#alawr edits

[nyotasaimiri]

[another scene! Apex camp]

((On a real roll today, I had fun describing the scene and thought I’d share))

True to his word, Geo convinced the border guards to let them pass. The two guards, a burly pair of well-armed Apex, seemed to melt into existence out of the snow, making Hadley jump back and Nyota put her hand on her gun. But they took Geo at his word, after he and Arjun explained what had happened last night, and welcomed Nyota’s crew with warm smiles.

‘Anyone Geo says can fight is welcome with us. Nice to have you, ma’am! Hey, wrestle a round with me after grub tonight.’

Geo nudged the guard back onto his patrol route. ‘None of that. She is a professional, and only here for a short while. Off you go. Shameless…’

Nyota smiled behind her scarf. ‘I don’t mind it.’

Geo snorted. ‘He would, when you ground him into the snow. Bad sulk, that one. Come along, this way.’

He stepped between two snow-covered firs that looked just like all the others around them. Nyota followed, and froze in her tracks. There was no forest here. Or rather, the forest ended behind them. Instead of going on ahead, like her eyes had told her, they were in a tiny clearing just before a stone ravine.

Geo caught her eye with a small smile. ‘Impressive, isn’t it? We stole a faulty hologram generator a while back. Arjun’s friends got it working far better than we had hoped.’

‘Amazing,’ Nyota breathed. Hadley bumped into her, but she barely noticed, stepping forward after Geo like she was in a dream. ‘How has this not showed up on scans?’

‘We are well outside of the range where they risk sending soldiers to comb the whole place,’ Geo explained. He led her down a narrow crack in the ravine, onto painstakingly carved stone steps. ‘And a little broadcast interference keeps drones away. They think it is the planet’s snow storms.’

‘Clever. Incredibly clever.’ Nyota couldn’t help but feel proud of her kinsmen. It was a remarkable solution. ‘And you tell me because…?’

Geo looked back, stern and serious. ‘Because you are at my mercy the moment you stepped into my camp, and you know that. Captain Saimiri, if you had intended harm, you would have done it. The Miniknog is stretched too thin to play the long game anymore. You fought for us, fought and almost died to protect your own. Knog don’t do that. I will trust you.’

His words stuck deep inside her, sharp and warm all at once. Nyota couldn’t speak. She just nodded. It was good enough. More than good enough. Trust.

Geo led them down the path and out onto the open ravine floor. A guard in a well-hidden watchtower set into the stone wall called out to him as they passed; the echo obscured the source of her voice, and the details of Geo’s answer, but it must have been the right password because no one else challenged them.

Their path came to an end at a row of three low bunkers, just short of a small cooking fire. ‘I’m afraid I must leave you here,’ Geo said. ‘I should report in. Our leader will want to know that the bandits have been dealt with. And Arjun, you come with me, we’ll get a call in to your base so you can head right up to the Captain’s ship. Captain, I had word sent ahead to the medical tents. They will be expecting you.’

Nyota saluted him, Resistance-style, earning a surprised laugh as he returned the gesture. ‘Thank you, Geo,’ she said.

‘The pleasure is mine, sister-in-arms.’

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) // Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

(Antis/“Criticals” don't interact.)

[nyotasaimiri]

[New scene: in the Apex town]

((So I took a strange spin on “but there was only one bed”. This occurs in the Apex town before we meet Eldie, when we begin seeking the relic))

‘There’s only one bed, Captain.’ Hadley’s voice was a merciful relief from Nyota’s memories. ‘Dang, it’s big. You could get lost in these sheets. Who gets it?’

‘Hm?’ The question caught Nyota slightly off guard. She had become accustomed to the human style of a single bed for each person, but just seeing an Apex-style bedroom was enough to push six years of habit away. ‘It’s built to be shared by several,’ she said, walking over to rifle through the sheets. Never hurt to check the sheets for bugs, living or otherwise. Even with her Matter Manipulator and SAIL’s scans, old paranoia died hard.

‘Eh? Why?’

Nyota turned down the covers and started fluffing the pillows. ‘When the majority of your people live around frozen stars, it’s cheaper for the standard issue to be one bed per household, rather than per person. These sheets are paper thin, but Apex get hot when we sleep. …And it is not bad to awaken to a loved one’s fingers combing through your fur.’

Her voice grew softer as the memory surfaced. The remembered sensation was impossibly faint, but she could still imagine the echoes of her mother’s touch.

‘Ya never mentioned that before, ma'am,’ Lumen said with a thoughtful hum that matched Hadley’s curious expression. ‘Thought ya preferred to sleep by yer lonesome.’

Nyota's lips curved into a wry half-smile. ‘It felt wrong to ask. I lived on Earth for six years. ‘Sleeping together’ means something entirely different there.’ The smile widened with a low laugh as she saw Hadley’s face go pink. Still young and innocent after all, at least in some things.

‘These things are made for use by a whole family?’ Hadley asked, only stammering a little in her effort to change the topic away from her embarrassment. ‘You all fit?’

‘I know, Apex aren’t small,’ Nyota agreed with a laugh. ‘But one this size can fit perhaps six of us comfortably. Strange, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah…’ Hadley laughed and shook her head. ‘Sorry, just imagining this sort of thing with my family. It’d go sour real fast. I’ve got three big brothers, see, and only Danni’s half-decent. The other two, Teo and Ivo, they’d make Grandma real proud. Nasty pieces of work.’

‘At risk of causing offense, does that mean your grandmother was not exactly a model citizen?’ Nyota asked, looking over at her.

Hadley snorted. ‘None taken. She was the sort that gave other bandits a bad name, that’ll tell you all you need to know. Ma’s got her hands fixing it up, and it’s been decades since. Glad Danni and I take after her and not old Grandma. Can you imagine having to put up with two mean guys twice your size and you’re not allowed to let the sand wolves eat them?’

Lumen whistled. ‘Givin’ bandits a bad name? Now that sure paints a picture. Makes me kinda glad I ain’t got siblings, to hear ya tell it. Not that I’d know if I did, left home when I weren’t much older’n ya. Huh, does make ya think…’

‘Really? You seem like the homebody sort, though,’ Hadley said, poking him. ‘Are you the home-wrecker type instead? You seem real close with that Floran Namina.’

Lumen crackled at her and moved away before she could poke again. ‘None of that, now. There’s more’n two types of folks in this big world, ya know. I’m close as any medic’d be when I gotta patch someone up, that’s all.’

‘Sure, sure.’ Hadley sighed, exaggerated for effect, but let it drop. ‘But what about you, Captain? You got any siblings?’

The question pulled Nyota out of her amusement. ‘One,’ she said, voice softer than expected. ‘A little brother, eight years younger than me.’

‘So, fifty, right?’ Hadley caught her eye with a smirk.

‘Ha, no.’ Nyota let herself laugh. ‘I know my fur is grey, but I’m only twenty-eight. Honest, don’t give me that look. Did you think I was Esther’s age?’

‘No, but…’ Hadley’s jaw had dropped open. ‘Seriously? You fight like that and you’re twenty-eight? Damn, Captain! Oh, sorry. Volume. Right.’

Nyota chuckled. ‘It’s fine, there aren’t any sound bugs around. I did have good training, though. It helps.’

‘Hot damn,’ Hadley said, shaking her head. ‘Wait, so that means this little brother’s about my age. Huh, what’s he like?’

‘I don’t know.’ Nyota looked away, up at the ceiling. The wistful feeling returned, sinking its claws in around her ribs. ‘We never met.’

Hadley sensed the sobre mood this time. ‘How?’ she whispered.

The words came slowly, dredged up from old, tired pain. ‘I have not seen my parents in more than twenty years. We were… separated, when I was a little girl.’

Silence greeted that. Lumen put his hand on hers. Nyota curled her fingers around his; his hands were so small beside hers, but so warm, almost like an Apex child’s. But she did not want to linger. She was not here for herself.

‘I am going to make use of the bed,’ she said, removing her jacket and leaving it folded on the floor. The bed was new enough not to creak as she climbed in, thin sheets whispering against her fur. They still smelled of detergent and dredged up a surprising pang of nostalgia. ‘You should rest as well, wherever you please. We will have work to do later.’

Lumen just shrugged and pulled off his boots, taking the other side of the bed. Hadley stood there, uncertain and awkward, as the light dimmed down with the start of curfew. A few minutes after Nyota closed her eyes, just as she was beginning to drift off to sleep, she felt a weight settle in on her other side, and a whiff of coffee, fur, and earth joined Lumen’s scent of hot sand and whiskey.

‘Sorry,’ Hadley mumbled as she curled up against Nyota’s back. ‘You’re warm.’

[nyotasaimiri]

Heart of the Temple [new scene]

((I’m really excited--the words for this one just flowed right out. Tonauac gets a bigger role, too! Here’s what happens right before Nyota fights the Avatar of Kluex))

Nyota caught a glimpse of bright gold right before she went under, but she knew better than to stare at the mounds of treasure beneath the water. She’d seen purple in the middle of the gold. Human-shaped. So, Tonauac’s mystery guests hadn’t escaped after all.

‘Who are you?’ the cultist shouted as Nyota climbed out of the water. He took a step back. ‘You! Nox warned us about you! Are you here to stop us? It doesn’t matter anyway!’

Nyota didn’t waste time talking. She drew her sword, the solarium humming to life. The sight of it only seemed to infuriate the cultist further.

‘You dare… Get your filthy paws off our leader’s sword, ape!’

Hadley’s arrival distracted him, partially because she answered him with a blast from her shotgun. ‘You’re the filthy one, Occasus!’ she snapped. ‘Go back to the hole you crawled out of!’

‘Sympathizer!’ the cultist’s companion hissed. She didn’t get much further as Nyota’s sword bit into her. Both cultists burst into light, vanishing like the ones in the Library had.

Hadley let out a sigh of relief. ‘Thanks for that, Captain. I hadn’t noticed the other one.’

‘That was reckless,’ Nyota said, collecting the stimpaks they dropped. Red and blue. Red would be useful in case of injury, at least. The blue ones were more novelties than anything as far as she was concerned. They offered an increase to muscle output for a short time, but in legs only due to some odd error in the formula. Good for leaping tall buildings, terrible for practical exploration.

‘Sorry… I just can’t stand them. They give humans a bad name. I’ll be more careful next time,’ Hadley promised. She took the blue stimpacks and stowed them away, then accepted a red one as Nyota offered it.

‘I’m not scolding,’ Nyota told her. She put a hand on Hadley’s shoulder. ‘Your recklessness bought me time. But it could put your life in danger if I’m not here to help you. We’ll call that the first lesson, shall we? Knowledge is your best weapon. Learn all you can before leaping in.’

‘Yes, ma’am!’ Hadley produced an enthusiastic but sloppy salute.

Nyota laughed softly, shaking her head, and gently corrected her crewmate’s form. ‘There you go. Reload while we have time,’ she commanded. ‘Where there is one Occasus, there may be more. I don’t want to get caught unprepared.’

‘Right, right.’ Hadley took the moment to look around. ‘Get a load of this place though, Captain. The whole place is covered in gold. But they weren’t after that, were they? It’s not even scratched at.’

Nyota followed her gaze, raising the sword higher so she could use the solarium’s warm glow to see. ‘No, they were not,’ she replied slowly. ‘But I see a door.’

She heard the door too, or rather, the muffled voice behind it. Nyota hurried over, Hadley close behind, and the two of them managed to wrench the stone panel aside.

‘Phew, thank Kluex.’ Tonauac shook dust out of his feathers and stepped into the glittering chamber. ‘I heard talking outside and knew you must be close, but the door was quite stuck! I was afraid I would have to find another way around.’

‘It’s good to see you again.’ Nyota helped him clean off; his plumage was soft, and even denser than her fur. ‘Quite the turn of fate that you managed to find us in this maze of a Temple.’

Tonauac looked around and shook his head. ‘Oh, it was nothing short of a miracle. I know where we are. This is the Great Vault. I was brought here for my initiation, when I was a little chick.’ He indicated his childhood height, so tiny compared to his current bulk that Nyota could hardly believe it. ‘We are near the most sacred heart of the Great Sovereign Temple.’

Some of his reverence must have crept into Nyota as he spoke, because she could feel the weight of ages then. Not the stifling dust of years long passed, but a silence, a stillness, like eternity holding its breath. And a raw thrum of power in that endless moment. But then it was gone. No, not gone. Close. It echoed and tickled at her—it felt almost like the moment in the Hunting Grounds when she touched the Bone, in the Library when she held the Mirror.

‘Are you quite alright?’ Tonauac’s feathery hand warmed her shoulder and snapped her back into focus. ‘Oh. You feel it too, don’t you?’

‘Where is the heart of the Temple, Tonauac?’ Nyota breathed.

He did not hesitate. ‘This way. I can see it now, you were brought here. You should see it.’

Nyota felt Hadley’s bewildered stare on her and gave her a small nod; she hoped it was reassuring. This wasn’t something words could explain. Then she followed Tonauac through the room, past hundreds of gold-leafed carvings that had been etched into the walls by millennia of Avian priests. Tonauac gave the names of the priests as they passed, when he could remember. Much of the knowledge had been long since lost. Nyota remembered the journals they had found, and wondered if the hands that had written them had touched these walls, too.

Tonauac stopped in front of a heavy stone door. It was set with a crimson gem, like the sentry statues had been. The gem warmed and glowed at his touch. ‘Through here,’ he said, looking back at Nyota. ‘The heart is guarded, of course. But you should go in.’

‘Thank you.’ Nyota touched his hand. ‘Stay here, please. I do not want to put you in danger.’

He chuckled, a wonderful cooing sound like a massive pigeon. ‘Kluex will favour you. We will meet again soon.’

He touched the gem again and stood back to wait.

[nyotasaimiri]

[New scene: Elliott gets a friend]

After ensuring that the rest of the ramshackle camp didn’t hold anything else of interest and adding a little more durasteel to Nyota’s growing collection, the three headed further east. Bone-strewn dirt turned into dry shrubland, dotted with the occasional scraggly bush. Compared to the hemogoblins, the few balloon-like paratails that harassed them were child’s play to deal with. Namina proved to be almost as good with a rifle as he was with a sword after Nyota warned him not to get too close to the monsters. They had an unpleasant tendency to explode

‘I think Mother Nature had a bit too much of the ol’ moonshine when she made these varmints,’ Lumen said as he sniped at one and watched it blow up.

‘Remind me to never try Novakid moonshine. Hold up—stay quiet. There’s a light over there,’ Nyota said, her voice dropping to a whisper.

‘Ain’t much good sneakin’ now. Even if they missed my shootin’, them paratails make an awful bang.’

‘I know. Just trust me on this. You two stay here.’ Nyota traded her sword for her pistol and dropped into a crouch, using the sparse foliage for cover as she crept closer. Namina grinned and dragged Lumen over behind a few rocks. He knew an ambush when he saw one.

A few minutes passed. ‘Where is she?’ Lumen muttered.

Nyota was confused. Light meant people, probably bandits here. She should have heard their voices by now. Something rustled up ahead and she froze, holding as still as possible as it got closer. It wasn’t a bandit. It was some sort of scarlet fox. Its eyes gleamed ember-bright, and it carried a scent of wood-smoke in its fur as it gathered twigs into a small pile and set them alight with a little puff of fiery breath.

Nyota smiled. Fennix. This was better than bandits. The clever little creatures were found on arid planets across the galaxy; they had been tamed a long time ago by some distant, forgotten ancestor of the modern spacefaring peoples, and still kept up their ancient masters’ controlled bushfires, protecting the worlds they were left on in their own small ways. Normally, she would have been content to just watch the little animal for a while, and go around it. But she could see something around its neck, something leathery, and not normal for wild or feral fennix. Concern pricked at her, and Nyota knew she had to get a closer look.

Of course, approaching it unannounced was a quick way to earn some nasty burns. She had to earn its interest another way. Nyota fished a biscuit out of her pocket, leftovers from breakfast, and tossed a piece over.

The fennix pricked its ears up. Another unusual behaviour: a wild one might have run from her. They were carnivores, but small, occupying a little uncomfortable place between predator and prey. But it just sniffed the biscuit and found it edible instead of showing more cautious behaviour. Nyota rolled another piece over to it, and the fennix approached without fear, eating the biscuit and looking around for more. Definitely not wild. Nyota shifted in the grass to let it see her, watched as it stared back without fear, and offered the biscuit. The fennix followed without question.

Lumen jumped slightly as Nyota reappeared from the underbrush. ‘Comets ‘n horseshoes, Captain, but ya gave me a scare. What’d ya find?’

Namina perked up. ‘Time for ambusssh?’

‘Not this time,’ Nyota said, shaking her head. A few loose leaves tumbled out of her thick mane. ‘Look.’

Lumen looked down with a curious hum, just in time to see the crimson fox follow her out of the brush. His glow brightened. ‘Ain’t seen one of these lil’ fellas in a few years. And a friendly one at that!’

Namina recoiled as the Fennix approached with a surprisingly whine-like hiss. ‘Why? Fox that ssspits fire!’

‘Relax, Namina, it listens to me well enough not to spit fire at you,’ Nyota reassured him. As if to prove her point, the Fennix sat down and pawed at her boot. Nyota knelt down and fed it a small morsel of meat from her rations, rubbing its ears after it finished eating. ‘It’s clearly friendly with people. It was not at all afraid of me.’

‘Even if it wasn’t friendly, hidin’ behind me ain’t gonna do ya any good,’ Lumen told the Floran. ‘I’m smaller’n you. …I ain’t never gotten close enough to pet one like this. It’s a right special thing.’ Nyota could hear the smile in his voice as he crouched down to ruffle the Fennix’s fur.

Namina just whined again and backed up, standing near a low boulder. ‘Floran doess not like. Lotsss of fire, when Floran was ssprout… Floran does not like.’

Nyota looked up, concerned, but he didn’t elaborate and just shook his head, foliage rustling.

‘I can’t leave it here,’ she said slowly. Her fingers parted the fur at the base of the Fennix’s neck to reveal a worn, damaged collar. ‘Someone tried to tame this one, and at least part of that stuck. …Fennix are popular in the pet trade, legal and otherwise. There were courses about live contraband, back at the Protectorate. I remember reading…’

She shook her head and ignored the curious look Lumen was giving her. ‘Back to the matter at hand. People often buy Fennix because they’re cute, but overlook the small matter of them breathing fire. In their natural habitat, that’s fine, but bring it into a house and people start to object when it gathers their paperwork as ‘brush’ to burn.’

‘We can’t take it with us if it scares Fern-fangs so bad,’ Lumen said, watching Namina. ‘Did ya have a plan?’

Nyota considered the question for a few moments, then switched her earpiece on. ‘SAIL, mark this location for teleport. I’ll take the Fennix to the Outpost. Most stations like that have some manner of rehabilitation or readoption.’ She rubbed the Fennix’s ears again, a little sadly, and picked it up. It nibbled at the fur along her jaw. ‘They’ll be able to find a safe place for this little one, either with someone who knows their care, or on an uninhabited planet were it won’t wander into settlements and find trouble.’

‘Best luck, lil’ fella,’ Lumen told it, stepping back out of the way. Namina clicked his teeth together, then swallowed hard, stepped forward, and patted the Fennix once. He all but jumped back to hide behind Lumen again as Nyota’s surprised laughter vanished with her.

She felt less like laughing as she arrived at the Outpost. The Fennix behaved well for her, tucking itself into the crook of her arm, but Nyota barely felt that as her vision blurred white. It cleared again in a moment; she held to the side of the teleporter booth for a few moments more, not ready to trust gravity after that.

‘Oh, are you al—ah, Nyota.’ A sympathetic voice stopped short. ‘We do make a bad habit of this.’

Nyota looked up and managed a dizzy smile. ‘Hello, Doctor Elliott. You didn’t stick a bug in my fur, did you? Seems you always know when I’m warp-sick.’

‘Just luck, I think.’ Elliott waited for her to steady herself this time. ‘And an addiction to the market’s marvellous coffee.

‘It’s the only thing that gets him to leave his lab some days,’ a nearby local remarked drily, without looking up from her book.

‘So she says,’ Elliott agreed with a nervous smile. ‘But did you need help today, Nyota?’

Nyota straightened up properly as the dizzy spell faded at last. ‘Not with the warp-sickness, no. But you might be able to help me with something else.’

She held out the little Fennix. It blinked at Elliott and spat a little plume of smoke in greeting.

Elliott’s eyes went wide in surprise and he raised his goggles for a better look. ‘Oh my, is that what I think? Not a wild one either, if it hasn’t set either of us alight yet.’

 ‘I think someone tried making it into a pet,’ Nyota explained. She gently pulled the Fennix’s collar up a little so he could see it. ‘But the owner’s name has been removed, and this collar is quite worn. It must have been turned loose.’

Elliott sighed. ‘Probably burned the wrong paperwork… I don’t think it would be a good fit for a spaceship, though. Am I right? But it’s far too friendly and docile to do well in the wild…’

She nodded. ‘From what I have heard, illegal pet trade is a widespread problem, so most Outposts have a way to handle this.’

‘More or less.’ Elliott held out his hands, offering to take the Fennix. ‘Ours isn’t really an official way, but we tend to be good at finding them homes. My lab is pretty fireproof these days.’

Nyota gave him a look. ‘These days, you say. If you’re sure, though… I do not want to take advantage of your generosity.’

Elliott chuckled. ‘Do not worry about it. And besides… I do owe you.’

He made eye contact.

Nyota held his gaze, then handed the Fennix to him. ‘So you do remember.’

He stroked the fiery little fox as it snuggled into the crook of his arm and looked away. ‘It is hard to forget with your eyes right here to remind me. Oh, no offense meant. They’re my fault too. And, if I may be so bold, they do suit you. Ah, but…’ He touched a finger to his lips. ‘We can reminisce properly somewhere else, I think?’

Cautious Elliott. Strange, strange, but still himself… Cold, cold fear stung in her throat, knowing he knew her, but really… he was in the same situation, wasn’t he? And he had been gone even longer. ‘I think so,’ Nyota agreed. ‘Be kind to the little one. I’ll come back when I can.’

Elliott smiled and nodded. ‘Do be safe out there. I doubt the years have cured your recklessness.’

Nyota actually laughed, fear melting fully as she warmed up the teleporter again. ‘Guess.’

As the Outpost faded into the warp light, she saw his free hand move in a familiar gesture. A salute, but not Miniknog or Protectorate. The Resistance? But he vanished, and his gesture with him.

[nyotasaimiri]

[update: it is now canon that Nyota sleeps!]

Nuru sat up straight and waved as she caught sight of them. ‘Psst! Hey, Champ!’

‘Hello there.’ Nyota sat down across from her; the campfire felt marvellous after spending so long in the cold, damp Library halls. ‘I wanted to thank you for your encouragement earlier. How have you been?’

Nuru grinned toothily at her. ‘I really like it here!’ she declared. ‘Esther is teaching me sso much about things. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. Lumen told you, yeah? One of my friends from a few Hunts ago was looking for a job, and I bet you could use an extra hand now that things are getting rough.’

A new recruit? That was unexpected, but not unwelcome. ‘If you vouch for them, I’d be happy to take them on,’ Nyota said. ‘You seem to be a good judge of character, and we could certainly use another friend at our backs.’

‘Glad you agreed,’ Nuru said happily, ‘because they’re already on your ship.’

Nyota’s thoughts jumped track. ‘Oh.’

Lumen fizzed with laughter. ‘Well dang, these Floran certainly don’t waste time, do they?’

‘No, I suppose not.’ Nyota stood up again, head still empty. ‘Thank you, Nuru. I should probably go greet them.’

Nuru’s grin widened, though she was courteous enough to not laugh out loud. ‘His name’s Namina. You’ll like him, I promise.’

‘As you say.’ Nyota gave her a short, polite bow, and made for the stairs.

Lumen had to hustle to keep up with her. ‘Whoa, ma’am, I got short legs. Guess that ain’t what ya expected, huh?’

‘No, it was not. You would think I’d be used to how they work by now…’ Nyota muttered. She didn’t want to offend Nuru… but this was not ideal. ‘SAIL, kindly make sure that this mystery Floran has not gotten any ideas about ambushes before we get back.’ She remembered one too many incidents with Muthoni dropping from the ceiling, and one terrifying encounter with wild Floran before she reached Earth. No such thing as too much caution, even if Nuru said they were a friend. Floran had a very interesting sense of humor.

‘Already taken care of, Miss Saimiri,’ SAIL said, a touch smugly. ‘The unknown individual is currently locked in the cockpit, and I have temporarily disabled navigations.’

‘Good. We will be right up.’

Exhaustion made the teleportation a lot rougher on her this time. Nyota had to lean against the wall for a minute just to stop the room from spinning. Lumen touched her arm briefly with a sympathetic droning hum.

‘Need somethin’ for it, or just want me to watch yer back, ma’am?’

Nyota made a small dismissive gesture. ‘It will pass. There. SAIL, you may let our guest out now.’

SAIL beeped in confirmation.

The cockpit door clicked open and a vibrant green Floran wandered out, talons clicking lightly on the metal floor. He wore a red Protectorate uniform, probably from the ship locker. It suited him rather well. A heavy battle-hammer rested against the wall near him. Despite the nervous tension in his body, he still moved with practiced, deliberate steps.

‘Yesss? Floran wantss to work for Nuru’s friend,’ he said, shaking lemongrass-green foliage out of his dark blue eyes. ‘Which one is friend?’

‘That would be me,’ Nyota said. ‘My name is Nyota Saimiri. I am the captain of this ship.’ It felt strange, calling herself that. Esther had given her permission, but she did not feel like she had earned it. ‘You are Namina, then?’

The Floran gave her what was probably intended as a disarming smile, which made Lumen swear and put a hand on his gun. ‘Floran is Namina. Pleasssure to meet you! Floran is here for bodyguard role. Or mercenary. Okay with guns and good with big ssmashy hammers. Almost beat Nuru a few Huntsss back.’ He rubbed a small scar below his left eye, clearly proud of it.

Nyota studied him, thoughtful. Floran were harder to read than humans and Apex, but she could still feel the experience from him. ‘Did you? That is impressive. And Nuru spoke well of you. That is a mark in your favour. She seems quite the choosy type.’

Namina chuckled, a sound both reassuring and terrifying, and neither confirmed nor denied that comment.

Nyota found herself smiling again. ‘Very well, then. SAIL, update the crew log to include Namina as soldier-class. Consider yourself on a trial period for now, crewmate Namina. You will take orders from myself or First Mate Lumen.’

Namina snapped off a sharp salute. ‘Yes ma’am!’

Nyota looked around, running a few mental calculations. ‘I suppose I can’t just rely on finding random beds while exploring anymore,’ she murmured, ‘but there is no way we will fit three bunks in this little thing. Lumen, Namina, you can get acquainted while I’m gone.’

‘Where’re ya off to, Captain?’ Lumen asked.

‘I need to have a word with Penguin Pete. I’ll be back soon.’

‘Hey, ya oughta sleep—’ Lumen tried calling after her, but Nyota didn’t hear the rest as the teleporter swept her away.

The word did not go as planned. Pete took one look at her and all but ordered her into the back room of his shop, which was occupied by a worn but surprisingly comfortable old bed. ‘Go crash there before ya pass out on my floor and the boys loot your pockets,’ he told her. ‘I’ll get the details from your SAIL and crew.’

‘That’s not what—’

‘No buts, go sleep.’ Pete nudged her, with nowhere near the force necessary to budge a fully grown Apex. He didn’t seem too put off by that. ‘It’s fine, you’re not the first and won’t be the last. Hell, even that Elliott spent a few nights here before we got his lab set up.’

Even Elliott? Well… ‘Very well,’ Nyota conceded. She sat on the bed and nearly sank back into the soft mattress.

Pete graciously didn’t comment on her little hoot of surprise.

Ears pink with embarrassment, Nyota broke eye contact and made a slight show of inspecting the blanket. ‘You will let me repay you, though. I can help with whatever labour is left when I wake up.’

‘Deal. Now take a dang nap.’

[nyotasaimiri]

[new scene: The Mirror]

‘Here we are,’ Koichi said proudly as he stopped in front of a pedestal, still oblivious to the Novakid’s remarks. He took a small object off of it, and held it out for Nyota. It was small, no larger than her palm, but as soon as her hand touched it, Nyota knew it was the real deal. The silvery face of the Relic shone with its own blue light, showing her face for a moment, then all the faces she had worn, the smiles and fears and masks. It was like seeing herself from within and without all at once. Lumen, too. She saw him, and glimpsed a younger Novakid behind him, back to back. Unbowed still, untouched by some strange old sorrow. Then the vision vanished, leaving only calm, and the scent of the sea.

Koichi was still talking. ‘This is most ancient of Hylotl heirlooms,’ he explained, ‘at least, to the best of my knowledge. After all that’s happened today, I think it’s best to entrust it to you—a reward for your decency. It’s certainly not safe here,’ he added with a small grumble. ‘And I had hoped to move it anyway. The Library will need much care before it can safely house this treasure again.’

Nyota should have been shaken by the strange sight, but she was still at peace, and that tried to rattle her too. She hid the moment of weakness and gave him a tired but immensely grateful smile. ‘Thank you very much, Koichi. I’ll do my best to look after it.’

‘I’m glad I could help,’ the Hylotl replied. ‘But, um… May I come with you? This object, the artefact—I would love to know more.’

Nyota considered this, then nodded. ‘I can’t see any harm in it. Well, unless you’re afraid of Florans… but Nuru won’t try to eat you. And I’m sure Esther will appreciate the assistance of a fellow scholar. Do you have a teleporter nearby?’

‘Why, yes! I was just finishing repairing it.’ Koichi beamed at them, then led them down the other side of the steps. ‘Here we are. It’s not station quality, but it is certainly stable.’

‘Good.’ Nyota crouched down to reach the Hylotl-designed controls and keyed in the Outpost coordinates. The teleporter chimed, a strangely beautiful sound after all they had been through, and lit up.

Koichi was nearly bouncing in place with excitement. Nyota caught his eye and gestured at the teleporter. ‘You can go first. It’s to your left and down the stairs when you arrive.’

‘Oh, thank you!’ He all but jumped onto the teleporter pad. He was still talking as he vanished; all Nyota caught was ‘I’m going to become so wise!’

Lumen started laughing. ‘What a funny fish we’ve landed, eh?’

Nyota couldn’t help joining in. She wasn’t quite sure why she was laughing, just that it felt better than not. ‘You really shouldn’t say that. You might offend him.’

‘It’s true, though. Hey…’ He dimmed. ‘Captain?’

‘Yes?’ Nyota rubbed her eyes to clear the strange feeling away. ‘What is it?’

The Novakid looked away. ‘Eh, it’s nothin’. Let’s get goin’.’

* * *

Esther was waiting for them when they returned to the Ark. ‘I am so very glad to see you two are safe,’ she said as Nyota climbed up the steps. Lumen stayed at the bottom, enjoying the heat of Nuru’s cozy little campfire.

‘Hello again, Esther. Did you meet Koichi already?’ Nyota asked.

The old woman grinned. ‘Yes, he’s quite a nice boy, isn’t he? He is over near the base there. Certainly didn’t waste any time getting set up! Another scholar will certainly be a great help. But first things first, dear. Well done for saving the artefact. Koichi told me all about your bravery. They’re powerful objects, and not safe in the wrong hands…’

‘Like that woman I fought,’ Nyota said.

Esther froze mid-congratulations. ‘What? You fought her?’ She looked down at the sword at Nyota’s hip, then back up at the Apex’s dark eyes. ‘Oh. Oh my. …She got away?’

Nyota’s eyes narrowed as a shard of fury slipped through her mask. ‘She did. But we will meet again.’ Her grip on the sword hilt tightened, turning her knuckles white. ‘She needs to answer for what she’s done.’

‘Yes,’ Esther murmured. ‘Yes, I suppose she does.’ She looked thoughtful, and more than a little sad. ‘But that will wait for another day,’ she said at last, her expression brightening a bit. ‘Show me the Relic!’

Esther was acting strange. Her smile was false; Nyota had made enough of those herself to know when she saw one. You know her, Nyota wanted to say. But she was so, so weary. She could ask after she got rest.

She rummaged in her pocket and produced the strange disk. It gleamed and glittered under the light of the holograms and the distant stars. Nyota was ready this time, and the vision was weaker. Esther still sat in front of her, smiling. But there was a reflection, a middle-aged woman, talking to a little girl. Nyota strained to hear—but the Relic gave only sight, not sound. She looked at the Esther she knew again, and felt the same as she had felt from Lumen: sorrow, loss. But different. A desire to move instead of hide. How strange.

As the calm filled her again, Nyota held the artefact up high. Blue light flared around it, deep as wisdom, deep as the sea. A matching gleam echoed in the face of the Ark. The lowest slot shone bright.

Esther studied Nyota’s face. ‘Koichi told me that the Library’s records call that artefact the Mirror of Wisdom. I do wonder if you learned why.’

[nyotasaimiri]

[New scene! Ocean time]

((In which Kae casually turns self loose on the world of overdone descriptions))

Nyota activated the EPP’s depth mode and watched the water part slightly around her, then stepped forward and under the waves. The beauty took her breath away. She had seen videos of undersea dives at the Protectorate, and watched a few movies with Marcy over the years. But they were nothing like seeing it for herself. Coral rose like flowers from the seafloor, bright fish darting between the fronds. A spotted eel caught sight of Nyota and ducked back into a crevice to watch her pass. Two octopi rolled past over the sands, entirely unfazed by her presence. They were too occupied in wrestling over a pair of coconut halves. And all around her, sunlight dappled the seafloor and sparkled down through the water. Nyota remembered to breathe again as the sheer wonder faded.

‘Even if I find nothing down here,’ she murmured, unable to look away, ‘it was worth the trip for this.’

But she knew she did not have the time to sightsee today. There were larger fish farther out, and they would take notice of her if she lingered too long. Nyota had no desire to harm them. She left the reef behind.

And almost as soon as the reef stopped, it seemed like the sand stopped with it. The seafloor dropped away sharply, plunging into vast dark depths. The sunlight was swallowed up by the water. Nyota stared out into the abyss. She saw movement down there, small movement she hoped, but who knew how far away it was. How big it would be when she got close.

‘SAIL,’ she said quietly, ‘you are sure I can do this?’

‘Your EPP will protect you from the ocean,’ the AI reassured her. ‘And your spear is a wise choice for self-defence. The water will not slow it down as much as it would hinder a sword.’

‘Right…’ Nyota let out a long breath, a stream of bubbles spiralling up and away as the EPP’s field released them to equalize the pressure around her. She kept her eyes on the darkness; if she looked back now, she would not look forward again. Steeling herself, Nyota stepped down.  

[nyotasaimiri]

[Floran time! Ouch]

((What?? Two days in a row? I haven’t done that in... uh, four years. Sorry about that ^.^;; But this one takes place in the Hunting Grounds, after Nyota and Nuru part ways)) 

Her shoulder ached, and blood matted her fur as she caught her breath by Nuru’s small fire. In the end, Nyota had won that scuffle, but she wouldn’t be forgetting her wounds any time soon, even with the healing water’s help. The little pots of salve she had made on Mimosa Strand could only do so much for what was left.

‘At least they dull the pain,’ she muttered, cleaning the blood away as best she could. Four on one had almost proved too rough. She was lucky she had managed to catch them in a narrow passage, force them to come at her slow.

‘Are you alright, Nyota?’ Esther asked. The worry was clear in her voice. ‘SAIL’s readings say you are injured.’

‘I’ll be alright, Esther. I just got a little careless,’ Nyota replied. It was a lie—she had been anything but. But it would reassure Esther, perhaps. She hissed as the ointment stung a gash on her right arm. ‘The Floran know these tunnels far better than I do. I should have paid more attention.’

‘Whatever these Floran are pursuing is obviously of grave importance to them,’ the old woman remarked. ‘They’re worse than me on a bug hunt! Be careful, dear.’

Nyota laughed softly at the metaphor and stood up again. Esther was keeping their spirits up with the jokes. The least Nyota could do was return the favour, and press on. Time to keep moving.

Green fibres clung to the walls all around her as Nyota headed deeper into the caverns; it reminded her of the odd webbing she’d found in the Floran village, but on a much grander scale. Esther said this stuff came from some manner of insect, she remembered, poking it with her spear. It didn’t even scratch. Whatever made this much must be huge.

The webbing moved. Nyota scrambled back as a pink thing tumbled out of it. It was about the size of a large dog, but almost roly-poly round. Its legs and body were protected by some sort of white, bone-like shell. It chirped up at her, almost cute. Then it jumped at her face. With a startled yell, Nyota swung her spear and caught it mid-leap. It dissolved as the tip cleaved right through it. Breathing hard, she slowly lowered her weapon. ‘SAIL,’ she said, ‘what in all the worlds is that?’

‘The creature did not survive long enough for a thorough scan,’ SAIL reported, ‘but there seem to be others nearby. Evidence indicates these entities are not yet fully mature; there is a high likelihood they are only freshly hatched. You appear to have stumbled into a nest.’

Nyota bared her teeth in displeasure. Of course, with her luck, their mother was still nearby. It was just like the poptops down in the old mine. But she needed core fragments then, and she needed the artefact now. This was the only way forward.

Five minutes and half a dozen more jumping squishy beasts later, the ground shook under her feet. It wasn’t an earthquake, not like any she’d felt before. It had definitely come from just up ahead. Did something heavy fall down over there? she wondered.

She could just make out a sign etched into the wall ahead. Someone had lit a torch beside it. Nyota headed over to get a closer look. ‘This is an odd one,’ she muttered, studying the carving. ‘Could be a three-toed footprint, or a falling boulder.’ It was an old carving, but it had been refreshed many times over the years. So the warning was important. Nyota looked around in faint hope, but she saw no branching paths. No choices.

As it turned out, her second guess was right. A boulder crashed down right in front of her as Nyota reached a long corridor. She froze, profanity dead on her lips in sheer horror. I’m supposed to go through here?

‘Nyota?’ Esther’s voice was faint, the signal weakened by the depth underground. ‘SAIL is showing some terribly dangerous readings ahead—my goodness, what was that?’

‘Danger,’ Nyota replied grimly as the next boulder crashed down again. ‘Esther, I am going to turn off my comms for a little while. I will switch them back on when I am done, but I need to focus, and you don’t need to hear me swearing.’

‘Nyota, it isn’t too late to go back—’  

Nyota’s fingers found the off switch. She leaned against the wall, focusing on her slowed, steadied breathing and on the falling rocks. There was a rhythm to them. A pattern. She could do this. It was just like the obstacle courses she had been forced to run so long ago. The Hunt was a test, too. She could do this.

Don’t think. Do. The rocks pounded hard behind, in front, too close, too fast—Nyota leapt aside and let it roll past, then took off again as fast as she could before the next could come along. Her leg, her ears throbbed—and then she was through, feet clearing the last jump over a pit that swallowed the rock behind her.

She leaned against the wall, panting for breath, watching the boulders crash down just out of reach. I really hope I don’t have to do that again.

[nyotasaimiri]

[New Scene: Dreaming]

(I wrote this one a while ago but I don’t think I’ve ever shared it here. It’s right after Nyota rescues Sonny) 

A low murmur intruded on Lumen’s dreams. His glow brightened as it chased away the stars that always teased his sleeping mind. From upstairs? But that wasn’t Sonny’s voice, or any language she knew.

The murmur was interrupted by a high-pitched gasp and Lumen shrugged his old blanket off. That wasn’t a happy sound.

Sonny’s fragile glow illuminated the landing, but the sounds came from the spare room, where Nyota was sleeping. She was still asleep when he entered, far as he could tell. Lumen’s soft glow barely disturbed her. But it was not a peaceful rest at all. As Lumen approached, she flinched, whispering something in a throaty language he recognized only dimly as the Apex native tongue. It sounded like an apology. It sounded like a nightmare.

‘Ma’am,’ he said, reaching out. ‘Ma’am, wake up—’

She gasped. Lumen tried to jerk back as pain shot up his wrist, her fingers locked tight around it. His orange light reflected deep in her eerie dark eyes, and for a moment they were so cold and full of raw emotion that Lumen couldn’t move. Then she blinked and let go, recoiling from him as if stung.

‘Ash, Lumen…’ she rasped, breathless. ‘I—did I hurt you?’

‘It ain’t bad,’ Lumen insisted, cradling his wrist with his other hand, but his translucent palm could not quite hide the spidery cracks that now marred the membrane. He saw the regret flash through her eyes. ‘I’m fine, I swear.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Nyota whispered. The hurt and regret was so clear, so raw. Then the mask was back, and he couldn’t read her expression at all. ‘I was… dreaming.’

‘Anythin’ I can get ya?’ the Novakid offered, sympathy sending a few unhappy sparks coiling through the base of his throat. He was all too familiar with bad dreams.

Nyota shook her head. She wasn’t looking at him; her stare was locked on the floor.

Lumen hummed softly, uncertain of what to do next. He knew how his people handled bad dreams, but not so much for organic folks like her. ‘Must’ve been a real doozy,’ he muttered.

‘It was a memory.’

He looked up sharply. ‘Come again?’

Nyota sighed, and Lumen recognized the tone. He’d heard it many times before when standing behind the bar: the sound of someone carrying something too heavy to bear alone. But she didn’t say anything. He almost felt her retreat, try to bury it again.

Lumen sat down on the end of her bed. ‘It’s okay to talk, ya know.’

He saw her tense, and wondered for a moment if he had pushed her too far. Then her clenched fists uncurled and the fur along her shoulders relaxed. She took a long, slow breath.

‘I knew one of the scientists that took Sonny,’ Nyota said. Her voice was steady and soft. ‘At least, I think… She looked like someone I had known. It’s been so many years. We were not friends, but we helped each other from time to time. She trusted me, as much as a Miniknog scientist can trust anyone who isn’t one of them.’

Lumen shifted. Her empty voice unsettled him worse than her too-full eyes had. ‘Did ya let her go?’

‘No.’

A low drone escaped the Novakid’s brand. Her expression hadn’t even changed. Sonny had said Nyota killed them all, but… ‘Why?’

Her lips tightened into something too thin and bitter to be called a smile. ‘She was Miniknog, Lumen. Do you know what that means? If I had let her go… If I let her go, she would have returned. She would have brought reinforcements. She—I have seen what happens next too many times.’

Lumen was quiet for a long moment. Whatever Nyota told him, a nightmare like that couldn’t have come from just acquaintances. Nyota was too calm and controlled for that. He looked up at her. ‘Ya killed yer friend to save mine.’

And for another instant, the wall melted away. She froze there, eyes a little wider, mouth open. ‘Yes,’ she said, recovering herself. ‘I suppose I did.’

[nyotasaimiri]

[new scene! again]

((Here’s another new bit! The editor suggested I work in some tension with Nyota and Esther before the start of the Floran Hunting Grounds, so here we are))

The green smell of the Greenfinger’s hut lingered into Nyota’s dreams and clung to her mind as she made her way back to the Ark. There was something comforting about the darkness now as she made her way down. It still pressed close around her, but it was no longer heavy. The stars above shone clearer than ever.

Esther was typing away when Nyota arrived, laptop plugged into an older model Matter Manipulator. Nyota cleared her throat and the old woman jumped. ‘Goodness, you gave me a start,’ she said, fixing her glasses straight on her nose again. ‘Welcome back. I was just checking the Outpost’s signal record. That Elliott fellow is very good at surveillance, isn’t he?’

Memory twisted quietly in Nyota’s gut. ‘He is,’ she confirmed, pushing it back down. She had changed, and so had he. If there was something to fear from him, it would have surfaced by now. ‘What did you find out?’

Esther turned her laptop around so Nyota could see the screen. It showed eight planets, each highlighted in several rings of various colours, with labels beside them. ‘He was helping me track recent Floran movements,’ she explained. ‘There have been an unusually large number of them shifting around in the past week. From what he told me, this does happen quite regularly, which matches up with what you reported from your meeting with the Greenfinger. I may have to ask for more details there, dear. Your signal was very spotty after you went underground. I could barely make out half of it.’

‘I’ll write you a proper mission report,’ Nyota said with a teasing smile. She leaned in to examine the screen properly. The letters swam and she had to look down. ‘What does this mean?’

Esther tapped the screen and enlarged one of the planets. ‘These are planets that Elliott was able to trace Floran travel to. I cross-referenced that data with the scan you sent me from the webbing. It has a unique protein signature, clear enough for ordinary satellites to recognize it. You see? But I haven’t been able to finish yet.’ She sighed and tilted the screen back towards herself again. ‘We narrowed the options down quite a bit, but I doubt you will have time to search all eight planets. We really do have quite the narrow window to work with.’

‘Look for the ones with the greatest amount of the webbing,’ Nyota told her. The idea wasn’t fully formed, but she pushed ahead with it anyway. ‘I think the Floran harvest what’s left afterward. The Greenfinger mentioned having to unstick their sprouts from it. They would not want children around a dangerous Hunt.’

‘Oh? That might do it!’ Esther typed in a command and watched the results feed through. One by one, the planets were greyed out on the screen until only one was left. ‘There, that’s done it! This planet has a much higher reading than any of the others, and it’s all quite fresh. You are a genius, dear.’

Nyota chuckled. ‘Call it lucky, and only if I did get it right. Wish me luck, then.’

Esther patted her arm. ‘I don’t think you will need too much luck, dear. That Greenfinger said the usual champion isn’t too interested in the Ceremonial Bone, didn’t they? If that is true, you might be allowed to borrow it.’

Nyota shook her head. ‘I don’t plan to gamble on a might. The Greenfinger gave me permission. I plan to compete.’

‘What? Really?’ Esther’s head jerked up and knocked her glasses askew again, but she didn’t seem to notice that. ‘Nyota, that’s far too dangerous!’

‘It is,’ Nyota agreed slowly. The words weighed down in her chest and did not want to rise to her tongue.

‘No, I must insist against it,’ Esther told her. Her tone was firm now, almost the sort of voice that made a part of Nyota want to stand up straight and salute. ‘You will be far safer if you simply negotiate for the artefact.’

‘I know.’ Nyota tucked a hand into her pocket so she could dig her nails into her palm without Esther noticing. It was hard to force down the part of her that wanted to submit and obey. Esther must have been a very commanding presence as Grand Protector, once. And Nyota had been trained well to follow orders and ask no questions.

She focused on the dull pain and forced the words to align. ‘I know, Esther. But I have been invited.’ She locked eyes with the old woman. ‘This artefact is part of their culture. I must play by their rules.’

Esther held her gaze for a long time. Nyota could see her weighing the options, weighing them hard. ‘Very well,’ she said at last. Her voice was heavy with a stifled sigh. ‘I will send the coordinates to SAIL. But do prepare yourself to the best of your ability.’ She put her hand over Nyota’s. Her wrinkled palm was cool and soft, its strength lost to time. Nyota felt her tremble. ‘Floran are renowned hunters, Nyota. You must know what you are getting yourself into.’

Nyota turned her hand to curl it briefly around Esther’s fingers. ‘I will be careful. I will come back.’

[nyotasaimiri]

[Ocean time! part two]

((I’d meant to post this sooner but we lost power thanks to that ice storm. Things are up and running again so have some more Nyota time))

Gravity caught her slowly, pulling against the dense water around her as the light began to fade. Bubbles drifted by, followed by guppies and the occasional bioluminescent jellyfish. It was so quiet down there, and so dark. Nyota could barely see her hand in front of her face. In the back of her mind, she could feel the old instinctual Apex fear of deep water; she quashed it. SAIL was fussy, it would have told her if this was unsafe.

Just as she began to wonder if she would ever find the bottom, if she was just going to fall forever, her feet touched down on the sand. Nyota let out a long sigh and looked around. Her Matter Manipulator’s light cut well through the gloom, though it had little to show. The decayed remains of a long-sunk hulk loomed out of the shadows, but only fragments remained, fragments and thin, pale worms that slunk out of sight as the beam passed over them.

‘Esther,’ she asked, turning on her microphone, ‘do you think I will find anything useful down here?’

‘If the guard says there’s a city, there probably is one,’ Esther told her. Her voice was muffled, but still audible. ‘Chin up, dear! Even the smallest piece of evidence can help to uncover the grandest secrets of the universe. You found the first relic without any trouble. You’ll do fine.’

Easy for her to say. She wasn’t at the bottom of the ocean. But Nyota had accepted this task. She focused on her duty, and forged ahead.

Time passed, interrupted only by the changing currents and occasional large, carnivorous fish. Her spear handled the fish well enough, but it took more focus than she cared to admit to keep her fear down when the currents pulled at her. Even the EPP couldn’t quite keep their pressure from shifting the field around her.

She wasn’t sure if she had been down here for hours or longer; time meant nothing down here in the dark. Nyota was just about to give up for the day when she spotted something shining through the gloom. Clearing a ridge, she stared in wonder at the vast towers that loomed up from the ocean floor. Lights flickered from tiny portholes on every side of them, winking like distant stars. Nyota swam for the entrance hatch. Perhaps she’d find her answers here.

[nyotasaimiri]

[new scene!]

((Here’s a bit from the start of Chapter 7 in As Long as We Remember. I’m writing some new content as I go to bring characters like Elliott and Penguin Pete more into focus, since they’re useful and important. This takes place right after Nyota deals with the Erchius Horror, when she teleports back to the Outpost)) 

The teleporter was indeed safe for people, but Nyota did not enjoy the experience. It was even rougher than the ship teleporter. She staggered off of the receiving pad and grabbed the teleporter’s frame for support until the room stopped spinning.

‘Oh—Nyota?’

She looked up, vision swimming, and her eyes focused on a dark-furred apex. ‘Doctor Elliott.’ Her voice was thick and she squeezed the metal harder, trying to focus. ‘Give me a moment.’

‘Stars, you look terrible. What happened?’ He set his mug down—he must have just come from the little market near the entrance. ‘Do you need help?’

Nyota bared her fangs for a moment before fighting the instinct back. ‘No—sorry. I am alright. Teleporter sickness, that’s all.’

Thankfully, he did not seem offended by the instinctive threat and just offered her an appeasing smile. ‘Ah, that old thing. My apologies, I should recalibrate it if it is giving you trouble. How did it go? Were you able to get past Pete? You were gone quite a while, but you didn’t come back my way …’

Her vision steadied, as did her stomach, and Nyota salvaged her dignity enough to stand up straight and brush her bangs back out of her eyes. Her head felt heavier than usual; a cloud of rock dust puffed out around her as she touched her hair. ‘I was handling a favour for him, actually. Don’t worry about this teleporter. The problem was on the sending end.’

Elliott blinked in surprise and reached up to adjust his goggles. ‘Well now, that’s quite something.’

Nyota shrugged off his interest. It made her fur bristle a little out of habit. ‘What is the local time?’ she asked. ‘Is Pete open at this hour?’

‘Early morning.’ Elliott lifted his mug and the smell of coffee wafted over her. ‘But don’t worry, he’s always open. You, er, still look a bit rough there. Want me to accompany you?’

Nyota shook out her mane as weariness started to set in hard. ‘Show me where you got that coffee and I won’t complain.’

 Penguin Pete cast a hard eye over the pair of Apex as they approached his stand. ‘So ya made it back in one piece, lass. Not bad. What happened?’

‘Crystal horror,’ Nyota told him. The hot cup in her hands and energy seeping into her veins helped push the nightmarish trip down into something she could handle. ‘They suffered heavy losses, and Letheia abandoned the place to its fate. Is there room for them here? We can’t leave them on that moon.’

Pete stroked his beard. ‘Crystal horror? Can’t say I know what you’re on about. Hm.’ He met Nyota’s eyes and her hard, stern look at his hesitation made him drop his gaze. ‘Oh, alright. Not my Outpost anyway. They find a place, they get a place. Simple rules. What ‘bout the erchius then?’

Nyota took a long sip of coffee. The heat seemed to fill her bones. ‘There is still a whole shipment ready, no charge for it since we saved their hides.’

Pete started, then shook his head. ‘We, nah. You. All yours, lass. I just pointed ya. Whole shipment free, huh… Earned a fix and then some. Doc!’

Elliott jumped. ‘Oh! Me?’

‘No, that featherball there. Of course you.’ Pete folded his arms. ‘I do the hard metal work, but fancy tech is your biz. Lass, ya show us that ship and we get it fixed.’

Nyota chuckled as Elliott spluttered at being press-ganged for the repairs. ‘Here, I’ll write down the teleporter coordinates for you. Thank you.’

‘Don’t mention it. Just sit tight. Or take a nap.’ Pete cast a critical eye over her again. ‘And a bath. That pelt’s glowin’ purple.’

Nyota cast a startled eye over herself as Penguin Pete marshalled his workers. He was right. ‘Stars above, this is quite the mess,’ she muttered as she shook some more dust out of her fur. It seemed to be just harmless powder and tiny crystal chips, but she would have to get SAIL to scan her for any radiation later. She could see some damage plainly enough already in the stinging burns left by mutant acid sprays, and several thin gashes from the last few crystal shards. Adrenaline had left her numb in the aftermath, so she hadn’t noticed…

A loud clang, thunk, and swearing jerked her head up. One of the penguins had swiped Pete’s crowbar leg. Nyota sighed and shook her head, smiling in spite of herself at their antics. This wasn’t a good place to see to herself, though. She left them to their chaos and slipped away, out toward the Ark.

[nyotasaimiri]

[updated scene! bug time]

((My editor suggested I make some scenes more dramatic earlier on, so I decided to beat her to the punch and dress up later on too~))

The earth was looser here, rising in a steep slope. It had not been packed hard by feet or falling rock. Nyota tested the soil for weak points with her spear before climbing up. A sprained ankle would be an embarrassing end to her challenge. The slope cut off abruptly at the top, dropping into a rocky shaft that went straight down. A strong, acidic smell washed over Nyota as she peered into the depths. That wasn’t a Floran scent.

There were hand-holds carved into the shaft walls. Nyota slung her spear over her back and began climbing down.

Nuru was waiting for her at the bottom, in the middle of a vast chamber. ‘You made it!’ the Floran called, waving her over. ‘Look,’ she said, pointing up, ‘This iss much bigger than last year’s prey. Finally! A proper challenge!’

A massive sack hung from the ceiling. Its structure looked all too similar to the bony plating from the squishy pink monsters from earlier. Nasty greenish webs coated the walls, too. As if it felt their eyes on it, the sack throbbed.

‘Is it some sort of egg case?’ Nyota asked, instinct prickling at the back of her neck and drawing her lips back from her teeth. She didn't like that thing, whatever it was.

Nuru laughed and pulled out her spear. ‘No, ssilly. Just watch. Or better, join in. This is going to be fun.’

The sack shook. Twice. Then all hell broke loose.

Nyota flinched as an awful screech tore at her eardrums, bits of hard shell raining down around her.

‘Dear God,’ Esther said in her ear, ‘the Floran have caught an Ixodoom.’

[nyotasaimiri]

Arc Two (redux) 02

((Maybe the edit bug bit me harder than I thought while working on ALaWR, eh? It was hard to start this--the knowledge of just how much is waiting was so daunting. But once I began, it just seemed to flow along))

The Outpost was livelier than she remembered. Nyota stepped out of the teleporter and tucked herself out of the way to watch the relative bustle. A few humans laughed and joked with an excited but nervous floran, trading outfits and advice. A fuchsia-furred apex tinkered away at an open access panel. Two avians haggled with a quartet of penguin mercenaries and a silent glitch. Elliott’s voice drifted down from the second floor; it sounded like he was arguing with a hylotl about humor, of all things. A slight lump formed in Nyota’s throat at the same time that a smile tugged at her lips. It was almost like the Protectorate. She wanted to linger, to laugh and live with them all.

But the expanse of stars yawned overhead, and Nyota remembered why she came. She turned and walked away from the bright lively world with more than a little relief. After her long recovery between her quiet ship and house, it was almost too much. Such a strange mix of longing and fear.

Something snapped her focus as she stepped out of the main building—a prickle on the back of her neck. Her fur rose as her breath caught. She pressed herself flat against the cold steel wall. Nothing happened. No hole blown in the ground where she had been. But that meant nothing.

Her eyes flicked side to side, searching for any sign of danger, and she spotted Penguin Pete working at his shop just past Penguin Bay. He didn’t say anything, but she caught the faint shift and knew he had seen her. Relief flickered through her as she saw him pick up a tool, set it down, and go for a distinctive wrench with green tape around the grip. A signal. She had seen him perform this service before, for the more infamous penguin mercenaries who just wanted to enjoy their drink in the Beakeasy below.

Nyota tilted her chin up a fraction and Pete responded, moving as if to work on a scarlet hoverbike beside him and into a position that offered a perfect view of the balcony above her. After a few moments, a penguin waddled over with practiced nonchalance. “Is the filter cleaned right, Boss?” they asked.

“Yeah. Y’did a good job, Biggy,” Pete said, turning back to his usual work. “There’s nothing there.”

Clean. Nothing there. Nyota let out the breath she’d been holding, checked the reflection in the Penguin Bay anchor to make sure there really was nothing up there, and made her way over to Pete. She couldn’t quite find her voice to thank him, just managed a small gesture as her lungs demanded more air to make up for the long stillness.

“Don’t mention it,” Pete said with a curt nod, waving away any attempt at words. “I get how it is. Anyway, the boys here like ya. Did them a good turn with that Dreadwing business, didn’t you? And penguins remember.” He snorted and slapped his thigh. “They’d have my other knee if I let anythin’ hurt you on my watch. After the folks from that mine finished, ‘course…”

“I still appreciate it,” Nyota replied, finding her voice at last. “Though… have your other knee, did they…?”

Pete laughed. “Makes it sound like this lot took the first, doesn’t it? Nah, don’t worry about it. The only ones this lot’s a danger to are themselves. AGGY! DON’T TOUCH THAT WELDER! …as I was saying—you alright, lass?”

“I’m fine.” Nyota willed her fur to lie flat. “I would advise warning any apex before you suddenly start shouting like that.”

“What—oh. Right.” He watched her hand move slowly off the hilt of her dagger. “Right. Well, carry on, then. Sorry to keep ya. Unless it’s me yer seeing?”

“Maybe later. I have business at the Ark again.” She couldn’t help a thoughtful, nostalgic glance at the hoverbike. “But perhaps we can catch up when I come back this way.”

Penguin Pete followed her gaze and grinned, rubbing the seat fondly. “You do that and I’ll give you a discount.”

Nyota smiled in return and started to leave, but something caught her steps before they started. A passing thought, too sharp to ignore. “Pete?” she asked. “Has anyone new settled into the second story?”

“Anyone new?” The mechanic frowned, rubbing his beard. “Not that I- No, wait, there’s one.”

Nyota leaned forward slightly as his voice dropped and his expression knotted into a frown.

“There’s this strange guy that showed up a little while back. A few weeks, maybe. Keeps to themself, doesn’t bother the rest. No one else took much notice. Kind of odd, yeah? But they don’t say much when you talk to them. A few of the boys tried, see. All they got told was they’re ‘not yet ready’ or something like that.”

“Ready for what?” She felt the old curiosity bubbling in her and didn’t even try to quash it down. She knew it wouldn’t work this time. She knew they were up there. She had felt them. She had to know why.

“Hell if I know,” Pete said. Something clattered behind him, followed by a loud squawk. “Damn it. Excuse me…”

“Stay well,” Nyota said with a nod, her focus returning to the moment as Pete stumped off to holler at two of the penguins. She slipped away quietly, past broken-down mechs and a half-repaired spacecraft.

Her steps slowed as rough meteorite and old metal turned into smooth-cut stone. Warm gold light shone down from the ancient monoliths and she closed her eyes. If she held her breath, she could almost pretend that was Sol’s light on her face. That she was standing on Earth. But she had to breathe again all too soon. The dusty recycled meteorite air chased away the memory of that last summer breeze and the echoes of loved voices. Loss rumbled in her chest, but she just sighed, pressed it down with long-practiced patience, and started up the steps that led into the Ark.