39 (DSV Nautica) Listening
The sky over Av'lhn, or Avalon were clear as ever, but there was as tense shift in the winds. Not the traditional winds of the planet, but more a shift in the galaxies winds of the will. They were great sweeping winds of change, being forced upon them very quickly, something the Draconids did not like. The sat on his throne, head bowed in silent contemplation of what it all meant. The aliens wouldn't want to leave. They had been persistent in their attempts to enter the galaxy, despite their eventual beat back. They would not give up, and this only proved their prowess and persistence. The Seers had let loose that the amount of information that the wormhole, or this Bifrost as it roughly translated to, was staggering. They had not seen that battleship coming.He stood, his strong, muscular body had a scarlet hue to it, with two horns protruding from the top of his skull, with a second set sprouting out and down from the base of the first. His eyes seemed vacant, as if he wasn't fully there. He was otherwise occupied. The ship was getting close, he could feel the vortex created by it was traceable even from here. Felt like the wind shear left by a fly in the wind. Minute, but there. And it was almost here.
He would see the Captain of the ship, and he would see what it is they wanted so badly with this garden of theirs.The Curator had been dead silent for the whole way that had gone thus far. Aki kept quiet as well. It seemed like she was marching to her execution. Their footsteps echoed along the halls, lights were dim. There was no sound from outside either. Perfect insulation to study."Please stay close in this next part. We will be entering the restricted sections."Aki just stayed silent. Speaking probably wouldn't do her any good anyway.They reached the far vault. The Curator stood before the door, and extended her hand, placing it palm flat down on its surface. Scans begun, the surface shimmering as it read the identities of those wishing to enter. Sliding open with a gentle rumble, the doors revealed complete darkness.They both stepped onto a large platform that began to ascend as the doors closed behind them. Lights snapped on, illuminating the black shaft shooting straight up into what looked like the tower of the archive. The Curator turned to Aki and sighed.
"I apologize for the secrecy, but we may have an opportunity on our hands.""What opportunity is this?""The Draconids have asked for a meeting in AU-945, and Rear Admiral Lay'k'een is going to meet them."Aki didn't believe the sentence she just heard. The day was just getting better and better."They have not...they would never do that." "I assure you that they have, Captain." The Curator nodded. "They have contacted us."Aki couldn't take it. She sat down on the platform with a 'thump'. This
day was just turning into an informational nightmare for her. The Curator understood and remained standing, looking toward the top of the shafts."We believe you can read an Eidolon scroll."Aki's head snapped up."Excuse me?" She wasn't trying to hide her disbelief at this point. "What ever would-"The Curator stopped her again, by holding up her hand. "You acted as a bridge to Celeste without any damage to your mind. That kind of information would have been overwhelming to anyone else. They would have been lost in the stream, mind shattered and absorbed into the information. When you consider that you escaped that with no warning, and no preparation, it makes sense that you could read them with that kind of mental fortitude."
The silence was deafening between them, only the slow hum of the lift."Why...why me...." Aki stammered. Her head was spinning."We don't know..." The Curator spoke softly. Her words trailed off into silence.Flare and Ash sat down next to the shore, the waves lapping at their bare feet. She dug her feet into the sand, fidgeting a bit. They had spoken at length. He admitted what Flare had, as well. He was beginning to feel a certain...independence since Flare had told told him of the...incident in the cave. He stared out at the rolling ocean waves, gently washing up over their feet. The silence spoke volumes.A gentle breeze rustled the tropical islands vegetation, and tumbled small dunes of sand across the beach. They glanced at each other, both feeling the same void in their minds where the Ayr'een mind link once comforted them. The Thanatos was dead on the bottom of the ocean. Its normal amplification properties dead with it. They were truly alone out here, without the comfort of their own race. It left them forced to listen to the silence. The galaxies winds were rife with the will of the inhabitants of AU-945, but silent of their own voices.
Flare pulled her legs into a cross-legged position, bowing her head. Ash did the same, sitting down in the surf. The water splashed against his tail and tailbone, swishing over into his lap. His eyes remained open, staring down into the swirling water. They both sat in silence.Lyn slowly lumbered down to the beach behind them, keeping quiet. They knew she was there, but their focus was elsewhere at the moment. She sat behind both of them, also cross legged. Her arms stretched out parallel to the ground in either direction, head bowed. She felt the essences of the natives. The half-blood. Flare, Ash, and the rest of their team. There were others on this island too, but they were of no consequence to them, at least at the moment. She felt the planet turning with them. Flare and Ash touched Lyn with their minds, wrapping their wills together, weaving their three souls together, joining as one. They could feel it all. The moon
orbiting the gas giant, the orbit of them around the sun. Lyn truly couldn't tell if the sun and galaxy were moving along any orbit. She couldn't track it in real time per say, but she could tell that there was definitely something affecting movement in them. It may have been her imagination, but she was sure of it. She knew that they were moving from observations, It was obvious. But to actively feel the changes on that scale would require much much more than 3 Ayr'een.
This moon, the locals called it "Mother" in their language, it was a garden in its own right. They Ayr'een were lucky to have such a world as their home for now. Their minds hugged together, all three of them almost becoming one entity, one hive mind with three bodies. The sun crawled toward the horizon, touched, and set. The three remained motionless the whole time, a strange aura being radiated around that section of the beach. Space seemed to warp and swim around the three.They may have been disconnected from home, but for the time being they had each other, and the comfort of a galaxy teeming with life.The Mors exited FTL above the super-earth of Av'lhn. Its guns remained dark. The will here was strong, they could all feel it. The Mors itself hummed a little brighter with the increased energy. The planet had an odd feeling to it as well. A fair number of Draconids knew what had happened. They had never really concerned their thoughts with the aliens until the bright star appeared in the sky, and the wave hit them. The opening of this Bifrost, as the Ayr'een nicknamed it, had sent shock waves throughout the galaxy in various forms. Many species simply saw a bright star. Other more advanced ones detected radiation levels skyrocket. But the Draconids felt the will shift that created it in the first place. And they knew that in some form or another, they would have to meet these creatures on peaceful terms.
Two points of light emerged from the hangar bay. The first, was the Liaison sent to meet them. The second was the Admiral Loki herself going down to the planet. Both reentered the atmosphere at terminal velocity, generating sonic booms as they slowed down. Loki leisurely swayed back and forth as the wind whipped against the suit encasing her. She was using her will for most of the work, with the board only providing her with the power she needed to perform additional tasks, such as taking in her surroundings. They both slowed and eventually touched down softly at the end of a long path that let toward a rather large pyramidal structure. They walked in silence, the liaison leading the way. There were a few dragons about, observing Loki from a distance. She focused on the destination ahead, though she could literally feel the eyes of those around her staring. They were hard to read, their expressions were that of an extremely reserved individuals. Loki had the suit peel back
from her face and extremities, revealing her face to all. The polymer pulled back to her elbows, knees, neck, and to the base of her tail. It would probably be rude if she hid behind a mask for the duration of her 'Vacation'.
Climbing the steps toward the pinnacle, Loki took her time. No rush. No need to get this over with. The Seer had a solemn expression on his face. The Ayr'een stood before him. Its green eyes were slitted, like a feline, but her body was that of one of their own. It was an oddity how their race had similar body types was something of an oddity. They stood staring at each other for several minutes before the Ayr'een spoke. Its language was sharp and brisk, comprised of single syllables. And of course he didn't understand a word it was saying. It stopped and smiled at him. An odd smile. It seemed to understand that whatever it said would not be understandable in the least. Loki reached out with her mind and essentially offered him a mental handshake. He took it.Well, here it was. A negotiation.