Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or Galaxy Quest or any of their related characters. This is just for my own enjoyment and the potential enjoyment of other Questarians like me, and no monetary gain was expected or received.

Rating: T+

Chapter Two: To Boldly Go…

Tech Sgt. to Command, Tech Sgt. to Command.

Chen looked up from the circuit board he was working on. That alarm meant one of two things: either something technical was going very badly on Deck or they were approaching something unknown - whether a star or a ship or a planet. He wasn't otherwise required on Command unless they were in battle simulations. Whatever the issue, he'd better call up there.

He got up and walked slowly to the wall monitor. "Yes, Commander. What's the situation?" he said calmly. He was well-practiced at calm. He needed to remain calm at all times, because if something bad happened to the ship, everybody aboard was going to be looking at him to fix it. He had to look like he could handle it.

"We're coming up on an unknown solar system and Doctor Lazarus reports initial scans indicate signs of life on one or more of the planets. I'm going to need you up here at your Command Post to monitor the situation as we make our approach." Taggart's strident voice was a stark contrast to Chen's softer tones.

"Sir, yes, Sir," Chen said. He appointed his senior-most staff member in charge of the engine room (a man seventeen years his elder) and headed for the lift. On Command Deck he stepped professionally into his post and sat in his seat without comment. Hopefully without much notice.

"Alright, Laredo, take us in," Taggart said, and the little boy saluted with some gusto. It was always clear that the child loved his work, at least. That was good.

"Commander, scanning indicates that life signs originate from the fourth planet from the sun," Doctor Lazarus, the Chief Science Officer, said. Lazarus was the only non-human aboard the ship, one of the very few non-humans in the NSEA. That said, he had studied at Cambridge, and had a strong, cultivated English accent. Chen wondered if it was as difficult to be the one Maktarian in Cambridge University as it was to be the one Chinese-Arabic kid in Green Bay East High School. Probably not. Lazarus didn't seem like the kind of guy who gave a damn what anybody else said or did, maybe even when he was a kid. If the Maktarians ever were kids, which frankly was hard to imagine.

"Lt. Madison, are we picking up any long-range chatter?" Taggart asked.

"A great deal, Commander. I'm sorting it now," she said. "Mostly radio and a few satellite broadcasts. They seem fairly primitive."

"Just because they haven't perfected interstellar communication doesn't mean they aren't advanced," Chen said. "People create what they feel they have a need for. Our own species created spaceflight long before we invented our Interstellar Communications Array. Actually, we had to. We couldn't have had the one without the other."

"I stand corrected," Madison said tightly.

Chen blanched. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -"

"No, no, you're right. And that was interesting. I didn't know that, about humans," Madison said, flashing him a smile. It only made him paler.

"What do you say, Lieutenant? Can you make contact with anyone?" Taggart said, gently bringing them back to the subject of the unknown planet.

"Transmitting coded message on all hailing frequencies. If they can receive us at all, Commander, they will."

"Will they be able to break the code?" Laredo said.

"If they've got mathematics on their planet," Lazarus said. "Meaning, yes, the smart ones will."

"Why code it at all? Why not just say hello?" Laredo asked.

"Because if they've never been contacted by aliens before, it could cause a panic," Taggart said. "Our primary directive says 'No way José.'"

"We ain't aliens, we human bein's!" Laredo said. "'Cept for Lazarus, but he don't count!"

Chen laughed. "Tommy, when you're not from whatever planet you're on, no matter what you may be, you are officially an extraterrestrial."

"What? You be trippin'!"

"It's true, Laredo," Taggart said. "We're all aliens in space."

"Well, they didn't tell me that when I signed up," the boy said. He clearly pondered for a moment, then his face cleared and he grinned. "That's kinda cool! I'm a alien!"

"Commander, we have received a reply to our transmission. Decoding it now," Madison said.

"That was quick," Lazarus said.

"You didn't expect a quick response?" Taggart asked.

"Not if they've never been contacted from outside their planet before. They'd want to dissect the message and make sure it wasn't a hoax first."

"Message coming through, Commander. Shall I put it onscreen?"

"Let's see it," Taggart said.

The main viewscreen, showing the large blue-green planet below them, switched to black and was replaced by an image of a young girl with long, silvery violet hair. She was seated in some sort of rudimentary throne or perhaps just a fancy chair and she had her hands on her bare knees. She was wearing a thin white sleeveless top, a gray pleated skirt, and brown beaded moccasins. There was a very plain sort of metal headband, possibly a tiara of some kind, on her head, from which a sheer linen veil hung in front of her lower face. She appeared human in all respects.

"Greetings, space travelers from Earth," this strange child said. "We have been expecting your arrival for some time now. I am Paddra Nsu Yeul, Seeress of the world of Gran Pulse. You are welcome to explore at your will, but first please present your Commander and the following crew members to me at the House of the Eye in Paddra. Ensign Thomas Jason Laredo. Doctor Lazarus of Tev'Meck. Lieutenant Tawny Grace Madison. Tech Sergeant Chen Ming Adeel. Coordinates to follow. Your cooperation is appreciated. Thank you."

The screen went black again. Madison flipped it back to regular view. "Well… that was… specific," Taggart said. "What did she mean, she was 'expecting us?'"

"She said she was a Seeress. She probably had to say she was expecting us. For her image," Lazarus said, voice dripping with disdain.

"She knew our names," Madison pointed out.

"They hacked our computer records somehow," Lazarus said.

"She knew my middle name was Adeel," Chen said in a very small voice. "That's not in my information."

"She also apparently knew your name was Chinese," Laredo pointed out. "She didn't say anyone else's name backward. Even though all of ours are written that way in our files."

"Yes, you both make decent points," Lazarus said, darkly and reluctantly. "Even if we are to assume that this species has some sort of preternatural sentience, that just means all the more that we should be wary. Commander, I object to this."

"Noted," Taggart said, "but I don't really see what choice we have. The entire purpose of our mission is to explore new worlds and make contact with unknown peoples. We can't turn down an actual invitation to do so just because the way it was couched gives us the heebie jeebies."

"They don't need to meet our top helmsman, computer programmer, and chief of engineering," Lazarus said. "Sir."

"I would agree, but they were pretty clear about wanting to meet with them. And someone's got to fly the shuttle, which means Laredo, and someone's got to be around to check out their tech while you do all your scans and data analysis of the people themselves. Who better to have on that than Chen and Madison? It's not like the Protector will be left understaffed while we're gone, and we'll have security with us."

"Need I remind the Commander that with myself and Tech Sgt. Chen aboard the shuttle you are putting all of the ship's ranking officers in clear and present danger at the same time, Sir?" Lazarus said, one dark eyebrow elevated almost to the ridges of his scalp. "Regulations call for strict adherence -"

"I know what regulations call for, Doctor," Taggart said. "This is my decision."

"…Of course, Sir."

"All right, people, to the shuttle bay. Langley, you have the Con."

They all headed for the shuttle bay, where they were met by the three beefy Security Specialists Taggart had requested join them for the journey. Laredo hopped into the driver's seat of Shuttle five Galileo with customary enthusiasm. "Let's roll, y'all! We got a whole new world to explore!" he said.

"Your enthusiasm is infectious, Helmsman, but I just want to caution everyone that we have no idea what to expect at all," Taggart said. "Safety is the word of the day, people. Let's exercise it."

Laredo made a face, but no further sound, and pulled the shuttle out of the bay and into the darkness of space with great precision despite the crowd of other vehicles in the vicinity. He was the best. They entered the shining blue atmosphere of the planet below and headed for a large, stone-built city in a deep canyon fissure and landed just outside on the bank of the clear, sparkling river that flowed through the canyon and city both. "So this is, what did she say it was?" Madison said, stepping out into the clear, fresh-air day and taking a deep breath of unrecirculated air.

"Paddra," Chen said, unfolding himself from the shuttle to stand beside her. "Like her last name."

"I thought it was her first name."

"I think it was like a Chinese name. Her first name is Yeul. Paddra Nsu Yeul. Actually, I think probably everybody that lives in Paddra identifies as Paddra, and then they have, like, family names… hers is Nsu… and then first names. Yeul."

"Figured all that out from one person?" Madison asked, eyebrow raised.

"Educated guess."

"What education brought you to that conclusion?"

"Well, we could test it out. There's a native standing right there." He raised his voice to address the person lounging in the doorway nearby, watching them with gimlet eyes. "Pardon me, what's your name?"

"Paddra Aman Hiral," the man said with some reluctance.

"Nice to make your acquaintance. My name is Green Bay Chen Ming. These are my colleagues."

"Where the smeg is Green Bay?" the man said.

"On Lake Michigan."

"Never heard of that lake."

"It's on another planet."

"…Oh. Off-worlders. I'd heard you were coming, but I didn't really believe it would happen in my lifetime."

"You don't seem overly surprised."

"What the Seeress says, always happens. It's just a matter of when."

"You're not frightened?" Taggart said.

"The Seeress said not to be. This time."

"Will there be a time when you should be?" Taggart asked.

"Maybe so. She has not said. But if there is one group of off-worlders out there, there will be others. Not so mannerly, perhaps."

Taggart looked at Lazarus, who looked straight back at him. Taggart cleared his throat. "Well, there is a great alliance of the more mannerly worlds out there. Perhaps your world will join with ours. Then we can help protect you against the unmannerly worlds."

"That is a question for the Seeress, not for a man like me."

"Here then is a question you hopefully can answer for us," Taggart said. "Where can we find the House of the Eye?"

The man turned and pointed down the street. "Straight down the fare lane, at the heart of the city, 'neath the bust of the goddess. You cannot miss it. And, one word before you go?"

"Yes?"

"The coin-snatchers in this city are clever monkeys," the man said, turning back and lounging against the wall once more. "You wear your tools and goods in a temptingly open manner. You might want to guard them better or you'll lose them."

"We'll… take that under advisement," Taggart said, as they all glanced down at their belts on which they wore their Vox communicators, their plasma guns, and yes, their wallets. Chen took the latter off of his belt and tucked it inside his jumpsuit collar. His Vox and gun he brought around to the front of his belt from the sides.

They walked down the wide open street the man had called the "fare lane," probably meaning the main street or street of commerce or entertainment. It appeared to be a market street, at any rate, lined with bazaar stalls and open-fronted shops. Street performers juggled pins and played tambourines and drums for coins tossed into their hats. Animals wandered in and out of the crowds of people, tethered and wild alike. It was a picture of quaint medieval urbanity.

"Wow. This is… absolutely nothing like I imagined Nabatiye et Tahte would be like, but still… yeah, kinda," Chen said.

"Na-what-iyay ate what-what?" Taggart said.

"Nabatiye et Tahte. The small city in Lebannon where my mother came from. Even in this age of space exploration, it remains, well… pretty traditional. I've never actually been there, though. Just heard mom's stories."

"Goats and chickens in every house?" Taggart laughed.

"Hey, traditional or not, they still have wifi. They're not living in B.C.E."

"Yes, but what do these people have? We cannot know for sure that just because the people in power have the ability to reach out into space, it means that they let the people have access to modern technology," Lazarus said. "They look a primitive lot."

"Except for the silent-running motorcycles and their cellular phones," Chen said mildly, pointing these things out here and there. Lazarus' pale face darkened a purplish shade in embarrassment at not having seen these details himself, but he said nothing.

A wild white flurry of fur burst out of a crowd of people towards them, and a half dozen or so small animals, like fennec foxes but with hands instead of forepaws, came gamboling towards them. Laredo laughed at their antics and Madison cooed over their cuteness.

"Be careful. I think these are the 'clever monkeys' that man warned us about," Chen said.

"What do you mean?" Taggart said.

"I saw that one steal some coins out of a lady's handbag before they came over, and that one just nabbed Tommy's Vox."

"Hey! Give that back, you!" Laredo cried out. The little creature bared its teeth and snarled at him as a wrestling match ensued.

"All right everybody, watch out for the little white fox monkeys. They're pickpockets, and damn good at it," Taggart said sourly, checking his wallet and finding himself several hundred credits short.

"Oh, they're just animals," Madison said. "They just like shiny things."

"I'm not so sure about that," Chen said. "Why would they take the Commander's paper credits and leave the wallet? They had to have taken it off his belt and put it back on. It snaps open in the back."

Madison didn't have an answer for that. Neither did anyone else.

"Everyone, tuck your wallets away. Guard your weapons well," Taggart said, eyeing the little creatures mistrustfully. Finding their prey become wary made the creatures disperse back into the crowds.

"Nasty critters," Madison said. "Cute, though."

"Come on, people. We took a hit to our pride, but don't let it get to you. Forward, ho!" Taggart said.

"I suppose we can take some vicious comfort in knowing that interspace credits should currently have no value on this planet," Lazarus said, finding his own wallet a few hundred credits lighter. "Little bastards."

"This is a little like Venice," Madison said, referring to the canal and the bridges that crossed it. "It's beautiful."

"I went there for spring break one year," Chen said. "Nice place. Great food."

"You went to Italy for spring break?" Madison asked.

"Yeah."

"Not… China?"

"China is huge. I only had a week."

"But wasn't your dad from, you know… Beijing?" Laredo said. "You could have just gone there."

"I've been there, okay? Geez, does having heritage in one place mean you can't see the rest of the world?"

"You could have gone to Lebanon," Lazarus said, not looking up from his scancorder.

"I don't have any relatives left in Lebanon. There's nothing really there to draw me in," Chen said, face like a thundercloud. "And if you didn't outrank me and have those sharp-looking ridges on your head, I'd smack you upside it. Don't think I wouldn't." Lazarus smirked at his scancorder.

"You picking up anything interesting, Lazarus, or are you just getting a rise out of riling my Tech Sgt?" Taggart asked.

"It is rather interesting, Commander. These people, these… humans, for lack of a better term. Genetically… they're almost identical to Earthlings. That should be nigh on impossible. And then of course there's the language. They speak Earth Standard English? It makes no sense, Commander."

"God works in mysterious ways," Taggart said, looking around at the brightly garbed humans going about their business around them.

"Commander," Lazarus said, "people can't even agree on whether there is a god, let alone who that might be."

"And of course to a scientist like yourself he's so much rubbish," Taggart said. "But come on, you've seen things you can't explain."

"That doesn't mean there is no explanation, Commander. It simply means I haven't enough information."

"True. So let's proceed to this House of the Eye, and hopefully some of our questions will be answered, yeah?" Taggart said, and began to walk much faster. The others had to step lively to keep up with him, even leggy Madison. Chen picked Laredo up and carried him on his shoulders.

Eventually the bazaar gave way to a wide plaza, a city square devoted solely to the golden statue that dominated the far end of it. It was the bust of a woman, with eyes that appeared to be massive diamonds glittering in the noonday sun, and she sat upon a building, one not nearly so conspicuous as the statue above, just plain stone with no apparent decoration.

"You think that's the House of the Eye?" Madison asked.

"That fellow back there said it was under the bust of the goddess," Taggart said. "I'd say that looks like the bust of a goddess to me, and I don't see any others around here."

"It's so small. I was expecting a palace."

"Yeah, it is kinda plain-jane," Taggart said. He led them to the doorless entryway. Two men carrying long spears marched out and blocked their way. "Okay. May not be a palace, but clearly a place of importance."

"You are the off-worlders. The Seeress expects you. Follow," one of the guards said, and the men with the spears turned around and led the way into the building.

"Not the most welcoming Welcoming Committee," Lazarus muttered.

"Well, they're not pointing those spears at us, at any rate. Yet," Chen said.

"They won't." The voice was young, female, and quietly in command. That silver-haired girl from the video message came out of the darkness at the end of the hall, walking slowly and painfully with her knees oddly bent inward as though she were knock-kneed or carrying an unbearably heavy burden. "I am glad to have met you. We have waited for you for many long days."

"You've waited for us?" Taggart said. "Space travelers in general?"

"You specifically, Commander Taggart," the girl said. "One of my forebears saw your arrival seven generations ago."

"Seven generations? We only left earth eight months ago."

"The Eyes of the Goddess see all from afar," the girl said. She turned to Doctor Lazarus. "We have all the data you need, Doctor, on our native flora and fauna. You do not need your job to be more difficult than necessary. I'm afraid, however, that detailed scientific studies of our peoples have never been performed. Our scientists felt that the divisiveness native to the races would only be increased by scientific knowledge of their differences. However, I certainly understand what it is you wish to know, and have no objection. I feel these studies would improve our natural healthcare considerably. It is not good to rely too heavily on magic."

"Magic?" Lazarus said, taken aback. The girl giggled, but said nothing further to him.

She turned to Lt. Madison. "I am glad to meet you, Lieutenant. Even today amongst my people, it is rare to see a woman receive her fair share of respect, and rarer still that she would demand it. I know you will provide illumination for many of our daughters, so they will see that being a woman does not have to mean standing in the shadows."

Madison didn't quite know what to say, so she merely inclined her head.

The girl's smile widened into a grin as she looked at Laredo. "Tommy! I am glad to see you. You are a ray of sunshine in dark times. Your comrades will need that, they will need you. Stand strong beside them. Promise me."

"I will," Laredo said, more than a little confused.

The girl looked at Chen. "You will find what you seek here. Do not be afraid to take hold of it, or it will slip out of your grasp."

"Uh, yeah… whatever you say," he said uncomfortably.

She looked at the Commander. "You have full permission to explore at will, but for that, you will want chocobos. They're expensive to rent, and your range of travel on a rental chocobo is limited. Your best bet would be to catch and train your own. That's complicated if you've never done it before. Your entire travail would be much eased if you were to hire a guide or two. The best place to do that is from the local chapter of Clan Centurio, the premire hunt club of Gran Pulse. That's just a few streets away. My page will lead you there."

"Well, that's very kind of you, uh, Ma'am, but we have a shuttle," Taggart said.

"You will find it of little use here," she said, smiling again. "In the air there are invisible creatures called Mimic Germinates, the spore of Mimics. They attach themselves to metal objects and eat them little by little until there is nothing left. Automobiles, velocycles, skyships. Unless you keep your shuttle docked for all but very short-range flights, it will shortly be destroyed."

"Shit," Chen said.

"Don't worry, I have already had it moved into the Aerodome for long-term storage while you are guests of our planet," the girl said. "The germinates won't get to it in the city. There is a paling around it. The air is filtered, here."

"A paling?" Lazarus said.

"A magical barrier. It keeps the germinates and the fiends away."

"Fiends?" Taggart said.

"That is what we call the bulk of the wildlife that lives on our planet."

"That's a… rather derogatory term," Madison said.

"It is apt. They are not the same sort of living creature you understand. They can breed, and their offspring are normal animals that evolve and learn and grow wary of cities and larger animals and beings. Fiends, however, are born of the Mist, the magical energy that suffuses this world. The gods fashion them seemingly to their whim. They are mad, dangerous creatures that know no fear of anything. And their numbers are boundless. One of the most lucrative jobs in Gran Pulse is the hunting of these creatures. We pay hunters huge bounties to wipe out as many fiends as they can because if they did not, we would soon be overrun."

"I've never been fond of hunting," Madison said, "but I guess I understand the necessity, here."

The girl clapped her hands together one time, and a tall, dark-haired man dressed in black body armor stepped out of the shadows, carrying a black box. "This is a thousand gil," the girl said. "It is our main currency. There are one hundred copper bits in a gil, and one thousand gil is one gold aurelian. Mostly, people just use gil. In any event, this should be more than enough to set you up with well-equipped guides who can help you on your way."

"Oh, well, thank you kindly, Your Highness," Taggart said.

"I am not a queen," the girl said. "I am not royalty of any kind. I am not even a leader. I guide, but I do not lead."

"Just… what are you, then?" Taggart said. "I'm sorry if that sounds impertinent, but we don't have anything like you where we come from."

"I am the servant of the Goddess Etro," she said quietly. "Long ago, she gifted my predecessors with her Eyes. I see what will be."

"I… see…" Taggart said. "Well, uh… Yeul… we shouldn't keep you any longer. Thank you again for the gift. If there's anything we can do in return…"

"I have one more thing for you," the girl said.

"Oh?"

She held out a sparkling diamond cross on a chain. "This is a protective symbol of the Farseer people. Its magic bestows blessings on the worthy."

"Oh! Well, thank you very much," Taggart said, but she moved past his outstretched hand and stood before Chen.

"What, me?" he said.

"You have the strength, and you need the blessing," the girl said, and folded it into his hand. "Good luck."

"I, uh… I don't think I'm allowed to accept gifts," he said.

"It's all right, Tech Sergeant," Taggart said. "This is a matter of Interstellar diplomacy."

"Is there anything we can do for you?" Taggart said, when the girl returned to the tall, dark man's side. "Anything at all?"

"I only ask that you share your findings with us," the girl said. "Your information will be interesting to put against ours, and record the differences and similarities between your findings and ours. It may tell us things we did not realize about our world."

"Of course," Lazarus said. "Information should always be shared, never hoarded."

"I feel the same," the girl said, "although… sometimes… sharing information does more harm than good."

"What times are those?" Lazarus said, bridling.

"When the picture is dark, and the image unclear. People panic, thinking hope is lost, when in reality all they really need to know is that the picture is never complete. A piece can always come into focus that changes the view of the whole scenario."

"So the future is not set in stone," Chen said.

She smiled. "It is, but I never see enough of it to know the entire meaning of what I am seeing. I may see a very dark image of Commander Taggart laying facedown on the ground, with you, Chen, standing over him looking enraged, holding a gun, but when the moment comes, you will more likely find that you reach down to help him stand than shoot him."

He was clearly shaken. "I would hope so."

"So would I," she said. "The point is, I never know. People make their own decisions about what my visions mean, but only time itself will tell. But the panic that may happen in the meantime… that can cause much hardship. At times, I wish that I could keep word of my visions to myself."

"Why can't you?" Taggart said.

"I was given the responsibility to guide the Farseer people on their path to the future," the girl said. "If I kept my visions quiet, they would have no way of knowing where their road was taking them at all. The outcome may always be the same, but the path needn't be. And even I do not know what influence the chosen path has on the ultimate outcome. What I see always happens, but what happens in the spaces between what I see and what I do not is not necessarily set."

Taggart raised his hands to the sides of his head and made a gesture like his head had just exploded while providing sound effects with his mouth. The girl smiled.

"It isn't as complicated as it sounds. But I will trouble you no further. Please, take what we've offered and be about your business. I for one am quite eager to learn of your findings. And do be careful. This world is treacherous."

They bowed their way out of her presence and returned to the street outside. "I wonder what to make of all that hoopla?" Lazarus said. "She really seems to believe she can see the future."

"Maybe she can," Taggart said. "We never know the abilities of other species. She may look human, but chances are really very good she's not."

Lazarus gave him a look. "I know she's not," he said. "Nevertheless, precognition requires mental capacity far beyond the limits of a human-scale brain, which she evidently has."

"Maybe she uses more of it than a human does," Chen said mildly. "We only use around ten to thirteen percent of our mental capacity. You were scanning her DNA, not giving her an EEG."

"Do you think I was being racist?" Lazarus said.

"Maybe a little. We don't know anything about these people. We don't know what they're capable of, no matter what size brain they have."

"You don't believe that shite about humans having precognitive abilities, do you, Chen?" Lazarus said, with a curled lip.

"Not really. But I keep an open mind."

"Where is this hunt club we're supposed to look for?" Taggart said. "Sounded like a good place to find someone who knows what they're doing around here, to me."

Someone nearby cleared their throat. "I am to take you there, Good People," that someone said, and they all looked to see a neatly-dressed young teen with white-blond hair heavily pomaded into spikes and licks. "My name is Vaan. I know the way. Please do follow me."

"All right, Vaughan. We're right behind you," Taggart said.

"Vaan," the young man repeated, and set off down the street. He made a fast pace through the crowds, and they had to step lively to keep up with him.

"Commander… someone is following us," Madison said in a low voice.

"Oh?" Taggart said over his shoulder.

"Young female. Haven't caught a real good glimpse of her yet, but she's got a massive blonde topknot. She's pretty good at keeping to the shadows. I don't think I'd have seen her if it wasn't for the hair."

"Maybe she's just a curious local," Taggart said.

"Awfully professional for a local," Madison said. "My guess is, she's a thief."

"Well, we're on guard now."

The boy Vaan led them to a building carved out of the cliff face itself. "Clan Centurio, Paddra Chapter," he said. "They will have had word from the Seeress, they will let you in. Ordinarily, you must belong to the Clan, or be a prospective member, before you may enter. Speak to Nono. She will know who would be best for you to hire."

"Thank you, Vaughan," Taggart said.

"Vaan," the boy said again, and ran back the way they'd come.

"All right, in we go," Taggart said, standing aside for Madison and the others to precede him.

The inside was well-lit by strange orange wall sconces that looked like glowing stone and a marvelous chandelier dangling hundreds of chips of the same stuff. For a hunter's club, it was really quite posh, with marbled floors and grand stairwells. The people, on the other hand, looked mostly like you'd expect hunters to look like, rough-and-ready sorts, with practical clothes, tattoos, and scars in visible places. Some were missing limbs or eyes. Most of them were not at all human.

Taggart asked of a tall, muscular, lizard-looking man near the main entrance where they could find a woman named Nono. The lizard man said nothing, but turned and pointed up the stairs with a grunt.

"Thank you," Taggart said. Again, the man said nothing in reply.

"Maybe he doesn't speak English," Madison whispered.

"He speaks, just not to people who aren't members," a large, yellow pig-being said. "Nono's up top. Can't miss her. Only moogle in-house today."

"Moogle?" Taggart said.

"You'll know her when you see her. She's very… fluffy."

"Fluffy. Okay. Thanks."

"Hey. Be respectful. She's head of the Chapter," the pig-being said.

"Oh. Sure, we'll be respectful."

They headed up the stairs, past more pig-beings, past blue frog-like beings with bulbous yellow eyes, a few humanoids, and more lizard-like creatures. A vast array of these peoples congregated upstairs, but no one seemed particularly "fluffy."

"Maybe she… stepped out?" Madison suggested.

"Or maybe we're just not seeing her in this crowd," Lazarus said. "My Word, there are a lot of them."

"Hello!" a tiny voice said from somewhere near their knees. "Are looking for me, kupo?"

They looked down, and saw a small white-furred mouse-like being of excessive fluffiness, wearing a blue dress.

"Nono, I presume?" Taggart said, bringing his charm to bear. "I am Commander Peter Quincy Taggart of the NSEA Protector and this is my crew. The Seeress told us to look to you for aid in hiring a reliable guide to this marvelous planet of yours."

"Yes, Yeul sent word ahead, kupo. Well, frankly, there's only one man who's explored enough of this world of ours to take anyone on a long-range exploration. Loghain. He's as tough as they come, and no one has more experience. He and his partner can handle everything you need."

"Where can we find them?" Taggart asked.

"Well, they went out hunting this morning," Nono said. "They do most days. But today they took the bike, which must mean they didn't intend to go far or be out long. You could wait here for them. They'll surely check in here to see if there are any new contracts when they return from the wilds. I would venture to guess only a few hours."

"We'd… really rather get a move on, actually," Taggart said slowly.

"Well, you could track them down yourself. Chances are they're just outside the city, hunting the Vallis Media. Without a Velocycle of your own, it might be difficult to catch them up, but more than likely they are hunting on foot somewhere along the way, and it is a very narrow place - you should not be able to pass them by."

"I think we'll do that. Thank you, very much."