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"You saw a Void Walker? Up close?"

Shaankah looked down at the hatchling trailing along at his tail. Ayango couldn't be more then seven rotations and still had soft down along their back. Still young enough that they couldn't fully control the pigment in their scales much less determine which gender they might want shift to as an adult.

"Do they look like us? Do they look like the Kyshar? Or what about the..."

"Slow down! A tree never sprouts all at once hatchling," Shaankah said with a laugh.

Ayango's ever shifting scale colors still showed great excitement and curiosity. Purple amusement flickered around Shaankah's eyes at the insistent questions. Finally he stopped and crouched down so he was at their eye level.

"A Void Walker has no true shape. Not like us. They appear as whatever an individual thinks they will look like. This one looked rather like a Qushaana but shrouded and fuzzy at the edges. They gave me this message and then left without a word," Shaankah said. He held up a thin slate about the length of his hand from wrist to claw tip. It was opaque and made of a material that wasn't quite plastic or glass.

"It showed me our home planet on one side and a map with this village marked on the other. I left my current mission and headed the call as any smart individual should do," Shaankah said pointedly. Not all species believed in the Void Walkers and even less of the Watchers but the Qushaana did and he did not want this hatchling's colors to be dulled by the disbelief of others.

"Its a sign a real sign from Yusha!" Ayango said reverently.

"Indeed. That's why I'm here even though I am Tirsul Aein a special agent of the Kysharian Empire. Even they do not ignore the signs," Shaankah explained. He held it up to the sun and both of them watched as the slate shifted and darkened until a new image appeared.

"I know that waterway! Its only a mark and a half down the river right by Yusha's Heart. That's what we call our sanctuary for the lost. Good fishing there too. Is that where you're going?" Ayango asked with eager gold and silver dancing across their scales.

"I am. I'll go to the sanctuary and wait for the next message to arrive. Yusha doesn't always speak to us in words but her messengers, the Void Walkers, always make things clear to us if we trust them and have patience," Shaankah said firmly. "Here. Go buy yourself a treat and don't say it was from me," he whispered pressing a few small metal cubes into their claws. Gold burst across Ayango's scales as they hurried off in the direction of the local store to buy something.

"Already making friends I see."

Shankaah turned to see a Qushaana walking up. The beads and grihava fangs woven into their own feathers showed their status as one of the village council. Core colors of dark green with rust colored markings darkened in welcome. Shaankah's own scales shifted with ultraviolet undertones in response to the silent greeting.

"Janso, veshi. I'm one of the council members come to see about our new visitor," she said giving him a formal greeting in Kysharian Standard mixed with a Qushaana word to indicate gender and preferred pronouns. A typical first time greeting since Qushaana, like many other species, had no outwardly visible differences between genders or sexes.

"Shaankah, vanasi," he greeted. "No doubt word has already spread quietly that I am Tirsul Aein but I'm not on imperial business. Rather I'm following a call from Yusha's messenger. Would you be able to direct me to this location?" he said showing them the image on the slate. Curious orange flickered across Janso's snout as she examined it.

"Hmm just as the hatchling said its about a mark and a half down the river. Just over an hour by standard imperial time. Just go to the docks and show them Yusha's message. They can give you a temporary boat. Will you be needing rations?" Janso asked their tone and scales showing no judgment.

The Kysharian Empire was a vast place with plenty of busy cities and hubs. Not all Qushaana knew how to live off the land but that fact of life that wasn't always viewed well by those who still lived on the home planet.

"No I'll be fine with the jungle's blessing. I'll just need a fishing net and carving knives and I'll be fine," Shaankah said making sure to show the deep earthy green of gratitude.

"The sanctuary is a simple place but it still has a few bedrooms, relief facilities, and solar powered kitchen appliances. Just be sure to leave some food for the next visitors and tend to the herbs growing there," Janso instructed.

"Thank you council member. Hopefully Yusha's desires don't cause too much upheaval to this town," Shaankah said and Janso's eye ridges turned dark purple with laughter.

"Come now you should know Yusha better then that. The Void Watcher may be compassionate but she also delights in toying with us at times. An immortal being must get their amusement somehow. Just be assured that she will always carry us through whatever trouble she sends our way," Janso pointed out. Laughter spreading across her scales even as Shaankah's black and blue scales paled with resignation.

"I'll be sure to remember that."

Shaankah remembered that conversation vividly barely one standard Kysharian week later as he was fishing on the river just outside of Yusha's Heart. The few birds skimming the surface to catch fish scattered suddenly with shrill cries, flying madly back towards the hole they had first come through. The warning gave him barely enough time to brace his clawed feet in the boat and get a tight grip on the net.

Now granted Shaankah was new to this particular part of the great jungle and newer still to this riverway but he was pretty sure that a gateway to the Void opening up hardly a tails length from his boat was not a common occurrence.

Dark energy burst out above the river expanding until a sphere was but a claws length from touching the cavern ceiling. Points of light shivered and twisted within as waves pulsed out across the water's surface. It was a like a hole had opened up giving him a direct glimpse into the Void. The empty expanse between space and time. The realm of Yusha the Void Watcher herself.

Frigid air exploded outwards as the sphere collapsed in itself. Shaankah ducked instinctively, his scales flickering into a pale gray and his blue markings going white from shock. He fought to keep the reed boat from tipping over as he heard a loud splash come from the water.

Carefully standing back up from his instinctive crouch he peered into the river to see what that splash was. He was a little ashamed of losing his color like a fresh hatchling instead staying calm like the seasoned Tirsul Aein he was but to be fair random things dropping out of void space wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence.

I hope Yusha or her Void Walker's got a good laugh out of that one, Shaankah thought as his feathers rose again. His scales slowly darkened back to their usual black with blue markings as he calmed down. Paddling up closer he leaned over the side of his boat and looked down to see a human drifting along in the water. They were tightly holding onto something that was keeping them afloat.

Normally Yusha kept to the Void, watching over the ships jumping to various destinations throughout the universe. Yusha and her servants kept them safe and made sure their inhabitants arrived somewhere safe should things go wrong. Somewhere safe not usually being an out of the way part of the great jungle that a lone Qushaana might hopefully be at in this precise moment.

Well he had been waiting for a sign from Yusha and you couldn't get much clearer then a swirling gateway to the Void nearly tossing you on your tail.

Shaankah tied the fishing net to a hook on the side of the boat and grabbed the paddle. He came up alongside the human and kept his tail balanced so he could pick them up without toppling his boat. Once the human was safely inside he grabbed his paddle in both clawed hands and swung around to head towards the far dock.

After tying up the boat Shaankah carefully picked up the human and stepped out of the boat. It always surprised him to see what squishy fleshy beings they were. He headed towards the stairs into Yusha's Heart with the human in his arms.

While the Watcher's did not require or in fact desire worship in any form they did need to be approached and treated with the utmost respect. Sanctuaries like this one were checked regularly and well maintained by whatever local communities were around. They were made specifically for those Yusha saved from the Void to stay in after being rescued. Or after getting dumped there unceremoniously depending on your point of view.

The round tunnel entrance quickly opened up into a large hall lit by a large metal bowl filled with blue fire. Hallways on the left and right lead to sleeping rooms and a kitchen. The fire reflected off a set of double doors made of black stone. A mural of stars and constellations made of diamond sprawled across both doors. Vines with sweet smelling white flowers hung across the doors and around the edges of the hall. Beautiful but a warning as well. Oil from those flowers or a cut from those vines would knock out even the biggest species. Shaankah knew because he had done it before while on a mission.

Yusha's Heart was a welcome refuge but only to those who respected it.

Shaankah carefully laid the human down a short distance from the fire and crouched down to look them over. Braided black hair, dark skin, and possibly female although he would have to offer a polite formal greeting later to be sure. Provided they weren't overly hostile that is. They were also wearing some type of uniform that he didn't quite recognize. Although the cut and emblem suggested that this human was a ship captain. Likely a merchant or runner rather then a larger transport or military vessel.

Now that he had a moment he realized they were holding onto a sealed zero-g bag. Specially made for surviving gravity loss, pressurization, and the harsh vacuum of space. A good indication that there must be something very special inside.

Gently prying it out of their hands he set it down but didn't open it. It would be a rather rude invasion of privacy under any circumstances but especially so when this human had clearly been saved by Yusha's grace. Shaankah was bold but not bold enough to ignore such obvious signs and right inside one of the Void Watcher's sanctuaries at that. Better to wait until they woke up.

Shaankah stood back up and headed back to his boat to grab his net and fish. There was no telling how long this human would be unconscious so he might as well clean the fish and cook them. Dropping out of the Void couldn't make for a very pleasant experience.

Once they were awake then he could set about trying to communicate with them. If Yusha saw fit to toss them nearly on his head then it was only right that he do what he could to help.

Shaankah had just finished cooking the fish he caught and was on his way back when he heard the human moving around. He slowed down and waited at the end of the hallway until they realized he was there. He could tell the moment they spotted him because they froze and scooted backwards.

He almost attempted a smile but thought better of it. Qushaana could come off as very intimidating to those species who lacked natural means of defense. Sharp teeth designed for biting tough fruit rinds weren't much different from teeth designed to peel flesh if you were a scared and otherwise unarmed refugee.

Pink flushed along Shaankah's neck as he debated what to do. Rather then try to communicate right away he carefully walked forward and crouched down a safe distance away. Holding out the second plate he waited for the human to respond. They hesitated a moment before slowly scooting forward and taking it from him. Their wariness and suspicion was obvious.

Shaankah trilled in satisfaction and moved back a bit before sitting down and eating his own mea of fresh fish cooked with some fruit that grew around here. Qushaana generally ate their food bare handed or with a pair of igai in each hand. They were simply made wooden sticks similar to what some human cultures used. It was all that was available here so hopefully it wouldn't pose too much of a problem.

It took the human a little a bit of work but soon after the first bite they were eating without hesitation. In between bites they made gestures in the air. Definitely an implanted neural device then. Probably accessing the translation software while they ate.

"Can you understand me?" Shaankah asked in Kysharian Standard. Human controlled systems were very far away even by galactic standards and humans themselves still a rare sight throughout the empire. Kyshar were the ruling species that had kept countless systems, planets, and species united and without war for thousands of years but it would be arrogant to assume that everyone knew, or was capable, of speaking their tongue.

The human made a face and he watched as their fingers twitched in the air again. Likely compensating for the added clicks, trills, grunts and other sounds that Qushaana punctuated their words with.

"Can you understand me?" he said a second time. This time the human nodded which he recognized as an expression of confirmation.

"I'm Shaankah most recently from Untal Village, vanasi. Him if your translator doesn't quite catch that," he provided formally. Qushaana learned to control the pigment in their scales as hatchlings and the hormones that allowed them to transition to various genders as adolescents. Such a greeting was customary for them but the words didn't always have an adequate counterpart or phrase in other languages.

It must have taken a moment for the translation software to work because after a few seconds the human's expression changed noticeably.

"Sorry. We got jammed so my software has been rebooting in the background and its not totally finished yet. I'm Natasha formerly of the ship Domina. I'm eshala. She and they are fine," Natasha said. She lacked the deep throated hiss of a Qushaana on the but Shaankah got the point. The attempt still made his brow and chin scales flicker with purple amusement before he suppressed it.

Humans were a relatively new addition to the Kysharian Empire but Shaankah was one of the Tirsul Aein. He had studied human behavior, expression and body language in depth. Qushaana introductions were an important part of their culture and he had long since learned to pick them apart for meaning. Even unfeathered hatchlings could do the same.

Natasha's pronunciation was hesitant but she had chosen the word confidently showing that she had some familiarity with their culture. Her address also included a ship rather then a city, colony, planet, or even a home system. Those on contracted business always stated their company name. Soldiers stated their government affiliations. Private workers however generally just mentioned their captain and ship or just the ship if they were in charge themselves. Once again Shaankah's eyes drifted towards the uniform they were wearing. Natasha noticed his look and narrowed her eyes but he didn't comment on it. Not yet.

"A pleasure to meet you then. I found you in the river after you got dropped from the Void. Yusha's eyes must have been upon you," Shaankah told her but he let his scales and the edges of his feathers flicker bright yellow with warning. Natasha twitched ever so slightly and tried to hide it by continuing to eat her food. She was familiar with Qushaana color language then and had recognized his suspicion.

"Yusha would have been better off saving someone else," Natasha said quietly. Shaankah hummed deeply and considered that deep pinks dancing across his scales.

"What happened?" Shaankah asked her. Natasha shivered and finished her meal in silence. Setting the plate aside she rubbed her hands together.

"We were making a run through Chyrruk controlled space and ran into a hive ship," Natasha replied her eyes lifting briefly to meet his. His scales flashed with bright orange surprise before fading back to black but he didn't interrupt.

Chyrruk were almost exclusively female and guarded their territory with fierce determination, killing anyone who entered without permission and rarely taking prisoners. However their territory also sat in the middle of Kyshar controlled space. The Empire had expanded their territory far more then that of any other species and for generations that had kept them satisfied and to themselves. Now the Chyrruk were growing more isolated and cut off, less reasonable, more aggressive, and more angry. Intelligence reports showed that the current Queen, or tyrant depending on who you asked, was tired of being excluded from the Kysharian Empire and tired of living under their admittedly arrogant shadow.

"They didn't attack right away. They hailed us and demanded entry. Its not like I could refuse them. Not if I wanted the rest of my crew to live," Natasha added quietly. "They took us before... I'm not sure what it was. She was a soldier twice as big as the rest and mostly cybernetic. They jammed our electronics and neural devices before allowing us to talk. Probably only wanted us to hear what they wanted and nothing else," she said her bitterness clear. Shaankah sucked in a breath and kept his scale colors tightly controlled as he listened to her.

"She spoke Kysharian Standard fluently and asked what we were doing out there. I've heard about what they do to people. Especially those few prisoners they do take. So I told her the truth. We had been mining rare metal from asteroids in the next system over. We were on a deadline and instead of getting an extension and going around we..." Natasha cleared her throat and corrected herself, "I decided to try and sneak through instead. Obviously it didn't work," she said.

"She took all the ore we had gathered and took my crew prisoner. Said that if they wanted to mine that badly they could do it for the Queen's armory instead. She ordered one of her soldiers to give me this bag of supplies and said, mockingly, that maybe Yusha the Void Watcher would have mercy on me. Airlocked me and sent me through a jump point with no protection," Natasha stated.

Shaankah finally took a breath again his colors flushing pink and orange as he thought about what she had just told him. Did she even realize who she had encountered? What she had encountered? Much better Tirsul Aein then himself had given their lives just to confirm they even_existed_.

"Did they ever give her a name or title? This... hive soldier they took you in front of?" Shaankah asked carefully. Natasha's expression pulled into a frown as she thought about that.

"I kept hearing the word Ryshikk but I'm not sure if it was a name, a title, or both," Natasha replied. Shaankah's scales flickered pink and orange briefly.

The Ryshikk, or Queen's Blades, were the strongest breed of soldier the Chyrruk had. Born, trained, and crafted through specialized training and cybernetics into the perfect soldiers and leaders. He has seen a Ryshiik only once. The new Queen herself had come to demand an audience with the imperial councilors at the capital city of Drashana and Shaankah had accompanied one of the Kyshar ambassadors onto their ship. It was only a brief look as the Ryshikk passed through the hallway but still Shaankah knew that it was not a being he ever wanted to see up close.

He frowned in silver color down his arms as he pondered her words. Rhyshikk were known only to the highest levels of Kysharian intelligence. For one to willingly appear before a human and let their crew live? Something wasn't right here.

"What's in that bag? Have you looked yet?" Shaankah said his tail flicking towards the zero g bag still sitting next to her. Natasha grabbed it and opened it up.

"Yeah but there's just a broken vacuum suit, a beacon with a busted signal output, and a dead plant. Looks dead at least. Obviously some type of joke on their part," Natasha said tossing the bag at him. He caught it and pulled the items out as she continued. "A one use spacesuit I can't use, a homing beacon that wouldn't be answered even if it did work since I was in restricted space, and a plant because most imperial ships use them as a constant more secure method of air supply? Of which I had none after being dropped into the Void naturally," she explained.

Shaankah carefully picked up the plant and watched as the once "dead" plant miraculously came back to life, its petals unfolding and gaining color as the roots and leaves straightened out. At first glance it was a rather unassuming flower with a bright blue petals and a black center but around the edges of each petal were small green dots. He grinned in golden brown at the sight.

"What is it? You're smiling in color language. Does that plant mean something?" Natasha asked sounding curious.

"A Ryshikk picks you up but doesn't kill your crew, drops you into the Void after bringing up Yusha an entity they don't even believe in, and leaves you with a Xycie flower. Otherwise known as an All Seeing Eye," Shaankah said. Natasha's brow pulled together and her fingers danced in the air as she access holo screens only she could see.

"Wait declassified military intelligence?" Natasha said to herself as she flicked through more screens.

Shaankah meanwhile was focused on his new friend. His facial scales flickered blue and green at the flower and a second later the black center turned light gray and then black again. It blinked at him.

"Here we go. The Xycie or All Seeing Eye is a sentient breed of plant discovered and cultivated by the Chyrruk on one of their home planets. Little is known about it other then that it is a hardy being that is capable of storing information such as visual, audio, and even memories in its DNA code. It is suspected that they are often used as recorders or spies. Extreme caution advised when in the presence of such flowers," Natasha was clearly reading the information off a database. She blinked and waved her hand as if pushing a screen aside.

"But if that Ryshikk wanted me to have it then..." she stopped and looked up at him. "What does it mean exactly?"

"It means that someone wanted to get a message out and was willing to bet on a Watcher they don't or haven't previously believed in to do it. Yusha truly has a great sense of humor," Shaankah said, his throat flushing blue as he stood up. Still with the plant carefully cradled in his clawed hands.

"You're one of the Tirsul Aein, imperial spies. One of the new workers I picked up for a mining run years ago turned out to be Tirsul Aein working undercover to catch runners. Arrested me and impounded my ship for making supply runs to blacklisted worlds," Natasha said now looking at him with disgust and suspicion.

"Such a shame you didn't learn anything from it then," Shaankah said flashing gold with light browns at her to show he was unsympathetic. She glared at him with a face full of hate.

The telepathic and empathic Kyshar didn't have an official standing military force of their own but where there were laws there were ways around them. If Kyshar were the interrogators then the Qushaana in their service were the double agents. Although they weren't all spies and assassins the way the latest motion screens, books, and interactives made them out to be. His job had been as a messenger. Making sure confidential information got picked up, verified, and either disposed of securely or taken to the officials who needed to see it. That however actually was as dangerous as the latest entertainment made it seem.

"I am but currently I'm on a private mission. A Void Watcher sent me a message directing me to this location. The Kyshar could not ignore the sign," Shaankah told her.

"You actually saw a Void Watcher? And they let you live?" Natasha said with an added sound he couldn't quite interpret.

"Void Watchers also save innocent beings and deliver her messages to those willing to serve her purposes. They aren't just the shadowy executioners parents scare their children with at night," he corrected. Void Watchers were most well known for the rumor that they occasionally executed those in power who Yusha deemed corrupt or dangerous. The rather large symbol they left in warning and after executions however made it more fact then rumor.

"If you say so. I've about the Tirsul Aein too but I was hoping I wouldn't have to run into one of you ever again," Natasha added with a sharp edge to her words.

Mature Qushaana could not only change genders but appearance as well. Bigger feathers, smaller feathers, more spikes, less spikes, spines or bristles instead, armor plates over parts of their body. Even a permanent change to their core scale colors and markings. The process normally took months but the result could be an individual who was vastly different from who they had been. A species that could totally change their appearance and biology and hide in plain sight was perfectly suited for undercover work.

"Yusha saw you and delivered you right to someone who would recognize and understand the message you were given," Shaankah explained as Natasha climbed to her feet. Cautiously she took a few steps closer to him and leaned forward a bit to look at the flower. He lowered his claws so she could see it better. Now that both of them were standing he realized how much smaller she was compared to him although size shouldn't be used as an indication of strength. Shaankah had learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago.

"What message is that?" Natasha asked sounding doubtful.

"That not all of the Ryshikk are loyal to their tyrant Queen and one was willing to risk getting information out. Possibly vital information depending on where our little friend here was planted," he told her as the flower twisted around to get a good look at Natasha.

"If my hunch is right then its possible that some of the Chyrruk hives are planning a rebellion. A rebellion that goes all the way up to some of the Ryshikk themselves. We have to get back and reach a Kyshar ambassador as soon as possible," Shaankah explained his colors turning golden brown and flushing with ultraviolet tones in excitement.

The last major interstellar war had been between the Chyrruk hives and the Kyshar Empire. It was a war the empire very nearly lost. It had been stopped only by the assassination of several Hive Queens resulting in a universe wide retreat by all their forces. An assassination that some whispered had been done but Yusha's Void Watchers. The rest of the Queens had disappeared years later with rumors of a new Queen killer determined to consolidate power and become the sole ruler of the Chyrruk system.

The Chyrruk had been contained since then but they had never in any known history been defeated. A rebellion from within could end another interstellar war before it began or spark another one if they weren't careful.

And it all depended on Shaankah getting this little flower in his claws to safety.