just take yourself and our children – and flee far away.”

Zach slumped back in his seat.  He was quiet a long time.  “Like at Terris,” he said.

He could see her eyes darting back and forth.  He knew that her body still sometimes acted in an excited state; adrenaline pumping, heart rate up.  But she could feel nothing all the same.  Her body still knew even if her mind didn’t.

“Like at Terris, my priority is for my family to be safe,” she said.  “You did the right thing then.  If it comes to it, Zach – do the right thing again.”

Zach closed his eyes, tipping his head forward.

“I promise, Verena.  For the girls, I promise.”

---

< Ep 3 Part 27 | Ep 3 Part 29 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

---

“Do you come to the lounges often?” Apollonia asked her, putting her elbows on the table and leaning forward.  She found herself doubting it; people in here seemed to be loosening up a lot; she saw officers of the ship laughing it up, some were even dancing in an open area.

Jaya didn’t look anymore the dancing type than Dr. Y.

But then, what did she know?

“No,” Jaya said.  “Occasionally, but not often.  I came here today to find you, actually.”

“Ah,” Apollonia replied unenthusiastically, finishing the last of her watery drink.  She thought about asking Jaya if she’d order her another, but decided not to push it.  An officer on the ship she trusted slightly more, but the real question was how much of a stickler for the rules the woman was.

“I wish to know if you have decided whether to accept commission aboard the ship yet,” Jaya continued.

“Dunno,” Apollonia replied, looking into her empty cup.

“It is something you should be giving a lot of attention to,” Jaya pushed.

“Let me ask you, Commander – if I was under your command, what would you order me to do?  Everyone else has been stressing how little they will demand of me, but you – you seem the type to demand.  So what would it be?”

Jaya chuckled.  “My, you do have a good read of me, Ms. Nor.  But yes, I do have an idea; I would order you to go back onto the Chain.  That is what you wished to know, I presume?”

“Yeah,” Apollonia replied.  “But you don’t know what it’s like to do that.”

“No, I do not,” Jaya responded.  “But were you under my command, I would order you anyway.  Because there is a very good reason for such an order to be given.”

Apollonia grimaced, slowly leaning back in her seat.  “I have an idea.”

“Then you understand why it matters.”

“I don’t think it’ll do any good,” she replied.  “It’s just torture.  Walking into a field of rusty bayonets.  Do you really need me on the other side?”

Jaya studied Apollonia carefully, taking in the details of the woman.  Sizing her up.  “Quite possibly.  But let me ask you, Ms. Nor – do you know why those very disturbing medical cases are in the Chain?”

“I was told about the battle,” Apollonia replied.  “A lot of people died.”

“Yes.  People die in the line of duty, and they do so willingly.  Do you know why?”

“I’m not an officer,” Apollonia replied.  “I don’t mean to be callous, but I don’t understand why they do it, no.  I really can’t understand it at all.”

She waved across the room.  “I came out here hoping to see a reason.  Everything looks great here.  It’s so suspiciously nice that I just can’t make myself believe it.  Is there something in the water, I keep wondering?  But I don’t see it.  I just see everyone living their lives, doing their jobs like they don’t have a care in the universe.  I wish I could feel that, but I don’t.  I look around, and even though everything looks great I can’t make myself care.  I literally can’t.”

“The best officer I ever knew died in the line of duty,” Jaya said, out of the blue.  “He was the Chief of Engineering on a ship that suffered a catastrophic failure of its zerodrive while in zerospace.  Despite a radiation leak in the affected section, he entered and solved the problem in time to save the ship.”

Apollonia sat up straighter, putting her glass down on the table.

“When the Captain of his vessel gave him the order, this young officer went off without hesitation.  Some reports even say he was smiling, and I think it might be true.  I can tell you why he did it.  Would you like to know?”

“Yes,” Apollonia replied.  Her mouth felt dry.

“Because he was the one who could.  For years after I learned of what happened I hated that this brave young officer was ordered to his death.  But eventually, I understood; this young man did not want to die.  He would have fought with all his might to live, were it only affecting him.  But in this case, he calmly walked to his death because he knew no one else could save the five thousand crew members of his vessel.  His Captain made the correct choice when he chose him for the task.  It was not an easy choice to make.”

Jaya stared at her, and Apollonia felt small.  She looked down into her glass to avoid the other woman’s eyes.

“Sounds like a real good guy,” she replied weakly.

“If you were under my command, I would order you onto the vessel because we have a situation and you may be the only one who can do something about it.  I do not know that – I only suspect.  Likewise, you do not know if you will be truly harmed by going in.  There are many things we do not know, and right now we need to know.”

“So I should be happy to sacrifice myself for everyone else,” Apollonia replied.  “It sounds nice.  Really poetic – be a hero.  But I don’t know that I am a hero, Jaya.”

“The question is not if you think you are willing to sacrifice, Ms. Nor.  The question is ‘what kind of person do you want to be?’  We all die.  We do not always get to choose how.  When that officer on the ship walked to his death smiling, I believe he was smiling because he knew he had chosen his fate.  He had been given the power of choosing how he faced death, and he chose a way that was meaningful to him.”

Jaya finished speaking and took a deep breath.  Taking her drink, she knocked it back and then put the glass down on the table.

“You have a choice, Ms. Nor.  It is your choice, and it is an important one.  I hope that by tomorrow morning you will inform me that you have made a decision.”

Apollonia watched the other woman as she stood.  As she walked away, Apollonia called out to her.

“Commander Yaepanaya,” she said.  “Who was that officer to you?”

Jaya stopped and looked back at her calmly.

“He was my brother.”

---

< Ep 3 Part 26 | Ep 3 Part 28 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

---

“I trust, Captain Brooks, that you have a very good explanation for what has just happened,” Verena asked him.

She had appeared in his office via an augmented reality feed in front of his desk, projected by his system.  It was almost completely convincing, only the slightest of blurring around the edges of her body.

Brooks knew she would not be blinded by pride or insult or annoyance.  Anything he said would be analyzed dispassionately for flaws.

She wasn’t even angry; anger he could have handled better.

“I sent a mission to the Terris System,” he replied.  “My best Response Team.  They will investigate the last known position of Michal Denso’s cruiser and its current position.”

Verena asked immediately; “Why?”

“Because Michal Denso has spoken repeatedly of home.  And to him, I believe that this means the Sunspot.”

“What is your reasoning for this?”

“Ambassador Kell feels certain that the Terris system is the home Denso is talking about, and it is our only potential lead – I will forward you my report on the meeting.  Since they can’t go searching the entire system, they’re just going to check the ship and send some probes towards the star to get long-term readings on it, then report back to us.”

He sent the file, and Verena glanced away for a moment.  “Hold, Captain.”

She looked back to him.  “This suspicion of the Ambassador’s does not justify the risk you have put your team into, Captain – nor does it come close to justifying violating the exclusion zone around the Terris System.”

“Respectfully, Admiral-Doctor, it was my prerogative,” Brooks replied.  “You had no team capable of performing this operation.”

“I do not understand why this was performed with secrecy at all,” she replied.  “You could have told me.”

“Would you have let me?” he asked.

“Not on my current information, Captain.”

“I predicted as much.  But this was my call.”

“It places your team in jeopardy,” she replied.  “For medical reasons it was an unsound decision.  How do you justify this?”

“I’ve invoked Executive Action Command 1.”

She shook her head.  “This was unwise of you, Ian.”

“Nevertheless, it is done.”

Verena looked him over as if studying him anew.

She couldn’t have her feelings hurt, he thought.  But she realized that she had misjudged him.

“My memories tell me that you will be honest when I ask you; do you truly believe that this mission was important enough to risk those lives?  And while less important, to betray my trust in this way?”

Brooks felt a surge of pain in his chest as guilt gnawed at him.  Going behind her back had wronged her, and there was no way around it.

As strongly as he felt he had chosen right, he owed it to her and to his team to question his own motives.  It was not the first time he had done it, but he considered the facts carefully.

“I do,” he re-affirmed, both to her and himself.

She nodded.  “I am no longer capable of anger, Captain, but I believe this situation would warrant it.  As much as I trust your judgment, I feel that this was a pointless and foolish risk.”

He could only take her critique solemnly.  “I’m sorry you feel that way, Doctor.”

“But let us move back onto the matter at hand; as you have said, whether I agree or not, this mission has been launched.  And you believe it will give us some kind of vital information.”

“That is correct.  We may learn nothing – I think that’s the likely outcome.  But there is a chance – at least some chance, that it may be much more serious than that.”

“How so?”

He took a deep breath.  “Denso’s connection to Terris, his changes, the fact that Kell says he is no longer a human.  We know almost nothing about the Leviathan there since it went into the star.  We also know nothing of their kind – how they communicate, how they travel long distances, how they reproduce.  Or even if they reproduce.  They defy physics as we know them in most ways.”

That piqued her interest.  “And what is it that you’re afraid of, Captain?”

“That Michal Denso is not a man anymore.  But that he has become something of a carrier for the egg of a Leviathan.  And if so, if he turns into something like that . . .”

He trailed off.  There was little need to describe the outcome of such an event.

Verena was silent for a long moment.

“I shall consider on this, Brooks.  But I am not yet convinced.”

Her image disappeared.

---

< Ep 3 Part 24 | Ep 3 Part 26 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

---

“Since the aftermath of the Battle of Terris, the system has been closed to all traffic,” Caraval told them.  “That you all know.  But what I’m about to tell you is that most everything else you know about the place is hearsay and rumor.”

Pirra felt a thread of nervousness worming through her stomach.

Every spacer in the Sapient Union, and she figured most outside of it, had that reaction to the name.  To bring it up was unlucky, or if one was less prone to a quirk like superstition, reminded them all of the fragility of their existence in space.

The year before she’d joined the Voidfleet Academy, she had seen leaked footage of the battle.  A battleship, that commentators had identified as the Aldebaran Luminous, split open down its length, its two halves travelling at different angles from each other as if nothing was amiss.

The cross-section had been so neat as to let the layout of floors and equipment be easily visible.  The reactor, still glowing like a miniature sun, had even still been functioning.  The crew were infinitesimal specks, but at that point were already believed to have been dead – or at least unaware of themselves.

Hopefully.

That the ship kept functioning for some time after separating had been theorized by many in the comments to be a sign that it was not truly split, but that each half had been simply existing in a different time and state.

“Pirra?” she heard a soft voice ask.  It was Tred.

She blinked.  “Yes?” she asked, looking to him and trying to cover her own feeling of shame.  Iago had still been talking, and she had spaced out.

“. . . there are no monsters in the system.  Scouts have come in and out with clear bills of health multiple times.  The vast majority of runs are wholly unexciting, and frankly I expect that to be the case this time as well.”

“Majority?” someone asked.  “Do some have problems?”

“It’s nothing we need worry about.  We’re not going deep into the system – just to the outskirts, to the last known position of the Sunspot.  Both then, and its present position.”

“Are you all right?” Tred asked her quietly.

The man looked concerned, looking over her carefully, and it made her self-conscious.

“I’m fine,” she replied defensively.

The man looked a little stung and turned away quickly.

“Our first stop, though, will be at the primary monitoring station for this area around the system – Monitor 1 or M1 going forward.  That’s where we’re going to drop our engineer and a supervising officer.  They’ll launch probes using its dashgate to spots along the wreckage path of the Sunspot from the last eight years.”

---

Tred’s eyes widened as Caraval mentioned his role.

“You won’t have to go into the system,” Pirra told him, hoping it might make him feel better.

“What will I be doing there, exactly?” Tred asked Caraval.  “I’m not a drone controller.”

“Your job will just be to perform regular maintenance on the system – confirm that the reactor is operating as it should.”

“Isn’t the station manned?  I’ve always heard it was manned,” Tred asked.

“It . . . was.  But there were issues and it was decided to pull all personnel out and let it operate on computer control.”

“How long has it been unmanned?” Pirra asked.

“Six years,” Caraval noted.

“When’s the last time the system underwent maintenance?” Tred asked worriedly.

“Eight months ago,” Caraval told him.

Tred sat back in his seat.  Eight months!  No reactor should go that long without human oversight!  Sure, on paper and in sense of safety it’d be fine, but the efficiency would almost certainly have degraded significantly.  And the neutron flow injectors!

Iago Caraval seemed ignorant of Tred’s horror, however.  “Lieutenant Pirra, you’ll be in charge of that operation.”

That announcement pulled Tred out of his shock.  Of all the members of the Response Team, he was pretty sure that Pirra disliked him the most.  He glanced to her, trying to not draw much attention, but her large eyes flickered over to him anyway.  Her expression did not change, though; she seemed entirely neutral on her assignment.

He looked away quickly.

---

As the run-through of their mission and assignments ended, Iago looked over them all – but his eyes lingered on her.

“If there are any questions pertaining to the mission, go ahead and ask.”

Pirra raised her hand to speak, but Iago continued.  “If you have any questions pertaining to your specific assignments, talk to me on a private channel.”

No one had any other questions, and Pirra clicked into the private channel.

“Sir-” she began.

“I know what you’re going to ask, but you are on the monitoring station assigment,” Iago said.

She wanted so very badly to demand why.  But that was not how one was supposed to address a superior officer, even if they were also a close friend.

She settled on just asking, politely.

“May I ask why I’ve been relegated to this task, sir?  I’m not a drone specialist.  Wu or Enerson might be better qualified.”

“It’s an easy assignment, Pirra,” Iago replied.  “You’re more than qualified.”

“Yes, sir.  Permission to speak freely, sir?”

Her commanding officer sighed.  “Go ahead.”

“Why would you trap me on a station alone with Engineer Tred?  No offense to him, sir, but he’s difficult and he’s . . .  he’s . . .”  How did you politely say someone was bothersome as dead air?

“I know he’s difficult, but this was my call and I want you to sit out the exciting part of this mission, Pirra,” Iago told her.  “You’ve been put into the most dangerous position on each of your last assignments – and your last one was supposed to be part of your vacation time.  No, this time I want you in the background.”

A dozen potential replies went through Pirra’s head, but she knew Caraval.  The man didn’t ground people easily; he was spooked.

And hadn’t she been?  It was true that she’d been through the wringer the last few times.

She wanted to argue, to convince Caraval around to her point of view.  But it would be abusing her rank to get someone busted down into this task.  None of the Response Team would look forward to spending days just regulating an automated drone launcher and being alongside Tred.

She glanced to the man, and he suddenly looked awkward, trying not to meet her eyes.  Nothing was really wrong with the man, he was competent and he came through.

But regardless of how long this mission actually took, it was going to feel a whole lot longer.

---

< Ep 3 Part 23 | Ep 3 Part 25 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

---

“Response Team One has been launched,” Ji-min Bin’s voice came through his system.

Brooks had been monitoring the launch from his office.  He would get a call soon, he knew.

His door chimed, and he saw it was Jaya.

“Enter,” he said.

She came in and saluted.  “Captain, I need to talk to you.”

Part of him wanted to ask if it was important; it was not likely to be as important as what he was waiting for.  But he’d never known Jaya to engage in hyperbole.  If she thought it was important, it surely was.

“Go ahead,” he told her.

“Ten minutes ago, I was approached by Dr. Logus,” she told him.

“Why?” Brooks asked.

“He told me of the situation that is occurring – with the patient aboard MS-29, and about your . . . proposed mission to the Terris system.”

Brooks studied the woman for a moment.  Was she here to talk him out of it, he wondered.

No, he decided.  If she agreed with Logus, she would not have come to him.

And he just did not believe she would side against him.  Not as long as he was right.

“What did you tell him?” he asked her.

“That I trusted your decision.  But I thought you should know that he-“

“Went behind my back to undermine me?” Brooks finished.  “I thought he might, in some way.”  He turned in his chair, his gaze going to the wall, but staring through it.  He should have had the man escorted to his room, now that he thought about it more.

“You needed to know, Captain, but I do not believe it was a betrayal,” Jaya continued.

With an arched eyebrow, he looked back to her.  “No?”

“You have not asked what he wished me to do,” she noted.  “With respect, Captain, in the matter of the Terris expedition you are making a sound judgment, but on the matter of Dr. Logus you are viewing the man as an enemy when he is not.”

“You just told me he went behind my back to attempt to sway my Operations officer against me.  If that’s not a betrayal, then what is?”

“He did not ask that of me, Captain.  He could have ordered me to intercede, but that was not what he was asking.  Instead, he asked me to talk to you – to help you see reason.”

Brooks suspected that even if ordered, Jaya would not have betrayed him.  Unlike Logus, she understood duty – and sacrifice.  “But you agree with me about the mission,” he said.

“I do.  But I realized that I do still need to speak with you.  You need to see reason about Dr. Logus.”

That caught Brooks off-guard.

He felt an anger rise up inside him, threatening to burst out.  To shout at the woman to leave his office for this absurdity.

But he paused, thinking about what she said.  He still felt angry, but he tried to work past it, to see through it.  He wanted to find a fatal flaw in what she said, but-

He really did not like Dr. Logus.

“How do you think I have treated the doctor unfairly?” he asked.

“You failed to convince him, Captain,” Jaya replied.  “Because I do not believe that you tried.  You are persuasive; your reasoning sound.  Dr. Logus is an intelligent man – I can see why, from his view, that he would have objected.  But you should have won him to your side.”

It was hard to argue with praise, but he could not help but try.  “I think you over-estimate me there,” he noted.

“Perhaps,” she replied.  “But in the past, you helped me to see reason when I thought I never could again.”

That he could not argue with, and he suddenly felt much older than his years.  “I’ll have to think on this, Jaya.  Thank you . . . for coming to talk to me.”

The woman nodded, and gave him a salute.  Rising to his feet, he returned it.

“Now, Captain, I understand that Apollonia Nor has been having some issues – with MS-29, and with Logus herself.  Would it be all right if I talked to her?”

Brooks was again surprised.  “If you believe you can help, then I welcome it.  Just approach cautiously.  Nor has had a lot of bad surprises in her life, and isn’t used to trusting.”

Jaya nodded sharply, and turned to leave.

As she left, Brooks sat down again to wait.  Soon, the call from Verena would come, asking him just why he had sent his people to the forbidden Terris system.

---

< Ep 3 Part 22 | Ep 3 Part 24 >