"You could at least act a little more surprised."
"I haven't made a habit of lying to you so far, why should I start now?"
Seated comfortably in the private communications booth, Maria scowled at the screen in front of her, in a fashion indicative of good-natured exasperation.
Displayed on it, Mirage's face smiled back serenely.
"You're not going to tell me that you knew this would happen."
"No, I'm not. But what were you expecting?"
"That was the whole point," Maria insisted. "I didn't know. It could have been anything. And you couldn't possibly have 'expected' it to be a request to head a two-person information gathering team to Elicoor II."
"But in retrospect, it seems like a reasonable possibility."
Maria gave up. Sometimes, the trouble with Mirage's calm and stoic demeanour was that she tended to be calm and stoic. "So, do you already know how the rest of this mission is going to proceed? Or would you prefer that I took the time to occasionally get in touch?"
As usual, Mirage didn't rise to the bait. "Well, if you think you'll have the time. I certainly hope you won't use this as an excuse to slack off on your training."
"Hmm... maybe I'll learn some special techniques on Elicoor II."
"So you'll be ready for a test when you get back. And I'd better not have to hold back as much as I do now."
"Be careful what you wish for," Maria warned teasingly, "I might just surprise you."
"I'll look forward to that," Mirage assured her. "I'll get in touch with Cliff and tell him the news. Send a few photographs back, if you have the time."
"I will. Take care."
"You too."
Tapping a button on the computer console, the communications screen blinked off in response. Withdrawing her personal data chip from the machine, Maria opened the door to the private booth, stepping back out into the organized chaos that was the Gibraltar Planetary Spaceship Port.
The passenger docks were located only a short distance away, and the brief communiqué she had received last night indicated that her ride to Elicoor II should have arrived and docked by now. She had been told to simply show up, without any further ceremony, and she intended to follow the instructions to the letter.
"Dock A-3," she mused aloud, eyeing the signs posted along the walls and hanging from the ceiling. That was the third dock from where she had just entered the 'A' wing, but two large military cruisers occupied the first two slots, blocking her view of what lay immediately beyond. It was probably too much to hope that her employer/team member happened to own a third one.
Shouldering the bag containing her belongings, she began crossing the docking area, taking care to remain within the lanes designated for foot traffic. It was only three docks down, but after you factored in the amount of space needed for each spaceship, your effective hike was your dock number, multiplied by over two hundred metres. When you thought about it further, and looked at the gradually degrading quality of the ships as you looked further down the line, it wasn't hard to imagine the closer docking spaces being given to more affluent people, and it was easier still to pity the poor bastard parked down in dock twenty-five. Needless to say, having a ship parked in the third dock clearly didn't happen by accident, even if Maria hadn't already been made aware of how wealthy and affluent the Vectra House was.
Peering past the corner of the second military vessel, the third vessel came into view, almost amusingly small compared to the two preceding it. What it lacked in size however, it made up for in style. Contrasting sharply with the chunky, gunmetal-grey exteriors of the cruisers, it was wide, sleek, and painted a luminescent white colour. Etched along the side of its teardrop nose were the words 'Taeska-Jare', with some foreign characters below it that Maria didn't recognize. The ship's name, more than likely.
Further down were a long string of numbers, beginning with the letter 'D', which meant a Pangalactic Federation 'Diplomatic' registration. Occasionally used for military transports short on weaponry, but more commonly used by private (read: rich) owners who wanted to legally pack more shielding and speed than standard private registrations permitted. It was a promising sign, she decided, ascending the attached passenger ramp to the main entrance door.
The outer airlock was open, allowing Maria to take a few steps into the ship before being stopped by the inner airlock. Tapping the wall panel to her left, a musical chime confirmed her selection.
Several seconds later, a very feminine - almost sultry, in fact - voice responded from the integral speaker. "May I help you?"
"Maria Traydor," she replied. "Am I at the right address?"
An amused chuckle could be heard. "You most certainly are. I'll be right there."
True to promise, barely twenty seconds passed before the inner airlock door slid aside with a quiet hiss. Standing in the doorway...
At a glance, the woman was almost certainly Ophelia Vectra's sister. In fact, if she hadn't heard otherwise earlier, she might have assumed the women to be twins. From their wavy blond hair and (three) hazel eyes, to their marble-sculpted faces and frankly stunning figures, the Vectra bloodline clearly catered to the camera eye, whether dressed up or down.
Brushing a lock of hair back over one ear, the woman gave her a warm smile, gesturing for her to enter. "Miss Traydor, you're here in good time, I see. My younger sister told me a little about you, but it's a pleasure to finally meet you face to face. Vectra house, Odessa. Welcome aboard."
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A Question of Fate
A Star Ocean: TTOET fanfic by Intrasonic
Part 2-A
'Because nothing says 'mutual respect' and 'profound thanks'
like classifying your friends as a primitive anthropology exhibit.'
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Disclaimer: 'Star Ocean: Till the End of Time' is copyrighted by Square-Enix/Tri-Ace. This work of fanfiction
is being written for enjoyment and in homage to the original work, and no profit is being made from it.
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"...And these will be your quarters for the duration of our time working alongside one another."
Maria took the in the proffered room with a suitably impressed expression. "I think I've seen smaller houses than this."
"The Taeska-Jare has two of these rooms," Odessa explained, "and I'm using the first one. As the most important - and only - dignitary aboard, you're naturally entitled to the use of the second. Please consider this room and all its amenities to be at your complete disposal for the duration of this trip. If you'd prefer to unpack your belongings now, I can give you the ship-wide tour at a later time, or...?"
By way of reply, Maria tossed her lone piece of luggage onto the bed. It was a good throw, landing square on the middle of the massive bed. "Consider myself unpacked for the time being."
Odessa smiled. "Fair enough. We have thirty minutes until our launch window, which should be enough time to briefly introduce you to the rest of the ship. If you'll just follow me..."
Despite their obvious similarities in appearance, Maria was finding absolutely no trouble identifying them as separate people. It was mostly their voices, she thought. High Council member Ophelia Vectra's voice had been crisp and casual, with just a hint of enjoyment and amusement behind it. It was the kind of voice that put you at ease if you considered her a friend, but could make you paranoid if you thought she might be an enemy.
Odessa's voice was considerably different. It was very... smooth, for lack of a better, non-suggestive term. It didn't appear deliberate, because she'd relayed her departure intentions to the spaceport control tower in the same tones that she'd ordered the ship's computer to unlock Maria's quarters. Just the same, by the time its individual intonations and inflections were summed up, it seemed to hint that whatever the present topic was, it was simply a prelude to something more intimate. Were Odessa Vectra a teaching professor, she would probably lecture with a long-stemmed rose for a pointer, and a baritone sax and grand piano jazz duet in the background.
In a fair and just universe, Maria strongly felt, people shouldn't be allowed to sound like that by accident.
"...the holodeck is located beyond these doors," Odessa was continuing. "It's the latest design, and built to diplomatic specifications, so feel free to indulge whenever you desire."
"Diplomatic specifications?" Maria inquired curiously.
"That would be shipbuilder code for 'Completely unmonitored and equipped with sterilization facilities'. For whatever reason, diplomats apparently tend to be an exceptionally strange and kinky group."
"You mean-"
"Don't ask and don't tell," Odessa agreed blithely. "It has the standard 'diplomatic selection' of programs installed, but I never bothered to get a listing of what that entailed either. But rest assured, there's probably something in there for everybody."
"No doubt."
"You can get acquainted at your leisure. We've a three-day trip to Elicoor II, so I imagine that we'll become weary of each other's company before long."
Maria raised an eyebrow. "Only three days? To Elicoor II? That's a good turn of speed for a ship this size. I know some military vessels could do it in two, but..."
Odessa looked rather proud. "Excepting delays and unplanned interference, you'll have proof positive in three days. This ship has a pair of a high-output antimatter reactors, and a pair of engines that can use every drop of power they're given."
"Very nice. And it's just the two of us aboard?"
"Unless you're inclined to count the main computer AI. This ship is designed to be able to run with only one person aboard. If I was playing hostess to some dignitaries, I might consider hiring an individual or two to fully oversee ship functions while I entertain guests. But for our purposes, I expect the two of us will be more than enough. Which reminds me, I'll need to authorize you to the main computer. Otherwise you won't be able to give commands to the ship."
"I didn't know you could get ships this big, that could function properly without crew."
"Have you heard of a company called Radicore?"
"I don't think so."
"They're a shipbuilding company that specializes in luxury vessels, and this is one of their latest models. The systems are designed for peak reliability, and all major systems have extensive redundancy and fail-safes. Bottom line: It's designed for hands-off operation, and if anything goes wrong, it should be able to limp to a place where it can be fixed."
"Do I even want to know what all this cost?"
"It's not a cheap model, that's for certain. But a good friend of mine became the vice-president of the company a few years back, and gave me this ship for a gift."
"A gift..."
"Well, he's a terribly bright person, but he came from a terribly poor background. After meeting him, I was rather curious what he might be capable of, so I sponsored his education. Now that's become a successful person, he didn't want me to think that he was unappreciative. As an added bonus, he's sold six more of these ships to people whom I've entertained aboard this one."
Maria shook her head in disbelief. "Your family really does do a good job of scratching each other's backs, don't you?"
Odessa looked amused. "I'm left with the impression that you've been putting that statement together before we were even introduced."
"It's a cumulative impression," Maria admitted. "Your sister all but admitted to leaking certain details to you about my first visit to Elicoor II, both she and Admiral Uodo seemed to welcome an excuse to talk with me in person, this business lets the Federation imply that things are sufficiently improved that they can sponsor research projects like this one..."
"Is that a problem?"
Maria shook her head. "Of course not, it's just... surprisingly cooperative. My own experience probably makes me a little jaded, but..."
"Well, there's two sides to every coin, correct? But you may as well add another item to your list - this is giving ME a chance to openly conduct planet-side research with an underdeveloped culture. Even in clandestine fashion, it's a terribly rare opportunity, never mind the uniqueness of Elicoor II's situation. Furthermore, even for the opportunities that do arise, the need for secrecy obviously disqualifies individuals who have three eyes. Yet here I am..."
"Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?" Maria summarized.
"To put it mildly. I have plenty of colleagues who would at least severely maim for this opportunity."
"So how did the final vote land on you, if I may ask?"
"A variety of reasons," Odessa assured her. "Not least of which is the fact that I possess my own ship. Even if they approved the project, the Federation simply doesn't have vessels to spare. Whereas I'm more than happy to donate my personal ship to the cause - provided I'm aboard, of course.
"On top of that, one of the biggest challenges will involve convincing Elicoor II to agree to this. Most researchers and scientists have a tendency towards tunnel vision in their pursuit of knowledge, believing it to be above political matters. Considering the upheaval that surrounded the last visit, I think it's safe to say that a delicate hand will be needed before Elicoor II openly welcomes any more visitors. Someone like myself, who is better versed in public relations and political matters, is less likely to inadvertently offend them."
Maria nodded in agreement. "We did make quite an impression on them last time. But a lot of it was good."
"The important part will be convincing them of that. Your very presence will accomplish a great deal of that, but that doesn't mean I might not be able to help out a little. I don't know how much my sister encroached upon the topic, but she implied to me that there were certain things that you might wish to remain classified?"
A fatalistic shrug. "Your sister told me that you could be trusted to keep a secret. And to be honest, I think it's pretty much impossible for you to not hear some of the stories surrounding what happened while we were there."
"I'm aware that there was some Vendeeni interference. And I know that one of the natives apparently left the planet for a period of time..."
"That's just the beginning, trust me. It's not a five minute tale, and some parts are going to sound pretty unbelievable."
Odessa took the claim as presented. "Well, my sister did warn me about that, but she also said that you weren't the kind of person to spin a story. So I'm certainly looking forward to hearing this story. And if you don't mind, I'd also like to try interrogating you about the events. To see if you're able to recall any important details."
"Important details?"
"Details important to this mission, to be exact. Details that were probably the last thing on your mind at that time."
"Fair enough."
"But that can happen at a later time," Odessa assured her. "We still have twenty minutes before departure, so I'll give you a brief tour of the cargo bay, which is presently holding a selection of equipment for this mission. I understand that, once programmed with some specifics, most of it will run on automatic. So we'll be able to go about our own business while the equipment collects information."
"I've always been more of a software person than hardware," Maria admitted. "But three days should be plenty of time to make sure that it's ready to use."
"Excellent. If you'll just come with me, the cargo bay is this way..."
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Maria hadn't been lying when she'd warned about the strangeness of her story. Despite that, throughout the process of retelling the story to Odessa over lunch, she was slowly beginning to realize exactly how much of an understatement that had been.
"...and at that point, we said our farewells to the Elicoorians and returned to the Diplo. The rest of it is nothing worth mentioning. Just us all going home and getting on with our lives."
Leaning back in her chair, Maria took a long draw from her cup of coffee - her third since the beginning of the story - and waiting for a comprehensive judgement of the story. And it would come, even if she was only one-tenth as good a judge of character as she thought. Odessa Vectra was clearly an academic, and the attention she had provided had been nothing less than intense and near-photographic in nature. Several times, the Tetrageniot had politely interrupted the flow of events, seeking clarifications on certain issues, but beyond that had done nothing but provide her complete and undivided attention.
"A computer simulation? Everything?" Odessa finally asked, because that wasn't the kind of thing you accepted without double-checking.
"A computer simulation," Maria confirmed patiently. "A giant role-playing game for the inhabitants of 4D space, really."
"And in the end, this Creator individual - Luther - attempted to delete everything?"
"He claimed to be doing just that. And for an instant, I know I almost felt... disassociated from myself. I'm not really sure what to describe it as... maybe an out-of-body experience? I remember desperately trying to BELIEVE that I existed... and suddenly, I was normal again. Sitting in a grass field on Elicoor II, along with the others."
Odessa shook her head doubtfully. "That sounds like a situation that could give an atheist both a crisis and vindication of faith. Not that I'm doubting you, but... you're quite positive about all this?"
"It's not that it couldn't somehow be a giant hoax, but at a certain point, it would almost be harder to create the hoax than the real thing. So yes, I'm quite positive. Not happy, but positive."
"That... doesn't make much sense," Odessa admitted. "Logically, I mean. Simply the idea of our existence, including our computers, being a computer program..."
"Don't think I'm not aware of that. Computers are one my greatest strengths, especially in the areas of low-level programming and data management. And like I told you earlier, I was the person who programmed the Eternal Sphere system to consider us as 'characters' for the game. And I've spent the last three months meditating on everything I experienced..." Maria cut short her diatribe, before she started to rant. "I still don't understand it all. But that doesn't stop it from having happened."
"As you say. So naturally, this entire story is more or less completely classified?"
"Your sister said that your organization obtained a copy of these events earlier, except with all the sensitive information let out. Basically, anything not in that copy is probably classified."
"Fair enough. Don't think I won't ask you about certain things later on, but... for now, let's move on to more productive topics. As you may or may not have been told, the primary goal of this mission will be to collect raw information and relay it back to a collection of other experts in various fields, who will then go to the trouble of doing in-depth analysis. Not to say that I won't be doing my own share of such things, but my main goal is to provide information for my colleagues to work with. Which means that I'm in a position to control exactly what information is passed along."
"That's a good thing," Maria agreed cautiously. "What about me? Aside from trying to set up things, and making sure the equipment operates properly?"
"That remains to be seen. No offence, but you simply don't have the training to properly identify and obtain a great deal of the information required. Furthermore, I'll need you available for anything unexpected that crops up - which could involve anything, to be honest."
"Fair enough. What about my first goal? If we're going to convince Elicoor II to go along with this, we're going to have to be able to offer something in return. Obviously, complete blueprints for a working spaceship aren't an option."
Odessa smiled. "Obviously. It remains to be seen what they want, I suppose."
"But what can we offer? My understanding of the UP3 basically amounts to 'don't get involved in the first place'. Beyond that..." Maria shrugged. "I'm sure you understand it better than I do."
"Naturally." Taking a sip of her own drink - some sort of clear wine - Odessa took on a lecturing tone. "To begin, the overall intent of the UP3 is to avoid disrupting the state and development of underdeveloped cultures. There are several major schools of thought surrounding the specifics, but they all agree that a complete lack of contact is the ideal approach. Beyond that generalization, the majority of the opinions agree that the two biggest sources of disruption are 1) the knowledge of the existence of other civilizations, and 2) the knowledge of radically higher technological concepts.
"In more practical terms, this amounts to letting underdeveloped civilizations know that they're not alone in the universe, and giving them the means and knowledge to make very big weapons that they don't know how to handle."
Maria considered the information for a moment before replying. "That's it? I would think that there would be plenty of other ways to mess things up."
"You'd think so, wouldn't you? Odessa agreed. "But believe it or not, those are the two big ones. Even things like killing important political figures or mass-slaughtering of locals are actually secondary in overall effect."
Needless to say, THAT statement was met with more than a healthy degree of scepticism.
Which didn't go unnoticed by Odessa. "Intuitively, you would think that those other things would have a profound impact on the culture, wouldn't you? But there's actually a considerable amount of research suggesting otherwise. Take the hypothetical scenario where an important political figure is killed. Pretend that he was pushing for some radical political change - suffrage or caste rights, perhaps. If this important figure is suddenly removed, does anything really change?"
Maria considered the question. "If they had enough supporters behind their cause, probably not much, I suppose. They might even become a martyr and further their cause. Or someone else will take their place before long. A lot of people say that Quark's more recent successes were because of me, but I can assure you, none of it would have happened without the rest of the organization."
"You have the general idea," Odessa approved. "Almost invariably, very little changes with the removal of a single person. Short-term upheaval, yes. Long-term changes, no. If they were advocating for or against a certain change, it will either happen or it won't. People like to attribute major events to highly visible figureheads, but when you really start studying things, that's all they are - figureheads for something a lot of other people are supporting. At worst, the progression of events might be delayed a few years. Despite our romantic notions of individuals single-handedly changing the world, the vast majority of figureheads are simply people who - by accident or design - are simply getting credit for what a large group of people are collectively doing."
"I can accept that," Maria agreed, "but what about the second scenario? The mass-slaughter scenario? Because the planet we're visiting had one of those recently, courtesy of a Vendeeni battleship. You're telling me that it didn't actually affect the planet very much?"
"That incident was mentioned in the general report, I know. In the middle of a massive battle, the Vendeeni showed up and indiscriminately opened fire on the soldiers for several minutes before... being stopped by unknown means, presumably linked to the Elicoorian's symbological weaponry. But in actuality, by your friend Fayt Leingod, according to the uncensored version you just finished relating to me."
"That's right."
"Let me put this question to you: The changes that happened, what really caused them? Was it the death of a few thousand soldiers in the middle of a giant battle? Or was it the appearance of a new player in the game?"
"I... I'm not sure," Maria admitted. "I didn't arrive until a short time after it happened. I do know that when the two sides had their peace talk, both sides seemed extremely concerned with the fact that the Vendeeni were after the Sacred Orb. Their willingness to get along seemed a little strange, but I didn't feel like questioning good fortune at the time."
"Which leans towards my point," Odessa suggested. "I'd be willing to bet that far more soldiers were killed by other soldiers than by that five-minute disruptor barrage. But knowing that those last few soldiers were killed by an unknown 'Someone Else', THAT is the kind of thing that will radically change how a planet thinks."
Maria drained her cup of coffee before replying. "Okay, I'll accept that thesis for now. So, as far as our mission is concerned, they know about other civilizations at this point, but we still have to make sure they don't get any... 'Radically higher technological concepts', you called them?"
"That's right, although admittedly, it's a bit of a grey area. Obviously, teaching this planet about Creation energy or genetic cloning is a big negative. On the other hand, it's possible that small, mostly insignificant items might be permitted. But by the same token, their insignificance reduces their value as bargaining chips. When we're making our offerings, I would probably suggest that the whole topic of 'Technology' be kept off the table until we have a better understanding of what they know and don't know."
"Which leaves us with...?"
"Hard currency," Odessa informed her matter-of-factly. "Money, for starters. Your report didn't say, but I'm willing to bet the planet uses physical currency, likely involving rare metals such as gold and silver."
"That's right."
"This ship's replication facilities can certainly replicate quantities of such things, although we can't afford to give so much that we devalue their existing currency. Raw materials are another good possibility. If they've already discovered a particular material, we can probably provide them with more of it. I'm willing to bet that things like higher-grade iron and steel compounds would be valuable. Without widespread electricity, refined aluminium ore is probably very expensive for them as well."
"What about... less-raw materials?" Maria suggested. "Could we provide fabricated tools made out of that steel?"
"Maybe, maybe not. There's a fine line between a sword and a chef's knife, you understand, and we wouldn't want to imply anything undesirable. But it's not impossible, considered on a case-by-case basis. My colleagues and myself anticipated this issue, and we've put together a more widespread list of likely possibilities. You can look it over at your leisure, but what's important for the moment is that you understand the general ideas behind the underlying restrictions that the UP3 imposes."
"I think so."
"We'll have plenty of time to review our options over the next couple of days," Odessa assured her. "But if you remember what I said earlier, about questioning you over some more obscure details?"
"You want to try that now?"
"If you don't mind."
"Go ahead."
Odessa expression was that of someone reviewing a mental checklist. "To start, your report states that there were two main continents on this planet of Elicoor II? Called Gaitt and Greeton? You spent the entirety of your time on the continent of Gaitt, which is composed of three nations? The Kingdoms of Aquaria and Airyglyph, and another region called the Sanmite Republic? All true?"
"That's right. Most of my contact was with Aquaria. I was in Airyglyph only briefly, and the I only saw the Sanmite Republic is passing."
"Then we'll concentrate on the Kingdom of Aquaria first..."
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"...can you recall any other examples of oaths or cursing by the natives?"
Maria shook her head.
"No expletives involving what sounded like names or groups?"
Once again, Maria shook her head. "Should I have?"
Odessa shrugged. "Based on what you've told me... I think so."
"You're expecting to find something?" Maria guessed. If there was any doubt in mind about Odessa's academic credentials, the last three hours had steadily diminished it. The woman had exhaustively quizzed her on her entire time spent on-planet, right now the most inane, inconsequential details. Things like evidence of taxation, relative geography, food preparation methods, architectural states and styles, clothing preferences, varieties of curse words...
"You could say that," Odessa agreed. "The initial report stated that the Kingdom of Aquaria was a theocracy. Unfortunately, I simply don't see it myself. You can't recall any obviously ceremonial clothing or jewellery, special customs, proprietary foods, deities invoked while swearing, significant moral restrictions... This 'Church of Apris' seems to be the most laid-back religion I've heard of in quite some time. In fact, there are some schools of thought that would say that any religion that has so little visible impact can't even be considered a true religion. And there's nothing else that you can recall to suggest otherwise?"
Maria shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I did mention the giant chapel they have constructed in their capital city? Integrated with their castle? And the separate Shrine of Kadden?"
"But you never witnessed any ceremonies actually taking place in either location?"
"I'm afraid not."
Odessa sighed. "Well, nothing for it, I'm afraid. That line of thought will have to wait until later. And it may have company, because it's not the only thing that I'm finding strange about this Kingdom. The next thing is the war that was taking place. You're absolutely positive that it was a full-blown war?"
"As opposed to...?"
"A border skirmish? A friendly competition that got out of hand?"
Maria gave her an incredulous look.
"Well?"
Maria's mind wandered back to the first time she had crossed the Arias plains, scarcely a week after the massive battle that had raged across it. It hadn't been pleasant, not by a long shot. Maria's life had acquainted her well with the prospects of war and death, but... 'Sea of Bodies' was supposed to be a metaphor, not a literal description... "Positive," she finally replied. "VERY positive."
"Well, it doesn't sound like a war," was Odessa's judgment. "Far too many things don't match up. To start, if we look at this map-" Here, Odessa gestured to a crude topographical printout of the continent of Gaitt, apparently obtained several decades ago from a brief orbital survey that hadn't bothered investigating further. Roughly scrawled in various locations were Maria's best approximations of various town and city locations. "This is Airyglyph's territory, and this is the place you said their air dragons flew to later on for that peace meeting - the Mosel Ruins - correct? If those air dragons can reach that far, it should be child's play for them to have hit some of the other cities. Yet according to your descriptions, not only was there no evidence of such a thing, the people didn't even seem nervous about such a possibility?"
Maria frowned. "You... have a point, but I'm not really sure what else to tell you. Those are all the facts that I'm aware of."
"And all together, they add up to an incomplete picture," Odessa agreed. "Everything else about their military capabilities suggests well-developed tactics and skills on both sides. And you say that both sides had some skilled individuals in charge of their militaries, correct? There has to be a reason for such a tactical oversight. You encountered all of Airyglyph's generals, correct? Did they seem... timid? The type to stay at home while their men went into battle?"
"Definitely not," Maria assured her. "One of them was Albel, remember? The one who went with us to talk with Crosell?"
Odessa nodded. "Ah, yes, of course. Although it certainly didn't end up as a 'talk', you also said. So he was definitely the sort of general who actually follows his soldiers into battle?"
"Definitely." Maria thought back to the brief time the man had been with them. Whatever the man's other faults might be, no one could ever call Albel Nox a coward. Not twice, anyway. "In fact, I think that his soldiers would have to hurry if they didn't want to be left behind."
"Is that so? So their choice of military tactics is another thing to be investigated in detail, I suppose."
"Another item on a big list?"
"Believe it. But I'm a persistent person. And you are a very patient person, I might add. Why don't you take a break from my questioning, and... do whatever you do to relax?"
Maria nodded. "I think I'll take a look at the equipment, actually. If only to get an idea of what I have to work with. If you want to ask more questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'm used to working strange hours, and I'm a bit of a workaholic."
Odessa looked amused. "We'll see how long you can hold that title around me. But on the topic of strange hours, you should probably know that Tetrageniot circadian cycles tend to average about forty-five standard hours in length. So our respective sleeping patterns are probably not going to match up very well."
Maria digested the information. "I hadn't realized that. How do you split your day up, then?"
"About twelve to fourteen hours of sustained sleep, the rest awake and active. Elicoor II's day is approximately twenty-four and a half standard hours in length, so you shouldn't have too much trouble adapting to it. I suspect that I'll just work on a forty-nine hour day, which will translate to me sleeping every second day."
"And you'll work the rest of the time?"
Odessa smirked. "As I said earlier, we shall see how long your 'workaholic' title lasts around myself. Furthermore, I've approximately one hundred and forty senior professors and scientists waiting with baited breath for every little morsel of information I can send their way. So I certainly won't be lacking for motivation."
"But no pressure?"
"Of course not."
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Several hours later found Maria familiarizing herself with her new living quarters. In case she had doubted her first impressions, further examination had confirmed her suspicions: Her quarters went beyond such mundane terms as 'penthouse' or 'luxury'. Part of the reason could be attributed to the possibility of having to accommodate a wide variety of different races (some with unusual physical characteristics), but that didn't lessen Maria's anticipation of diving into the deep-end of the bathtub, or sleeping in a bed that measured five meters square.
For the time being, she was content to test out the massive armchair, complete with state-of-the-art masseuse and temperature control technology. It had a wide range of settings, ranging from the lower end, which gave a casual shoulder and back rub, to the higher end, which had threatened to stimulate places not normally mentioned in polite company. She had eventually settled for level three, since she'd never before been caught in a 'compromising position', and didn't want her first to be with a piece of furniture.
Maria wasn't yet convinced that Mirage's 'masseuse meditation position' was effective, but it couldn't hurt to try it for a little longer, just in case. Another fifteen minutes, perhaps. Maybe half an hour. One hour, tops.
A beep at the door broke her from her meditative state. "Come in," she invited, not bothering to get up from the chair.
Odessa - the only other person onboard the ship - slipped into the room. "Ah, enjoying the accommodations, are you? I didn't wake you up, I hope?"
"Not at all. And I'll have you know," Maria replied, as haughtily as she could manage, "that I'm meditating right now."
"Is that so?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. My teacher was suggesting that I quit using Earthling meditation positions that involve me, quote, tying my limbs in knots, unquote. If you're going to do some heavy thinking, she says, you might as well be comfortable."
Odessa gave the matter some careful consideration. "Your teacher may have a point, you know. Personally, I'd be careful about taking ANY positioning advice from the race that invented the Kama Sutra."
"..."
"No offence towards any Earthlings present, of course," Odessa added.
"A person more paranoid than me," Maria remarked dryly, "would conclude that you've been conspiring with my teacher."
"Nonsense. Commanding officers are never paranoid, they're 'cautious'."
"Of course. Nice segue, by the way. But since you've so conveniently brought up the topic..."
Odessa shrugged at the other's tone of voice. "One of the technicalities involved in setting up this mission dictates that the Pangalactic Federation representative - that would be you - is ultimately in charge of this mission. On the other hand, I'm in the position of possessing the majority of the required knowledge and expertise to carry this mission out. All my younger sister would say was that she was confident the two of us could balance things out."
Despite the outwardly confident tone, Maria could detect a faint hint of caution in the older woman's voice. "Is that all you're worried about?" she inquired lightly. "To be honest, I've always felt that the leader's job was to ensure that those under them can do their job as effectively as possible."
"That sounds nice."
"It worked for two years," she replied. "Klausian command structures tend to be less rigid than Federation ones. The leader assumes that his or her crew is capable of doing their job properly, and doesn't try to do it for them. And in return, the crewmembers do their jobs properly, and periodically tell the leader that their jobs are being done properly. Repeat until mission accomplished."
"Oh? And how are complications handled?"
"The leader is immediately told, and reassigns the crew with new jobs - and assumes that they can do their new jobs properly."
"Interesting. So, how does that apply to our situation?"
"Our mission is to gather information about Elicoor II. I assume that you know how to gather that information, and I let you do that. Whenever there are problems, I expect you to let me know as soon as you can. I will then decide - taking input from the crew where available - how to best solve the problem. I will then assign the problem to the department best suited to handle the problem. It might be security, it might be engineering... it all depends."
"And how many of the departments are staffed by Maria Traydor?"
"Pretty much all of them," Maria admitted. "That was one of the reasons I was asked, if I recall right. One person who can cover a variety of tasks is less likely to create UP3 violations, right? Especially if she's already been to the planet before?"
"Very true."
"So I wouldn't worry too much about this mission's command hierarchy. Just let me know what you're working on, and tell me what's needed or going wrong as early as possible."
"So I report to Maria Traydor, but I've also got Maria Traydor at my disposal," Odessa interpreted.
"Pretty much."
"Well, we'll see how it works out. I've told you about the equipment, I believe? Aside from that, I'll need you for a few more questioning sessions like the one that we had this afternoon. Beyond that... I've compiled and sent off the information you've given me thus far, so with a little luck, some of my colleagues will have a few new ideas. If nothing else, they'll be able to put forward more specific questions to attempt to answer."
"Actually," Maria interjected. "I wanted to ask you something about the equipment. The multilateral sensor array that's taking up almost half the cargo bay by itself? I get the impression that you'll be using it for a variety of reasons?"
"That's right. Population distributions, geological surveys, atmospheric sampling... some more than others."
"According to the specs, the unit requires anywhere from twelve to twenty-four hours to properly recalibrate between tasks. So if you have some idea about what you'd like it to do first, I can have it ready by the time we arrive."
"Hmm... population distribution would be nice," Odessa decided. "We still don't have any accurate population numbers for this planet, much less where they're all located."
"Then I'll set the sensor array up for life form detection," Maria agreed. "But I have to warn you, I can't guarantee how accurate it will be where the other races are concerned. Some of the races that I saw in the Sanmite Republic... I couldn't guarantee all of them even have carbon-based biology."
"After reading the initial report on the planet, we anticipated such a possibility, which is why we procured the device in the first place. I was told that the sensor is accurate enough to distinguish between wildlife and sentient populations, and has the necessary programming to accommodate unusual and minority biology. Whatever the case, we'll simply do the best we can with the equipment we have."
"What other equipment so we have to work with?"
"Whatever is in the cargo bay, more or less."
"What about more portable devices? Quad Scanners? Recorders? Weaponry?"
Odessa frowned. "It was my hope that we could avoid the last."
"Mine too," Maria agreed. "But I don't think you appreciate what kind of wildlife this planet has in some places. And you're at least going to want to get some proper footage of the various regions these people call home, right?"
A grudging nod. "Granted... but is weaponry really necessary? My sister mentioned that you were trained in martial arts..."
Maria smirked. "I am, and I happen to be quite good. But punching and kicking only goes so far against a five-ton dragon breathing balls of fire at you from twenty metres in the air, you understand?"
Odessa nodded in acquiescence. "I admit that I hadn't quite looked at things that way..."
"Trust me, once it happens to you, you'll always think of things that way."
"Point. Well, this ship does have weaponry aboard. Most of it is antique, although there are certainly some more practical items available. I'm going to have to insist that the chemical-based weaponry not be used on the planet below, however."
"Chemical-based? You mean, firearms?"
"And related weaponry. According to your reports, the inhabitants of Elicoor II haven't developed them yet. But it would only take one bright person seeing you use one, to change that suddenly. Once they glimpse the flame coming out the front, and see you experiencing the recoil, it doesn't take much to put two and two together."
"I can understand that," Maria allowed. "Do you have energy weapons?"
"I have a few examples. Nothing military-grade, but certainly enough to handle any wildlife, even of the oversized variety. I'll show you another time, if you like."
"That should be fine. So you own some antique weaponry? I recall your sister mentioning something about your delay in reaching Earth being related to that...?"
"It was. To be exact, I have several hundred pieces of antique weaponry on board. Some of it is extremely primitive weaponry, such as swords and bows, but much of it falls under the classification of 'ranged weaponry'. And a few items are barely two hundred years old, and certainly dangerous enough. I'm careful about storing them, but when you have over five hundred items, even the nicest customs officers take a while to inspect everything."
Maria looked amused. "An antique weapons collector? I suppose I can picture you as a collector, but... of weapons? I would have expected... fossils or paintings or... something like that."
"I did my doctorate on weaponry, in fact. My thesis centred around the idea that weapon development could be more precisely categorized, and then used as an accurate indicator of a culture's true technological level. That aside, this planet seems intent on utterly defying that thesis."
"How so?"
"Suffice to say, my thesis does NOT account for a civilization instantly progressing from swords and bows, to a weapon capable of damaging a Vendeeni battleship shields."
Maria managed to - mostly - hide a smile in response to Odessa's honestly peeved expression. "I suppose it wouldn't."
"So it goes without saying," the Tetrageniot continued, "that I'm looking forward to learning more about this 'Runology' of theirs. Which is basically their own name for what we call Symbology, if the report is to be believed. Now correct me if I'm wrong - the locals can actually see symbological powers?"
"In some fashion, yes. I'm not sure about the specifics, but I remember that Nel was the one who first noticed Sophia's emerging powers. And I remember getting more than a few funny looks from some of the townspeople - more than I would have expected from my clothing alone. Even Fayt was getting some strange looks, and he was dressed in native clothing. But I honestly don't know much more than that."
"It would certainly be unique, you realize? To this day, by any known race or civilization, there is no way to accurately detect symbological fluctuations. Even the latest, most effective, state-of-the-art techniques still resort to secondary deduction and glorified trial-and-error methods. Yet these Elicoorians can simply SEE them?"
"Another item to add to the list?"
Odessa rolled her eyes, in a fashion that only a member of triclopian race could. "I'm telling you, if this planet gets any stranger, my colleagues are going to start questioning my sanity."
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"You might be interested to know that I've received some replies back, regarding the information you've provided thus far."
Maria deliberated swallowing her mouthful of food before replying, but finally settled for raising an eyebrow inquiringly. After all, it was exceptionally good food - courtesy of the Taeska Jare's food replicators - some of the finest available in the known universe, and then some. Earthling taste buds were located in the mouth, and it would probably be a minor crime to hurry the nourishment towards the stomach before maximum taste had been extracted from each mouthful.
"Most of my colleagues are of the same opinion as myself," Odessa continued, having finished her meal several minutes ago. Their first full meal together had been the source of a small amount of awe, even as Maria explained that yes, she DID normally eat this much food and coffee at each meal. This had been met with Odessa's tacit admission that she had no end of admiration for those who sought to improve themselves through the martial arts, but she had absolutely no desire to take part in anything so physically demanding that it required THAT much food to be consumed. "Which is to say, they think that either myself or this planet are absolutely crazy."
Maria finished swallowing her mouthful. "So our mission is to prove that it's the latter?"
"If I get labelled as crazy," Odessa promised, "I'll do my utmost to ensure you partake in the credit."
"So kind. Did your colleagues have anything specific to say?"
"Most certainly, and the majority of it was in the form of questions. Did you want to answer them now, or wait until you're finished your meal?"
Maria aimed her fork at the centre of the last slab of meat, spearing the entire piece in one shot. A shame to finish early, but nothing said she couldn't have a midnight snack later... "Go ahead."
"Fair enough. Many of the questions were ones that I've already asked you, but they thought up a few new ones as well. The first question pertains to the meals you ate while on the surface. What kind and were there any special ceremonies involved in eating it?"
Maria frowned, trying to recall the various instances of eating food while on the planet's surface, while buying herself more time to finish chewing her present meal. "No ceremonies," she finally offered, "that I can recall."
"What varieties of food did you eat?"
"We were constantly on the move, you understand, so there weren't any sit-down meals to speak of. Most of it was probably their version of military rations, I think. I can remember the trail biscuits... in fact, I think I might need therapy before I can forget them. They were very thick and greasy, they chewed and tasted a little better than rubber, and after you ate one, your appetite completely disappeared. And they were too dense and heavy for your stomach to bring back up again."
Apparently, to judge by Odessa's thinly disguised smile, some passion had crept into her recollection. "Is that right? But there were no special preparations before eating it? Particularly with a religious theme or bent?"
"Well, I can remember Cliff once praying to any god who would listen for something better to eat, but... no. There was also dried meat a few times, I remember. It was very..." Maria searched for a suitable adjective, "...rigid. And very salty. If you boiled it for awhile, it would soften up enough that you could manage to chew it."
"Goodness. That certainly sounds like a culinary experience in and of itself. We'll have to procure a few samples at some point."
"You won't even need to preserve them," Maria assured her. "But you were expecting some sort of ceremony?
"You might say that."
""What kind of things are you expecting, exactly?"
"There are... certain constants that tend to emerge in religions, almost without exception. Rules, beliefs, ceremonies, leadership roles... Thus far, I've seen virtually no evidence of any such things."
"Rules? You mean, be nice to each other? Don't commit murder? That sort of thing?"
"Such a masterful summary. I wouldn't go visiting any monasteries any time soon, unless you're looking to get struck by lightning on the welcome mat."
Maria had the grace to look sheepish. "I don't mean to be so blunt. I've just never really been much of a religious person, and killing a megalomaniacal bastard who claimed to be a god didn't do much to change that. But before I dig myself in any deeper, are you religious?"
Odessa shook her head. "Not at all. But you've heard the old phrase 'Any technology, sufficiently advanced, is indistinguishable from magic?'. A part of me might concede that 'Any being, sufficiently powerful and knowledgeable, is indistinguishable from a deity'."
"Maybe," Maria allowed. "But I haven't found such a being yet, and coming from me, that means something."
"Hmm, point. Perspective is a grand thing, is it not? I guess we'll simply have to ask them about that. But setting aside the questions about this world's religion, I was given a few other points to consider."
"Oh?"
"When you told me about the various leaders and officials? The individual named Lasselle? The grumpy one?"
"Him? What about him?"
"Well, I received a few theories about him. You had mentioned that, as far as you could see, the Queen's power was absolute?"
"Well, I certainly didn't see any evidence of any other ruling councils or bodies. And some very important decisions and agreements were made by the Queen alone."
"It was suggested that Lasselle might be their equivalent of a political watchdog, but you mentioned that he was absent for some important issues, such as that peace conference in the desert. So that theory doesn't seem to have much weight at the moment. But another possibility was brought up: Have you ever heard of the medieval tradition of the Jester or Fool?"
Maria frowned. "Isn't that... some person who wears funny clothes and makes jokes? An old-fashioned comedian?"
"Usually, yes. But there are instances of them being employed to serve a secondary purpose, that of a truth-teller. In other words, a savvy ruler might fill the position with someone who was exceptionally intelligent and well-read."
"Wouldn't that make them an advisor?"
Odessa shook her head. "I don't have to lecture you on the nuances of diplomacy, do I? Sometimes, you're forced to be polite and agreeable to people you don't like or trust, correct? Sometimes it's simply not wise to bring up embarrassing or uncomfortable questions in front of those same people, correct? But what if you had someone - who dressed and acted like a complete idiot, and made a living from jokes and nonsense - make those suggestions?"
The corners of Maria's mouth twitched upwards. "Then you wouldn't really have to apologize for them, because they were technically just doing their job. But if they made a valid point, the ruler could build on that further."
"You get the idea. But I must admit, your description of the man fits almost perfectly."
"He was dressed formally, you know. And I don't think he could make a joke to save his life."
"True, but to hear you describe him, the man seems to be a complete pessimist, and go out of his way to find fault with whatever is proposed. In other words, he's a well-established jerk, and you're therefore less offended to hear him bring up disagreeable points and topics. But if he's an intelligent man, the frequency of his disagreements doesn't make them any less valid. And once he's brought up a topic, the Queen has the option of politely telling the grumpy man to shut up, or pursuing the topic further without appeared to be rude herself."
"So you think he's a paid devil's advocate?" Maria mused thoughtfully. "That does make a certain amount of sense... So while giving my proposal to the Queen, I should be addressing his concerns as well?"
"That will be your call, but it's worth considering, I would imagine. On a slightly different note, some of my colleagues expressed interest in the Elicoorian who left the planet with you?"
Maria nodded. "Her name is Nel Zelpher."
"And she was the only one who actually left the planet?"
"That's right. There were a few other Elicoorians who travelled with us - I told you about Albel Nox, earlier. There was also an older man named Adray Lasbard who was with us when we entered the physical firewall manifestation and faced down Luther, but those two never actually left the planet."
"Fair enough. So tell me a little more about the person who did, this Nel Zelpher."
A shrug. "I'm not sure what else I can tell you, that I didn't tell you the earlier story. She was a warrior from Aquaria who accidentally got involved in the middle of our fight with the Vendeeni. She was critically wounded, and her only chance for survival was through my ship's medical facilities. With the prompt attention, she made a full recovery. By the time she was eligible to return to the planet's surface, things had become very complicated. The fact that Nel felt she owed us an honour-debt for halting the war on her world, coupled with the fact that her lightning-based Symbology was ideal for stopping the Moonbase's malfunctioning security equipment... well, things effectively snowballed from there."
Odessa nodded. "And how did she react to her new environment?"
"Quite well, all things considered. There were a few rough spots at the beginning, but she adapted quickly. In retrospect, I would say that she was able to categorize the most important things, learn about them quickly, and bypass the rest."
"So easily?"
"Well, she'd already gotten her first shock back when the first Vendeeni battleship showed up, so I imagine there wasn't any more serious culture shock to worry about by that time. But you're right, she did seem to be a quick study."
"An intelligent person, this Nel Zelpher?"
"To my knowledge, she was the leader of her country's military intelligence, and she's only a few years older than I am. I would think her intelligence would rank - is something wrong?"
Odessa had visibly blanched at this point. "Intelligence?" she demanded. "You're telling me that the person who left the planet, and wandered all over modern spaceship and space station facilities was an intelligence officer? I thought you said she was a warrior?"
"She is," Maria agreed patiently. "It's like I told you earlier about Albel? These people seem to prefer leaders who work on the front lines. From what I understand, she was infiltrating the enemy's capital city when she first rescued Fayt and Cliff. What's wrong with that?"
The older woman actually groaned. "It's not that I have anything against this Nel Zelpher, Maria. But in the interest of keeping technological secrets from underdeveloped civilizations; given a choice of what kind of person to have exposed to such things... I can't imagine a WORSE candidate than a person whose job specifically involves extracting important information in foreign territory."
"Ah... I see." Maria resisted the urge to laugh, given the genuinely distressed expression on the other woman's face. It was probably the sort of issue that would register differently to a scientist. "I hadn't quite thought of things that way. But now that you mention it, that might be the reason she was able to operate as well as she did in the new environment."
"Yes, it probably was," Odessa agreed, a hint of resignation entering her voice. "Does this mean that, by this point, she's had three months to recall and report everything she's seen?"
Maria shrugged. "I suppose so. Do you really think she'll be able to report anything useful?"
"That's hard to say. Assuming that their technology is roughly equivalent to Earth during seventeenth century C.E. - although I'm beginning to seriously question that assumption - that puts them about one thousand years behind. Hopefully, anything that she reports will be far too advanced for anyone to make any sense out of. But you'd be surprised at the little details that can make a difference, provided the right person hears about them. Things like government styles, medical practices, scientific concepts... it can get complicated very quickly."
"If so, is there anything we can do about it?"
Odessa sighed. "At this point, obviously not."
"Then there's no sense in fretting about it, right?" Maria pointed out. "Once we arrive and investigate, we can try to determine whether there's anything to fix. Perhaps Nel didn't actually learn or see anything harmful. Or in a worst-case scenario, we might at least be able to provide some advice to make sure whatever they learned doesn't hurt them, right?"
"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't worry."
"We're on schedule to arrive tomorrow, right? I'll transport down, get a feeling for any obvious changes. If I'm lucky, I'll even run into Nel, and I can get a good idea as to what she's been up to. Beyond that, we'll handle the issue as we learn more about it."
"Is that your way of saying 'deal with the problem when it becomes serious'?"
Maria shook her head. "That's my way of saying that we'll deal with the problem once the opportunity actually presents itself. Until then, we keep asking and answering each other's questions, and ensure that we're as prepared as possible for whatever the actual situation is."
"Very reasonable," Odessa acknowledged. "I believe my sister mentioned something regarding your extensive contact with Klausians...?"
"I learned from some of the best," Maria agreed. "And I've lost count of how many times my teachers have lectured me to quit worrying about problems that can't be solved, at the expense of those that can."
"Logical enough. Shall we return to my list of questions, then? We've a great deal of material to cover before our arrival tomorrow."
"By all means."
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ELICOOR II, IN LOW ORBIT...
"Remember, we'd much prefer if any suggestion of offering technology-related items was avoided."
"I know."
"And if you could try to ascertain any major changes before talking with their queen-"
"I know."
"And since we're completely unable to detect any traces of the OPA known as the 'Sacred Orb', it may be prudent to offer a simple explanation, circumstances permitting-"
"I know."
"But keep a low profile as long as possible-"
"-Odessa."
The Tetrageniot exhaled noisily. "Sorry."
Maria gave herself one last look-over in the mirror. If there was any doubt that the ship was aboard was a non-military model, the full-length vanity mirrors in the main transporter room would have dispelled it. After all, this ship catered to a crowd that wouldn't dream of appearing somewhere else with so much as a single hair out of place.
"You're certain that casual clothing will be better?"
Maria smoothed her skirt down. The medium-blue garment reaching down to her ankles, matched to her short-sleeved white blouse, was a marked difference from her metafiber-woven and composite-impregnated Quark uniform. Atop each of her shoulders, a small pearl-like broach rested innocently, looking like decorations to the average observer, but each in fact containing an extremely compact camera and microphone. One thing for certain, Odessa had pulled some favours to get some of their equipment, and she wasn't wasting any time in putting it to use.
"Six of one, half a dozen of the other," she explained. "Every single one of my earlier encounters with them was during a crisis, and had me wearing what was basically dress armour. I'm choosing to emphasize the fact that I'm here for a completely different reason - one that doesn't require any armour. I like to believe that the important people won't have much trouble identifying me in plainclothes, but I'll stand out less to casual observers at the same time."
"Fair enough," Odessa admitted.
"You're nervous," Maria observed in amusement, "aren't you?"
"I'm not nervous. Just... anxious. The Elicoorian's cooperation isn't assured yet. And if they're not interested or willing... there really isn't anything we can do about that."
"Which is why I intend to do everything in my power to convince them that this is a good thing," Maria agreed patiently. "I wouldn't have agreed to help out on this mission if I didn't think it was a viable and beneficial idea for everyone involved. So you just relax and watch while I convince them of that, and I'll contact you once I'm ready to introduce you, alright?"
"The batteries on your recorder are fully charged?"
"And I've got an extra power pack," Maria agreed patiently. "And the rest of the equipment. Just like I did five minutes ago. The equipment is rated to transmit over ten times the range we'll be using it in, so there's no reason you shouldn't get perfectly clear picture and sound up here in your ship."
"Alright," Odessa agreed, crossing over towards the transporter control panel. "I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job. But I really don't think you appreciate how momentous an occasion this is, or how important it is."
"Lucky for both of us, right?" Maria pointed out, giving her appearance an approving nod before crossing the room onto the transporter pad. "Which is why I'm just going to transport down and chat with some good friends of mine, and bring a very rare and beneficial opportunity that most underdeveloped races curious about other civilizations could only dream about. Which means that I'm going to be much more relaxed than you are."
Odessa exhaled again, but she was also smiling. "Very well, I'll quit harassing you. You and your calm attitude are bolstering my hopes far too much. Are you ready for transport?"
Maria composed herself. "Born ready. Go ahead."
Several audible beeps emitted from the console, then Maria felt the familiar disorientation and blurring of vision, indicative of the beginning of the transport sequence.
It was time to get reacquainted with some friends.
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The spot selected for Maria to transport down onto the planet's surface had been selected ahead of time.
It was on the outskirts of Aquios, the capital city of the Kingdom of Aquaria, approximately half a kilometre from the main gates. Brief sensor scans had indicated a general absence of any lifeforms close enough to spot her transport arrival, which suited Maria just fine. The distance would allow her to reach the city quickly, while giving the appearance that she had arrived by walking. Once inside the city... she would identify her options.
Tapping her communicator, "Maria to Odessa, do you copy?"
"You're coming through loud and clear, Maria."
"How is the recorder working? Is the picture clear?"
"Quite. The landscape looks much as I expected it to. Lots of agriculture, if I'm any judge. You're just south of the capital city called Aquios?"
"That's right. I'm going to head towards the city now. If at all possible, you might want to consider saving any questions until I can properly answer them. They don't have wireless communications here, so I don't want anyone to think that I'm talking to imaginary people."
"I'll keep that in mind."
The main road was easy enough to locate, and Maria quickly took up a brisk stride along the right side of the path, scanning her surroundings with a degree of caution. She strongly doubted that there was any dangerous wildlife to be found, not this close to the main city. Just the same, Maria had deliberately abstained from bringing any weaponry, and being mauled to death by a stray animal would be an amazingly embarrassing way to go.
As Odessa had observed, there was a considerable expanse of farmed land to be seen in this area. In fact, if Maria was any judge... "Odessa?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sure there's a lot more farming activity here than there was three months ago. The wildlife around here can be dangerous, so I imagine that it's either gotten safer to farm, or they've stopped farming somewhere else."
"Interesting. If anything, food requirements are usually lower after a war, since there are fewer mouths to feed. Furthermore, at this technological level, it's traditionally the men who farm, and they're also the ones who are most likely to die in battle. Perhaps some other growing areas were ruined during the war... I'll make a note of that for later."
The walls around the city of Aquios were unchanged from how Maria remembered them. They still stood tall and proud, and looked solid in a way that only solid rock could. A guard could be seen on either side of the main gate, both wearing light armour and holding long pikes at their sides.
"Interesting," Odessa mused over the communicator. "Those walls are rather short."
"Short?" Maria muttered, sounding sceptical.
"Compared to most other examples I could name, yes. In a siege situation, these walls could probably be scaled with reasonably little trouble."
"You'd have to pay me a lot before I'd try scaling this wall in a battle," was Maria's opinion. "Considering that the defenders could probably electrocute or fireball any attempts. Besides, the most likely attacker would be Airyglyph, and their air dragons could just fly right over."
"Indeed... That's an excellent point. Widespread Symbology and flying soldiers would probably render most conventional medieval tactics obsolete. Yet another area to investigate further. I must say, I'm certainly looking forward to getting a look at these air dragons for myself."
"If you think the walls are impressive," Maria recalled, "wait until you see what's behind them."
"Oh really?"
"You'll see."
Earlier, Maria had deliberated asking the guards at the gates about getting a royal audience, but had finally decided that the people posted on city guard duty probably weren't the best choice. The castle had been quite accessible the last time she had arrived, it seemed more reasonable to go inside and see if she could locate the equivalent of a receptionist to help her out.
For their part, the guards seemed to have noticed her from quite some distance off. That spoke either of strong vigilance, or something else...
"A good day to you, my lady," one of them greeted her.
Interesting. "And you," Maria replied casually. Neither of the two soldiers appeared to recognize her, but the tone of voice indicated that they were according her a great deal of respect.
"Friends of yours?"
"I have no idea," Maria answered under her breath, once she was out of earshot of the guards.
"Give me a moment..."
Standing to the side of the main road, just inside the castle walls, Maria took the opportunity to take the city skyline. This was one of the largest cities on the continent of Gaitt, and certainly the most scenic. Unlike the packed-dirt roads in other towns, the main road was made entirely of stone, with something that looked like concrete filling in the gaps between the rocks. From her position, Maria could see all the way to the main gates of the castle, several kilometres away. In between, countless stores, shops, and homes were situated, all teaming with late-afternoon activity.
"Got it," Odessa's voice abruptly informed her. "The recorder's microphone is more sensitive than your ears, and I was able to amplify the recorded background sound. After you walked away, the one guard told the other one that you were obviously an important soldier wearing plainclothes, because you had a, quote, gigantic runological signature, unquote. Looks like you were right about these Elicoorian's being able to see your powers. Some of them, at any rate."
"Lovely," Maria muttered under her breath. "And I'm not even doing anything."
"My word!" Odessa exclaimed. "This whole road is a bridge!"
Maria smiled, even though she knew the camera wasn't angled to see it. Somehow, after spending a short time in the city, you regulated the constant sound of rushing water to a background noise. "I told you you'd be interested."
A whistle of admiration. "You must be at least sixty metres above the water. And this bridge must be over a mile long. The water flows around the entire city?"
"Around and through the city, actually. Is this the kind of construction you expected?"
"Definitely not. I'll have to get some footage from other angles, but bridges of this height and length are certainly a rarity at this technological level. Although, seeing such a construction against the outer walls... the military defensive logistics would be an absolute nightmare. Take that bridge out... These people clearly aren't expecting a conventional attack against this city."
"I can't help you there. You'll just have to ask them yourself."
Once off the bridge, the main street through the city was quite crowded, which was perhaps to be expected at this time of the day. Doubtless, the citizens were trying to finish up all their business for the day, before turning for supper hour. Maria did her best to scan the crowds - without appearing to be staring - for any familiar faces to show themselves. Unfortunately, the only person she thought she might be able to easily recognize were people like Nel or Albel, and the latter surely wouldn't be in this part of the land, while the former probably didn't spend much time wandering around the city. For their part, the crowd returned the favour, some giving her discreet glances while trying their best to appear indifferent, while the rest simply went about their business like they always did.
Without a doubt, Maria inwardly confirmed, she was back in Aquaria. A land of rugged beauty, diverse natural and artificial scenery, and a socio-political-racial makeup that Odessa claimed matched nothing else in the known galaxy. And a land of no sewage system, no electronics, and pure, sparkling, untreated water that, through some miracle, didn't bestow explosive diarrhoea upon visitors.
It wasn't that Maria was pampered and unable to function without modern technology and conveniences; she simply felt that asceticism was for people with too much time on their hands and nothing better to do. Spending any time here, without a distracting crisis looming overhead, might take some getting used to.
"Maria," Odessa inquired suddenly, "do you know who that is in front of-"
The inquiry was interrupted as Maria, paying too much attention scanning for redheads in the crowd, almost ran face-first into a non-redhead standing directly in her path. "I'm sorry about-"
Maria apology faded as she got a better look at the person who she had almost run-over. The woman was close to her own age - perhaps a few years older - and lightly built, but there was something steel-like behind her stance that suggested that Maria would have won second prize in a direct collision. Purple dominated her clothing, with gold buttons and trim lining her skirt and accenting her top. The silver hair, with more purple twisted through it, was the finishing clue as to her identity.
"...Clair," she greeted, the name coming to her after a moment's recollection. "You caught me by surprise."
Clair smiled back, her mannerisms bearing more than a casual resemblance to those of Mirage. "Maria, this is certainly an unexpected surprise after all this time! To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"
Maria laughed quietly. She had been lucky to remember Clair's name, although she was at a loss to remember much more. A good friend of Nel's... a military leader in some capacity... likely a fairly no-nonsense person, or at least, used to dealing with no-nonsense people like Nel. "That would require a very long answer, I have to admit. But I'm happy to say that it's under far more peaceful circumstances than my last visit."
If she hadn't been looking for it, Maria might have missed it - a slight untensing of Clair's body. "I'm happy to hear that. On the other hand, if you had arrived the way you had during your first visit, you could have saved me the trouble of coming down to greet you."
"I'm sorry?"
"The Queen and I were conversing up the castle balcony," Clair elaborated. "And she saw you arrive just outside the limits of the city walls."
Maria craned her neck to look at the castle, still easily more than a kilometre away, she was certain. And to see her arrive OUTSIDE of the city...? "She... must have exceptional eyesight."
"Well, for someone with Her Majesty's sight, your runological signature is difficult to miss, even at such a distance. She was positive that it looked familiar, so I came down to investigate at once."
A quiet sigh. "It's that... big, is it?"
"It's grown a great deal since we last conversed, I'm certain of that much."
Another sigh. "...Interesting," Maria finally agreed, doing what she thought was an impressive job of not spontaneously and publicly cursing Dr. Leingod and Co. to hell. "In any case, I'm happy to have run into someone important so quickly."
"I'd certainly be happy to help you in any way I can. Were you headed towards the castle?"
"I was, actually."
"Then I'll escort you there myself."
"I would be very grateful. If you don't mind my asking, how are things since I was last here?" Maria inquired, falling into step beside the Elicoorian. "A lot can happen in three months, after all."
Clair pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Since you were last here? Things have progressed quite well, really. The strange monsters that appeared earlier faded away, and things are peaceful again with Airyglyph. A great deal has happened between us, but things are looking quite promising. We've even been arranging exchanges of soldier units between our cities, to try and promote the easing of tensions. I know that a great deal more trade is going on as well, even if the specifics don't fall under my jurisdiction."
"That does sound good," Maria agreed honestly. "The reason I'm asking is related to the reason I've come here today."
"Oh?"
"The short story is that I'm here to investigate the possibility of an extended peacetime visit."
That was met with a suitably impressed look. "Is that so? Have your friends come with you? Master Fayt or Master Cliff?"
"I'm afraid it's just me and another friend of mine," Maria apologized. "She hasn't arrived yet, because I wanted to go first and see how things were. Our last visit was rather... chaotic, and I wish it could have been under happier circumstances."
"Perhaps, but we're not always able to control such things. And as I said, things are quite peaceful now, and only getting better. Without the intervention of you and your friends, I believe that things would be far worse now in many respects."
"I'm glad to hear that. Speaking of friends, how is Nel doing?"
Again, it was reaction that would have gone unnoticed by someone not looking for something. As it was, Maria's straightforward diplomatic manner belied the fact that she had long since learned to expect otherwise from those she talked with. And Clair was a military leader, not a diplomatic one, and lacked the training to completely disguise her reactions.
Thus far, everything the silvette had said had come across as both unremarkable and truthful, but the mentioning of Nel brought about a faint tightening of the jaw. "She... is doing quite well. I'm afraid that she's off on a mission right now. Did you need to talk with her?"
The last sentence held a slightly hopeful note underneath, but Maria decided to ignore it, filing it away for future reference. Knowing Nel, she was probably involved in classified business of some sort. "No, that's quite fine. She's quite a hard worker, isn't she?"
"She's never been any other way, I can assure you."
"That doesn't surprise me one bit. What about you? Not that I don't appreciate your assistance, but if I'm keeping you from important business...?"
Clair waved aside her concerns. "Things are busy these days, but it's a much better thing to be weary from making peace than war, is it not?"
"That's true."
Although," she added with a smile, "given the choice between doing paperwork and helping entertain a guest, I'd be delighted to accompany you to see the Queen. To judge from her expression when she saw you first arrive, I don't think she would forgive me if I delayed in seeing you escorted directly to her."
Maria returned the smile. So far, things were looking good.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
One area that Maria was reasonably familiar with was Castle Aquaria, and it was gratifying to see that it hadn't changed much in three months. That was to say, it was still big and still made of stone and still contained a lot of water. After which point, Maria's abilities at recognizing and critiquing interior decor came to an abrupt halt. When it came to architecture, she had always been more interested in silicon than stone.
"The water even flows through the castle," Odessa was muttering, too quietly for anyone but Maria to pick up. "I have some colleagues who are going to go into conniptions when they see this architecture."
Maria could at least appreciate that sentiment. Just like everywhere else, there was water flowing around and under the castle. Even the main hallways were lined with water channels, some parallel to the hallways, others crossing overhead, creating a flowing grid of water that sent echoes bouncing up and down the corridors in an aquatic harmony. She had never heard anything to suggest that Aquaria worshiped water, but she wouldn't have been the least bit surprised to hear it. To build such a construction, without the use of modern machinery would have been an impressive undertaking, to say the least.
Compared to the guards outside the city, the castle guards looked to be a step up in both the fashion and competency departments, and obviously had no trouble recognizing Clair as she led Maria along the wide corridors.
"And how is the Queen doing?" Maria inquired.
"Very well," Clair replied. "The war was hard for everyone, but Her Majesty is a terribly kind person at heart. It grieved her to know that her subjects were fighting and dying, even though we had no other option but to fight back. Still, she is quite overjoyed to see her country at peace again... and that certainly shows through at times."
Translation: Queen Aquaria was probably in a good mood.
"I'll have to send a letter back to let Fayt and Cliff know that things are peaceful. I know they'll be happy to hear that."
"They are doing well, I hope?"
"Better than ever. I'm only in touch with them occasionally, but they're definitely getting along well."
"I'm glad. We were all... curious as to what had become of you and the others. Nel explained to us that there were rules prohibiting you from being here, but that didn't lessen our curiosity any."
"I'm here under an exemption clause," Maria explained, answering the unasked question. "Which relies a great deal on us not causing any further interference."
Clair took the explanation at face value, and if Maria was any judge, with more than a small amount of approval. "Her Majesty suspected that something interesting was afoot. I am beginning to think that she was not incorrect."
The doors to the throne room were wide open, but the throne itself was devoid of any occupants. Given the room's immense size, it made for a great deal of emptiness to contend with. That the Queen's presence could occupy the room so fully, as Maria could distinctly recall on other occasions, that spoke volumes in itself.
"I'm willing to bet this room does double duty for social events," Odessa's murmured over the communicator.
"Is this room only used by the Queen?" Maria inquired curiously. "It's very big."
"When she makes public proclamations, there can be over two hundred officials present. From time to time, there are also dances and celebrations held here."
"I see. You said that you were talking with her on the castle balcony?"
"She's waiting for us in the White Dew Garden." That sufficing for an answer, Clair ascended the throne's steps, bypassing the chair and heading towards a door in the back wall. Maria could remember where it led - the castle balcony where she had transported down to Elicoor II upon her first arrival.
The balcony was much like she remembered it, although the floral and plant arrangements were considerably more expansive than they had been three months ago. It overlooked the city proper, giving any ruler a panoramic view of the country's capital. Amidst one patch of plants, a lone woman could be seen, studying a bloom intently.
"So this is the White Dew Garden?" Maria inquired, upon coming closer and recognizing the individual.
Turning, the Queen smiled beatifically. As before, her features were almost porcelain in appearance, with complex runes contrasting sharply against the smooth skin of her forehead and forearms. Her plain white robes were considerably more informal than the fine robes and jewellery Maria remembered her wearing during the last visit, but they did nothing to diminish the air of regality about her. Her eyes were partially responsible, that much was certain. Piercing red against her pale skin, they almost appeared to have a glow all their own, yet it was without any hint of harshness or anger.
Save for her much simpler clothing, she looked virtually unchanged from the last time Maria had met her, although Clair's description certainly held true. Unless Queen Aquaria was the universe's most accomplished liar, she was in a good mood.
"Indeed it is," the Queen replied lightly, in answer to Maria's question. "This is my personal garden, which I care for myself. At this time of year, it is at its fullest."
Weaving her way around an outstretched limb, Maria gave a brief, but respectful bow at the waist. "You're looking well, Your Majesty, as is your garden. I hope I find you in good health?"
"You do indeed. This is quite a surprise, I must say, to have you visit us like this. But a welcome one, nonetheless."
"I hope so," Maria replied honestly. "As I was saying to Clair, my reasons for coming are far more peaceful than last time."
"Maria said that the reason for her arrival involved the possibility of a peacetime visitation," Clair spoke up helpfully. "Although she also mentioned that it was more complex than just that."
The Queen raised an eyebrow towards Maria. "Is that so?"
"It is," Maria confirmed. "Clair said that you were curious, but I'm sure this kingdom doesn't rule itself. If you're busy, I don't mind coming back at a more convenient time..."
The ruler looked thoughtful. "The choice is mine, you say? Then I would listen to you now, if you are willing. The rest of this day is my own, and I know of no parchment, paperwork, or plant in my domain that could possibly merit more of my interest at this moment. After all, it is not every day one has a chance to entertain visitors from other worlds. Much less a second time."
"Interesting that you should put it that way," Maria agreed. "Obviously, this world has recently been made aware of the existence of other worlds, which is at the heart of my reasons for coming here."
"Such things have been theorized and speculated upon for quite some time," the Queen commented. "Even many generations ago, during the reign of Aquaria XIX, when the noted writer Morie Tello overheard the observations of astrologists, that many of the stars in the sky appeared similar to our own sun, save for their apparent size and distance. He meditated upon this, fantasizing about each star possessing a world like our own, and eventually produced the epic work known as 'The Endless Waltz of a Thousand Lonely Worlds Through the Great Beyond'. But that is neither here nor there, and we clearly have more definite proof in this day and age."
"Obviously," Maria agreed. "Clair didn't mention anything about how you handled that turn of events. Obviously, you two are both in a position to know the truth, but I'm not sure how many other people are aware."
"My people are quite aware," the Queen assured her. "Shortly after your departure, I made a proclamation to all my kingdom, explaining things as they were best understand. That there are other worlds besides our own, filled with people like us in many ways. Some are good, some are bad, and some of both visited our world recently. And in the end, the good visitors fought to protect us from the bad visitors, and ultimately triumphed."
"That's very... open of you. I can't imagine that everyone will take such news well."
"Perhaps. But I dream of the day that my own people may fly to the stars, and when that day finally arrives, I do not wish to be remembered as someone who withheld the truth from her own people. In any case, momentous though it may be, it does not change everyday life very much. After all, there are still crops and animals to be cared for, and there are still subjects to guide and protect. The notion may stir our imaginations, but it is important to remain grounded in reality."
Mirage and her father would have approved, Maria decided. "I'm glad to hear that. There are, unfortunately, many incidents where this sort of contact hasn't gone as well. Which is why we have regulations that normally prohibit us from even making contact in the first place. Fayt and Cliff first came here by accident, and things... progressed from there."
"And yet, here you are now?" the Queen pointed out.
"Here I am now," she agreed. "One of the reasons for avoiding contact is so that worlds like your own don't realize that there are other worlds out there. Such a thing, I've been told, can have disastrous effects. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done here, and this world is aware of other worlds."
"Do you think I should have attempted to silence such rumours instead?"
The question sounded innocent, but Maria thought she could hear a hint of challenge behind it. "To be honest, I don't really know. If you want my opinion, I think that if you can tell your people the truth, and they can accept it and get on with their lives... that's about the best possible outcome there is."
"I'm pleased you think so."
"At any rate," Maria pressed on, "in the aftermath, we gave a report to our own government on what had happened here. Aside from the obvious events, the report had a number of other details in it about this world. This world, which we know as Elicoor II, has over half a dozen different races, vastly different technology levels, and amazingly advanced knowledge about Symbology - or Runology, as you call it. Would you agree with that?"
A considering nod. "And all this was regarded as unusual, I presume?"
"Very. We have a group called ILAA, which stands for the Interplanetary League of Anthropologists and Archaeologists. They make it their business to study cultures and civilizations, both present-day and past. And according to them, there isn't one world in the known galaxy that even begins to compare to this one. Furthermore, there are numerous reasons that this world, as it is, shouldn't exist."
"Is that so?"
"And when you show a scientist something that can't or shouldn't exist, what's the first thing they want to do?"
That brought a wry smile to the Queen's face. "Learn more about it, naturally."
"And that," Maria concluded, "is the short, abbreviated version of why I'm here today. The ILAA is interested learning more about this world, and they put forward a proposal on how to go about doing it. Put simply, a single person would visit this world, and learn as much as possible, while interfering as little as possible."
If she'd had the Queen's curiosity earlier, she certainly had her undivided attention by this point. "And... you are that person?"
Maria looked amused. "Hardly. My job is to introduce you to that person and help explain things. If you agree, then my job will be to help her out in whatever way I can."
"If I agree?"
"This is entirely up to you," Maria stressed. "The last time you had visitors from other worlds, things became quite... chaotic. And you were effectively put in a situation where you had to trust us to help you out. This time, the choice is entirely yours. If you were to decide that you didn't want to take any chances, then I would have no choice but to honour that decision. After all, the nature of the information that we desire can only be gathered face-to-face, with your consent. No amount of technology can compensate for that."
"You speak almost as though you were trying to dissuade me," the Queen observed candidly. "Yet you wish to obtain knowledge from us. What incentives would there be to consider such a proposal?"
"That could be discussed," Maria assured her. "We have strict laws that keep us from giving you higher technology, but that doesn't mean there aren't other possibilities. I've been told that different kinds of currency and material resources are options, along with some other areas of knowledge."
"I see. I think... that I would like to discuss this in greater depth. With some of my subjects on hand, to offer their own perspectives on such a matter."
"Of course."
"Clair?"
"My Queen?"
Maria had almost forgotten about the third person present, but had to admit that it didn't surprise her much. Nel had been like that at times, especially when faced with technology or situations that she didn't quite understand. In such times, she would simply go silent, diverting all her concentration towards listening and understanding her surroundings. It was probably one reason she had seemed to manage so well in the unfamiliar environments.
"If you would be so good as to alert both Lady Elena and Magistrate Lasselle? Have them meet us in my private chambers. Your continued presence is requested as well, of course."
"At once, my Queen." Clair bowed and departed at a brisk walk.
Once she had disappeared back inside the castle, the Queen turned back to Maria. "We will meet them there shortly. I regret that Nel is unable to attend, but she is presently on duty, and not available to be called back."
"That can't be helped, I suppose."
"So... it is not you that is to gather information, but another? This other individual?"
"Probably getting very impatient and wondering if I'm ever going to offer to introduce her to you," Maria replied with a smirk, hearing a pointed cough on the other end of her communication link. "As I mentioned earlier, normally we strive to make sure worlds like your own aren't made aware of other worlds. This obviously means not letting them see people who are obviously of a different race... although I have to seriously wonder if this world would look twice at yet another race."
"Very true. So this individual is of a different race than you? I recall that some of your friends were of a different race than yourself and Fayt - Master Cliff and Lady Mirage, I believe their names were - although not obviously so. And this individual is of yet another race?"
"She is. And this time, I think you'll spot the difference very quickly." Tapping her communicator, "Odessa?"
"Yes, I heard. May I come down now?"
Maria set down a small tracking beacon on the stone floor of the balcony, a short distance from herself and the Queen. "The beacon is clear. Go ahead."
There was a few seconds of quiet, and then a shimmering pillar of light emerged next to the beacon, gradually coalescing before fading away to reveal Odessa Vectra standing.
Blinking several times as she quickly scanned her surroundings, the Tetrageniot's gaze quickly fell upon the Queen. "I believe you would be the Queen Aquaria that Maria has spoken so highly about? Odessa. Odessa Vectra. An honour - and pleasure - to make your acquaintance."
For her part, Maria finally had the chance to listen to Odessa talk to someone besides herself. Over the past three days, Maria had resigned herself to the fact that the older woman could probably sound enticing and romantic while describe 'optimum implementations of trinary logic in nanoplate-based ungated circuitry'. It didn't seem deliberate, it certainly wasn't fair, but it was definitely present, and someone like Cliff would surely have been so much putty in her hands. It wasn't as though Maria had any uncertainty about her own sexuality, but she wouldn't have been surprised to learn that an evolutionary throwback circuit in her brain was trying to trigger a 'competition' subroutine.
A very small part of Maria wondered if she could learn to speak like that. It might come in handy in the future, after all. You never knew.
If the Queen heard anything amiss, she didn't let on about it, nor did she bat her own eyes at Odessa's third one. "Likewise, I assure you. You would the individual assigned to learn about this world?"
Smiling, Odessa dropped into a curtsey, before standing straight again. "Asking permission to, at any rate. Allow me to express my gratitude in advance for your willingness to entertain the idea, regardless of what your final decision might be."
"It's an intriguing prospect," the Queen admitted frankly. "An opportunity that I do not believe anyone in this land has even been offered before. I have asked several of my trusted advisors to attend, and offer their own opinions on this matter."
"Naturally. Between Maria and myself, we'll certainly do our utmost to address and answer all of your questions."
"Then may I ask the first question?"
"Of course."
"I mean no disrespect or insult, but are they real?"
"One hundred percent natural, I assure you. It's a characteristic of all members of my race, who are known as Tetrageniots, from the world of Tetragenesis."
"Most interesting. Despite many other differences and variations, I am not aware of any other race upon this world possessing a third eye, as you do."
"Most don't," Odessa admitted. "In fact, virtually every single other race in the galaxy seems to be missing one. We were never quite sure what to make of that, to be honest."
"Yes," Maria interjected dryly, "because when less than one percent of known races have three eyes, it's obviously the other ninety-nine percent that are abnormal."
The representative of the last percent gave her an indignant look. "That's our story, and we're holding to it."
"I instructed my chosen subjects to meet me in my quarters," the Queen pointed out, looking as though she was hiding a smile of her own. "Would you two care to accompany me there? It is only a short distance away."
"Certainly."
"By all means."
"Maria mentioned earlier," the Queen continued, as she led them back towards the throne room, "that you are a knowledgeable person, Odessa? Might I ask in what fields you study in?"
"Most of my training is in the area of Cultural Anthropology," Odessa replied, "although I'm actually schooled in a wide variety of other areas. My breadth of training is one reason why I was the person selected to come here in person."
"And your field of specialization? I do not believe I have heard of such a study... at least, not by that name."
"Well... you have historians, I assume? People who specialize in the recording, recalling, and analysis of past events?"
"Naturally. The library within this castle is the largest on all the continent of Gaitt, and there are many who make a profession of studying from and adding to it."
"What happens when there's too much information? When a single historian couldn't possibly understand and keep track of it all, even if they spent their entire life trying?"
"They specialize. Some focus on the sciences, while others focus on literature, and still others lean towards works of a mystical persuasion. From time to time, I call upon their talents when I wish for information or perspective on issues."
"Then it wouldn't be a very far stretch to say that I'm a specialized historian. My area of interest lies in the study of different cultures, analyzing the behaviour and traits of various groups, trying to establish reliable patterns or tendencies."
"That's a very scientific approach to the matter."
"Most definitely. One way we classify our different studies is as high or low-level sciences. Lower level sciences include branches such as physics and chemistry. They tend to deal with very basic - which isn't the same thing as simple, of course - concepts and relationships, that can often be precisely expressed with concrete equations. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you get the social sciences, which deal with people, both as individuals and groups."
"Who are far less predictable," the Queen supplied, with the confidence characteristic of one who knew that to be a fact. "If you could close that door behind you?"
"Exactly. But that doesn't stop us from trying," Odessa assured her, quietly shutting the door that led out to the garden. "And if Maria hasn't mentioned it already, the particular characteristics of this world took us by surprise. Hence our interest in learning more about you and your own history."
"I'm afraid that I have nothing to compare my world to, but if what you say is true, I can understand your interest."
"Not that I didn't welcome the opportunity to visit some friends," Maria added. "We didn't meet under the most ideal of circumstances, after all, and I was just a little anxious about any possible repercussions from our presence before."
"There were many repercussions," the Queen allowed, leading them up a staircase, "but I can confidently say that most were good. We cannot always choose the circumstances that we face, but we can choose how we face them. My private chambers are just up those steps."
+-+-+
The doorway at the top of the steps was already halfway open, and the Queen didn't hesitate to open it the rest of the way. Gesturing for Maria and Odessa to enter, she closed the door after them. Already standing patiently in the room were several individuals that Maria had little trouble identifying, having met them on her first visit to this planet.
Clair was present, of course. Next to her was a violet-tressed woman dressed in a darker-shaded robe that Maria recognized at Lady Elena. Maria's earlier impressions of her had been of someone content to let the rest of the world worry about trifles like emergencies and organization, while she got on with the task of discovering new things. At the moment, the woman's expression spoke of both interest and contemplation, befitting the scientist that she was.
To Clair's other side was a severe-looking man dressed in a lightly-trimmed black habit, also easily recognized as Magistrate Lasselle. As usual, the man's expression was suggestive of both mild gastro-colonoscopic distress and a passionate desire to find fault with the rest of the universe. Maria hadn't gone out of her way to talk with him during her first visit, but he had always struck her as someone too cynical to be considered clever, but too intelligent to simply be written off as a grump.
All three individuals had exceptionally stoic and attentive looks on their faces, Maria thought. Much like employees who had been gossiping up a storm moments ago, but suddenly heard their boss approaching. The effect was somewhat ruined by their obvious looks of surprise upon seeing Odessa, who hadn't arrived until after Clair had left earlier.
"I appreciate your prompt reply," the Queen began, positioning herself so that she was able to face the rest of the room's occupants. "Elena, Lasselle, I'm sure that Clair has at least hinted at what this meeting is about, but we should be properly introduced before continuing further. I'm sure you all remember Maria from her last visit here?"
"It's nice to see you all again." Maria's friendly nod of acknowledgement was mirrored by both Clair and Elena, while she settled for a slightly suspicious nod from the third.
"And I imagine," the Queen continued, "that you're quite curious about Maria's friend. Her name is Odessa Vectra, and she is from the world of Tetragenesis. As to the reason behind her visit, she a scientist who specializes in the study of people - 'Cultural Anthropology', I believe you referred to it as? She has come on behalf of an organization that specializes in such matters, seeking to learn more about our world."
To Odessa, "These are three of my most trusted friends and servants, whom I wish to have listen while you expound upon your proposal. Lady Elena is the head of my country's Runological Research Division, and one of the most brilliant scientists on the continent of Gaitt. Magistrate Lasselle is my chief advisor in political matters, and a remarkably astute source of foresight for a ruler such as myself. Lady Clair is one of my generals, acting as my hands and voice on the field of battle."
Odessa gave each individual a gracious nod as they were acknowledged. "A pleasure to meet each of you. I appreciate your willingness to take this request so seriously, Your Majesty. Is there any particular place you wish for me to begin?"
"At the beginning, I think. For the benefit of everyone present."
"Of course." Maria cleared her throat, shifting position so that she could see all of the Elicoorians. "To begin, it's my understanding that things here are relatively stable. Especially compared to how things were before, but also in a general sense as well."
"Thanks in part to you and your friends," Clair agreed.
"Perhaps," Maria allowed, not entirely willing to give up the praise. "But I'm in a position to know that opposing parties aren't always so level-headed and willing to make peace, so the majority of the credit definitely belongs to you. At any rate, after we went our separate ways, our own government was naturally concerned about what had gone on. We have very strict laws regulating our contact with worlds such as yours, and our presence here never should have occurred in the first place. And that's not even taken into account the actions by the Vendeeni."
"You weren't even allowed to come here in the first place?" Lasselle demanded incredulously.
"We weren't," she confirmed. "Fayt and Cliff's craft was heavily damaged in an earlier fight with the Vendeeni. They managed to escape, but lost control and ended up crashing in Airyglyph. Even once that occurred, they were under strict rules to avoid contact with this world and avoid changing anything."
Left unsaid was the fact that some members of Quark hadn't exactly lost much sleep over the broken Federation regulations. "I'm sure we're all familiar with the events as they took place here, but there was naturally a full investigation conducted afterwards, to determine whether any prosecution was warranted or not."
"And was it?" the Queen asked.
"As I understand things, the situation with the Vendeeni is still ongoing. Your world wasn't the only one openly attacked, and they have A LOT to answer for. Unfortunately, I don't have to tell you how sticky political matters can be sometimes, especially when both sides have a lot of muscle behind them. As for myself and my friends, we were acquitted on all charges, on the grounds that our arrival here was unavoidable, and under the circumstances, we minimized our own impact on this world, except in its defence."
Again, a great deal was left unsaid, particularly regarding the entire business surrounding the future of their symbological powers. "In the process of that investigation, an in-depth report was compiled on our stay here. It was mostly concerned with details such as our actions and responses, but there were a number of other items that caught the interest of people like Odessa. She can probably explain them better than I can."
Odessa nodded. "The organization that I represent and help lead immediately found a number of... anomalies. When you have the opportunity to study hundreds of different civilizations and cultures, certain tendencies start to become common. It didn't take much for us to realize that your world deviates from the average in many areas."
"Such as?"
"First on the list was the documented existence of multiple races on the same world. We didn't get names for all them, but there were well over half a dozen intelligent races documented on this world."
"Over a dozen come to mind, actually," the Queen offered helpfully.
"..." Odessa was silent for a minute, her expression resembling someone who had misplaced their grocery list, but had accidentally found a winning lottery ticket instead. "...yes. Let me assure you, that's an unheard of situation elsewhere. Furthermore, the report also stated that there are two distinctly separate levels of technology existing on this world. Your own continent, which you call Gaitt, and the other, which I believe you call Greeton?"
"And apparently Greeton's technology is advanced enough that you initially thought Fayt and Cliff were from there?" Maria added.
"To be fair, we have yet to hear of such a device from Greeton," Elena acknowledged, "but under the circumstances, it was the most logical possibility. And we have documented records of other highly advanced devices from them, from centuries ago."
Odessa's expression didn't change much. "Is that so? And on top of this, there is your own advanced knowledge of Symbology to contend with. Or 'Runology', as you refer to it as. Let me assure you, that in the recorded history of all the races and worlds that we know and have access to, there has NEVER been a case of a symbological weapon that could actually damage the shields on one of our spaceships, like your 'Thunder Arrow' was able. One or two close contenders, but those examples fell short against spaceships of hundreds of years ago. So you could say that you're certainly in the lead."
The queen looked amused. "Is that so? Then it would appear that my praise for Elena's abilities has fallen quite short of the mark."
Surprisingly, Elena looked rather embarrassed. "You do me too much credit, my Queen. I headed the project, but I was hardly its sole builder or designer."
"Nevertheless..." The Queen gave Maria and Odessa another look. "And you say that it has no equal? Or is this merely among the other worlds that have not yet learned how to travel to the stars?"
"None," Odessa confirmed. "The formal study of Symbology is extremely rare to begin with, and we've certainly never seen anything to match what you've accomplished. To make the matter even more unique, the report mentioned that you have an ability - correct me if I'm wrong - to SEE symbological energies?"
"Runological fluctuations," the Queen agreed. "One of Apris' gifts to us, many centuries ago, was the gift of his Sight."
"Many centuries ago?"
"Just over seven hundred years ago, to be exact. It was bestowed upon our people at the same time that we were given the knowledge of runes. Apris bestowed it upon us, a fraction of his own all-seeing gaze."
Odessa nodded slowly. "I see... And the 'Sacred Orb', is that another gift?"
The Queen face remained impassive, but Maria couldn't help but notice faint a tensing on the faces of her three servants at the mention of the artefact. "It is, although it was bestowed upon us more recently, three hundred years and twenty years ago."
By this point, Odessa's expression had progressed to 'stunned'. "That's... a very exact date."
"We take care to maintain accurate records," Lasselle interjected. "Where you come from, do your people not bother to remember such important events?"
"Actually, you'd be amazed how many worlds loose track of such things."
"Anyway," Maria stressed, giving her team member a pointed look. "We've come to ask permission to learn such things, remember?"
Odessa had the grace to look a little embarrassed. "My apologies. The scientist in me is quite fascinated, but I mean no disrespect."
"No offence taken," the Queen assured her. "Among the teachings of Apris is the exhortation to pursue knowledge and truth, and it is good to see such passion in others. And I suppose that it helps underscore the reason for your coming here. You wish to stay here for a prolonged period of time, that you might learn more about our world?"
"It's a big question," Maria admitted. "Especially since our last visit here was anything but peaceful. The last time started with an accident, but this time is quite a bit different. There were some reservations about us even being here in the first place, in fact. The compromise that was worked out involved giving us permission to come here, but required that we do so as unobtrusively as possible. Which is why Odessa and I are the only two people who have come here."
"You have one of those... Celestial Ships, do you not?" Lasselle pointed out. "I should think they require many people to operate."
"Normally, you'd be right. In this instance, we've come on a special model that largely operates itself, actually. Which gives us the luxury of being able to eliminate any possibility of further interference from extra crew. The concept for the mission has Odessa assigned to the task of gathering information, while I would oversee the mission and ensure that all her jobs went as smoothly as possible."
"And how exactly would you go about gathering information?" Elena inquired.
"That would depend on the circumstances. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you had a better idea about how we could learn most effectively. That is," Maria hastened to add, "assuming that you're interested, of course."
"Setting aside the how for the moment," the Queen wanted to know, "what areas of knowledge are you most interested in? You've already expressed interest in several areas, but I assume there are others?"
"Quite a few possibilities," Odessa confirmed. "Historical data would be extremely valuable, of course. But also as important are the areas of social customs and traditions, engineering styles and techniques, military and governmental hierarchy, a proper understanding of your religion, to say nothing of learning more about your 'Runology'. Even things as mundane as culinary methods and clothing fashions might prove informative. It's really quite hard to say without investigating said areas further."
"And these areas," the Queen persisted, "they are all areas that can differ significantly from world to world? In such ways that they may assist you in understanding more about our world? Even the more mundane sounding aspects?"
"It's entirely possible, Your Majesty."
"Fascinating. While some of those areas seem inconsequential at first glance, they still represent a considerable amount of information. If I may bring up something you said earlier, Maria? You mentioned that you were prohibited from providing examples of much of your higher technology, but that other areas were permitted to serve in exchange?"
It was always good to hear the other party bring up the topic of bargaining, Maria felt. It meant they thought they might be taking you up on your offer. "That's right. Material and currency are probably perfectly acceptable for exchange purposes."
"Even if every man, woman, and child had twice as much gold," Lasselle objected, "that would only make food twice as expensive. And any worthwhile amount of mineral ore would cut into our trade with Airyglyph, which would see them obtaining less food in return. Which would lead us down a dangerous path."
"They may have other materials," Elena corrected. "Perhaps materials that both we and Airyglyph do not."
"They would not be permitted to provide such things," he reminded her. "No doubt they would consider such materials to be part of their 'higher technology'."
"The world is built of more than just gold and iron," she reminded him. "And many of those other materials are unsophisticated, but in short supply in both countries. It is worth considering, I should think."
"The rarity of the material wouldn't be an issue," Maria agreed. "Simply your pre-existing knowledge of it. After all, that is the point of trade, right? To obtain things - or knowledge - that you don't have, from those who do."
"On the topic of knowledge," the Queen continued, "I believe Maria also suggested that certain types of knowledge might be permissible?"
"Certain types," Odessa agreed. "We differentiate between 'technology' and 'knowledge'. For instance, if I tell you what the weather is like where I come from, I've given you knowledge. If I teach you how to make a new device that tells what the weather is like, I've given you technology. I realize that it probably sounds like a weak distinction, but my studies have taught me that there is a huge difference in impact. There are very few many discoveries that don't have both helpful and destructive potentials, and when a group of people discover them on their own, it has a much better chance to properly learn about both."
"So it's important that we discover such things," Elena clarified thoughtfully. "What of things that we inadvertently discover from your presence here? I learned a great deal from you the last time, Maria, as we attempted to teach you to harness your own particular runological powers. And it was clearly knowledge that you lacked, which would put us on equal footing."
"That would be a possibility," Maria agreed, "and stop glaring at me, Odessa, it was an emergency the last time, and she's right about us being on equal footing in that respect. But I definitely wouldn't be allowed to tell you how I got my powers."
"So what you're saying," the Queen interpreted, "is that if Elena were to learn something from observing you, she would be permitted to share that knowledge with you? Does it work the other way around? If you were learn something new about us, would you be permitted to share that newfound knowledge with us?"
Odessa looked surprised, but slowly nodded. "I've already told you what sort of information I hope to gather, but you would certainly be welcome to it. Provided it doesn't invoke and violate the 'higher technology' clause, of course."
"And what about your studies? You have studied many other worlds; would you be permitted to relate stories about them? I have only my own world to learn from, but I am certain not all worlds are exactly like this one. Perhaps I might gain some perspective from hearing about others from someone who has studied them in-depth?"
"Your Majesty!" Lasselle cut in. "You cannot possibly be considering this-"
The Queen cut him off with a wave of her hand. "Of course I'm considering it, Lasselle. Whether I accept it or not is another matter entirely, but it would be foolish to simply dismiss this opportunity out of hand."
"There are other things to consider," he persisted. "The last time visitors were here, they attempted to steal the Sacred Orb-"
"-And Maria was one of the people who prevented the theft," the Queen calmly reminded him. "At the risk of her own life, no less. But Lasselle does bring up another point - it came to our understanding that you people have... methods of sensing beyond our own. Methods that enabled you - and the Vendeeni - to sense the presence of the Sacred Orb. We do not understand the specifics, but we thought it prudent to regulate the Orb's output to a lower level. It is hoped that this will make it more difficult for others to sense. Perhaps you could tell us whether or not our efforts were successful or not?"
Maria thought that some of the Federation's finest diplomats would have ranked as amateurs next to Queen Aquaria, but something about the statement managed to ring false in her ears. Perhaps it was just the negative sensor data that the Taeska Jare had gathered, or perhaps it was the idea of an underdeveloped culture 'regulating the output' of an OPA, but... "That sounds like a wise course of action. And for your information, our normal sensors were unable to detect it."
"I am glad to hear that."
"That's not to say that a deliberate scan might not manage to," Maria clarified, "but no one would normally do such a thing unless they had reason to. And as far as we're concerned, the Sacred Orb doesn't officially exist. That seemed to be the best approach to keep other parties from investigating."
"I appreciate that," the Queen agreed. "But just so that you are aware, should we come to an agreement, we will have to insist that the Sacred Orb is off-limits. It is not a decision that I make lightly, but I feel that the circumstances have forced it. At this time, all individuals, be they friend or foe, are not permitted access to the Shrine of Kadden, where the orb resides. I realize this may be a hindrance to your studies, but... I'm afraid it would not be negotiable."
"That's only common sense," Odessa assured her. "And to be honest, we're not particularly interested in the Sacred Orb itself, which falls under a much different branch of science. It's the history behind it that my colleagues and myself find far more intriguing. Would that much be considered feasible?"
"The literature and history surrounding the Sacred Orb is certainly no secret," the Queen replied. "We can easily place that much on the bargaining table."
"I still think you place too much trust in them, my Queen," was Lasselle's opinion. "Lady Clair? Surely you must have some objections?"
"You have been rather quiet," Elena seconded. "Is something wrong?"
Clair smiled weakly as every head turned to face her. "I'm sorry. I find this quite fascinating, but I was just thinking that I wish Nel were here to offer her own perspective."
"I had been hoping so as well," Maria admitted. "It's a shame she's on a mission right now."
"It's not a critical mission, however," the general clarified. "If she could be contacted, it would perfectly acceptable to have her return for a short period of time."
Out of the corner of her eye, Maria could see both Lasselle and Elena's eyes narrowing.
"What is it that you're suggesting, Clair?" the Queen asked, a hint of caution in her voice.
"Exactly that," Clair continued. "If we could contact her, it would be perfectly acceptable for her to return and offer her knowledge and assistance in this manner. The difficulty, of course, is in locating her. She didn't feel it necessary to set up a message relay for her mission, so we can't get a letter to her. But the sensing devices that Maria's people possess, if they could identify her location..."
There was a moment of silence between the Elicoorians, one that felt laden with a great deal of unspoken communication. While curious to see what might finally result from it, Maria finally decided to break it. There was clearly some other business going on, involving Nel, and it was clearly beyond a simple 'mission'. But she didn't think getting their hopes up would be productive in the long run. "I see what you're saying, Clair, but I'm afraid that our devices are unable to distinguish between specific individuals like that. Given some time, we could probably determine the locations of almost every person on this world. But we couldn't actually identify a single one of them, much less Nel. It's simply beyond our abilities, I'm afraid to say."
Clair sighed, perhaps more than could be attributed to the situation. "...I see. Well, I thought I might bring it up, but no harm done."
The general was, Maria decided, a poor liar by diplomatic standards. And there was clearly something else behind her suggestion, and the other Elicoorians knew it. "I'm sorry we couldn't help, and it would have been nice to have her here. Is there... something in particular you think she could help with? I can understand that you would prefer to have someone present who can verify the things we've told you. Some of them must sound quite unbelievable, I imagine."
Clair winced, shaking her head quickly. "Not at all, Maria! I didn't mean to imply that what you've told us was... that is... " She trailed off, perhaps realizing that her explanation wasn't helping matters much.
Maria easily waved her concerns aside (having been the one to suggest them in the first place). "I wasn't suggesting that you did. But my point remains - this entire discussion has to be rather sudden for all of you. You'll naturally want some time to think about it, perhaps to consult with some other people. And you'll have more questions, naturally. I hope you didn't think we were expecting a reply this very instant. We can agree to meet up again tomorrow, if you like."
"That could be risky," Elena mused aloud. "Give Lasselle a whole day to think up new objections?"
The man glared daggers at her. "And give you a whole day to think up more reasons to agree?"
"Let us both do our best," the researcher agreed shamelessly.
"Hmph."
"Yes," the Queen agreed bemusedly. "I admit to being quite fascinated by this proposal. But you're also correct in that a day to further consider everything would be appreciated. Perhaps we could agree to meet tomorrow at this time?"
"That would be excellent," Odessa assured her. "We look forward to fielding many more questions from you. Until then, with your leave...?"
"Until tomorrow," the Queen granted. "I will be tending to my garden again tomorrow, you are welcome to simply arrive there directly, with your transporting device. In the meantime, there is much to discuss. And I suspect that there are many arguments-" Here, she glanced bemusedly at both Elena and Lasselle, "-from both sides to listen to."
"Luck to all of you," Maria agreed, managing to keep a straight face. Abruptly her expression grew solemn. "Actually, if you don't mind, there is one other issue that I'd like to discuss with you. Odessa and I discussed it earlier; when we were still uncertain about your state of affairs in the aftermath of our last visit. As I mentioned, the past events could have turned out much worse for everyone concerned, and we wanted to ensure that we didn't inadvertently add to any distress."
"I believe that we have weathered the chaos well, in part thanks to you. If there is a problem, I am happy to listen now."
"Thank-you. If at all possible, I would prefer if you could take this matter as being separate from our main reason for being here."
"Oh?"
"It has to do with the Sacred Orb."
The Queen raised an eyebrow, but said nothing further.
Maria took a deep breath, not even bothered to disguise it. For all the general goodwill that had been developed, this would likely strain it a great deal. Still, she had earlier decided to treat them as the friends that they were, and broaching this topic was therefore mandatory in her eyes. "To be perfectly blunt, Your Majesty... it's disappeared, hasn't it?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"The Sacred Orb," Maria elaborated, "falls into a category of objects that we call OPA's - Out-of-Place-Artefacts. Objects that have no known origin, and exceed any known technology - including our own. There are a number of them scattered throughout the known galaxy, with a wide variety of functions and characteristics. About three months ago, all at the exact same instant that we defeated the Creator, every single one of them either disappeared or went inactive, for no apparent reason. This obviously isn't something you'd be aware of - in fact, it's not even common knowledge among our people - but it's something you should probably be told regardless."
The Queen's face remained stoic, but it took her a moment to manage a response. "Is that right..."
"We don't know of any way to reverse it, and we're not entirely certain about the mechanics behind it. But if the Sacred Orb still exists here, unaltered... it would be the only one of its kind, anywhere in the known universe."
"Your Majesty..." Clair began hesitantly. Her expression however, like those of the rest of the room, was devoid of surprise over the news. Lasselle's face was tense - even by his standards - while Elena wore an expression of... curiosity? Regardless, all three were clearly intending to let their queen take the lead on this issue.
"Perhaps," the Queen finally began, "you may be able to shed some light on our situation. The gods and goddesses know that we have not been able to make any headway on our own. As you say, the Sacred Orb is indeed missing. And we suspect that Nel may know something about the reasons why, but she is... not available to us."
That was an ominous sentence if Maria had ever heard one. "Not... available? In what way?"
"Three months ago... Nel returned home victorious, declaring that our land was safe from the threat of the Creator. Two months ago... Nel went missing."
"Missing?"
"She abruptly departed, leaving no explanation behind." Here, the Queen audibly sighed, suddenly appearing to have grown a decade older in the last minute. "And despite our best efforts, we have not yet managed to find her."
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Author's Notes:
Things are finally starting to move a little. Believe it or not, the next chapter will actually have... FIGHTING! And Nel will show up! And do a lot of the fighting! Will wonders never cease?
Several reviews/emails have noted that some sections were rather difficult to read, and (having wrote them) I honestly can't say I'm surprised. At this point, according to the site stats, almost three times as many people have hit the first chapter as have hit the second. I might go back and see if I can't try and smooth them over a little, but my attempts thus far haven't been very successful. I also can't offer much hope regarding the length of the chapters, since I tend to determine my chapter dividers by plot progression, not length. With that in mind, many thanks to the readers who have spent their free time reading through everything thus far, and taken the time to leave a few words behind. I dearly enjoy writing, but as any author can probably attest, there's always that lingering curiosity to know how OTHER people find the story.
While writing this chapter, I booted up the game and did some wandering around the city of Aquaria and its castle. Talk about seeing it again for the first time. Once you consider all those bridges, the rivers, the water channels and aqueducts, the gardens, and start looking at them from an engineering perspective... damn. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon have NOTHING on this city.
On the topic of Elicoor II, some time ago, I toyed with the idea of putting together an in-depth FAQ for Elicoor II, covering such things as their history, their politics, their mythology, their technological knowledge versus Earth's, their Runology mechanics, etc. Furthermore, when you start looking closely at Elicoor II, it becomes obvious that they have a lot of things (and concepts) that weren't widespread until well after the 17th century on Earth. All very fascinating, at least to myself, and strong evidence that I have WAY too much time on my hands. The FAQ was never finished, but this story will see me borrowing some of what I put together, so maybe it won't be a complete waste of time. As many others are aware, the game designers put an amazing amount of back-story and detail into the game, even if they didn't bother to include it in the central plot.
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End Chapter 2-A
