Imperial Guard – 003 The Infinite Depths of Space
Bear McCreary - Battlestar Galactica Season 1 - Main Title (US version): youtube /watch?v=pGeH6E2RIaQ
The galaxy isn't what you'd call a friendly place. Some situations require what I describe as special treatment. My crew and I have been selected to handle these cases in the name of the Emperor. For we serve the most powerful military organization in the quadrant: The Imperial Guard.
Chapter 1 Giants
With no one around, Nami didn't even bother to suppress a yawn as she stepped off the elevator platform on deck two, on her way to her quarters. The Myr'shala followed a route that took the ship into the densely populated galactic core and it would still take a few cycles to reach its destination. After a rather uneventful shift, she decided to catch a nap before their arrival, having a handful of cycles left to kill.
Until she reached the door of her and Moa's quarters and noticed the glowing white symbols forming the text "do not disturb" under its brushed metal surface. With her hand hovering above the door controls in a moment of indecision she wondered why her roommate would use this function. Despite a swift recovery, the illness Moa contracted on Hanaweya II had left her with moments of fatigue and as a result she caught rest more often and slept for longer periods. However, she hadn't noticed her using the function before.
Expecting her friend in bed with the lights out, she was a little surprised to find her sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room between the beds on a floor pillow, with her back turned toward the door. The only light was provided by a circle of small pyramid-shaped candles in front of her. Having removed her uniform top, and with the longer parts of her hair put up into a knot and held together by a clasp, Nami could spot the circle of black symbols tattooed on her back. She sat there motionless, in what looked like a kind of meditative state, although her ears flicked when she heard the sounds of her roommate's entering.
"Uiisa," Nami whispered. "I didn't mean to disturb you. If you need more time I'll come back later."
"Siddown," Moa said in an inviting, yet firm way.
"Are you sure?"
"I mean it. Grab the other pillow and siddown."
With the door closing behind her, Nami tried to determine the best way to reach the space across from her roommate without knocking over any of the candles or the objects placed within the circle of light. Because of the ample space between the beds, and Moa's position in the middle of their quarters, this was doable, provided she slipped past the edge of her own bunk.
Using her long triple-jointed legs to her advantage, she stepped past Moa and her no longer private ceremony, to the other side. Grabbing the other floor pillow next to the low seating table, she placed it on the floor across her friend, careful not to blow out any candles. After lowering herself on the pillow in a similar cross-legged position, she noticed Moa was still in her trance-like state. She had her eyes closed, her arms resting on her thighs and her clawed hands in an open and relaxed state.
Having been invited to take part in a ritual, she decided to mirror her friend and took off her own uniform top which she tossed on her bed. It was very quiet in their quarters. Apart from the hum of the ship's quantum drive, she could only hear the calm and steady rhythm of hers and Moa's breathing. Until her friend spoke a few words in a soft tone in Huna, the most common traditional Fjetanha language.
"Kinayalah aesenni ey disparann. Huhnele ona saleh."
Nami was unsure what to do. She figured if Moa expected her to do anything she would tell. The words were not unknown to her, but the ritual was. In contrast to Moa, she grew up in a modern setting, although she did have relatives who led a more traditional lifestyle. Two women sharing the same cultural heritage, split into very different directions. Even their appearance differed enough for them not to be mistaken for sisters. They did share the signature Fjetanha traits such as their long hair, black beak and strong hands with sharp claws that were not fully retractable. Her two-tone gray skin color was a stark difference from Moa's overall tan brown, with a lighter shade for her neck, belly and part of her chest.
Moa took a deep breath, inhaling through her nose, then slowly expelling the air through her mouth. Continuing her calm manner of speech, she spoke again.
"I thank you, Kirliya the Enlightened, for watching over my loved ones and me during a moment of great peril. I shall find ways to repay you for this benevolent gesture."
Placing the palm of her hand on top of the Na'ganthur's tooth of Norgu's necklace, which hung between her small round breasts, she took another breath before finally opening her eyes. In the meantime, Nami had studied the objects placed within the circle of candles, recognizing them as the tangible equivalent of the six symbols tattooed on Moa's back, put in six white marble bowls.
Taking her hand off her chest Moa began to speak in Huna again, this time placing her hand on one of the bowls. This bowl was empty, but the symbol marking its bottom was the same as on her back. Its meaning was the element 'air'. Continuing to speak, she moved her hand to the next one which was filled with a black powdery substance that produced a dim yellow flame. As she held her hand above the bowl, she flinched for a tick, yet she persisted to speak the right words.
The next bowl contained two bone pieces, resembling death. Its symbol was visible on the bottom between them. Earth was symbolized by a bowl filled with soil and after it came water. She finished the circle by resting her palm on a bowl of seeds from different plants. Folding her hands afterwards in a closing gesture, she finished the ritual with a few more words of gratitude. Nami still wasn't sure why Moa asked her to join her in this ritual, because she didn't ask her to do anything, but after a final moment of silence, her friend looked her straight in the eyes and smiled.
"Hyami. For sharing this with me."
"Well, I… I'm honored."
"Computer, lights." After blowing out the candles one by one Moa closed off all the bowls with lids, except for water and air. The fire she extinguished with a pinch of a white powder from a small canister she retrieved from the wooden box placed on top of her bed in which she kept everything together. "Computer, reenable fire suppression protocols for this quarters."
"Fire suppression protocols reactivated."
While Moa put away her belongings and emptied the bowl with the water in the bathroom, Nami returned the floor pillows to their previous location on opposite sides of the table, undid her uniform pants and tossed it and the shirt on the pillow closest to her bed.
"I'm going to catch some sleep if you don't mind," she said, lying down and throwing the covers over her nude body.
Like her roommate, she preferred to sleep in a cool room in combination with a weighty blanket.
"Not at all. I think I'll do the same."
Added the deed to her word, Moa removed her uniform pants and untied her hair.
"How do you feel? Still tired?"
Sitting down on the edge of her bed she heaved a mild sigh.
"Hmm, yeah. Salu says it'll go over, but it might take a while. Aside from that I feel fine though."
Nami smiled.
"Okay, sleep well then."
"You too."
"Ship's log, Raeth, House of Meztar. The Myr'shala has arrived in the Ophelion system after Command received a message sent to all spacefaring races across three quadrants. The system itself holds little of interest. Next to two gas giants, the three barren worlds orbiting its star are incapable of supporting life and might have been targets for colonization projects if they had orbited closer to the Ophelion star or held any mining value."
Standing in front of the large viewport in his ready room to make his recording, Raeth gazed into the distance at the colossal structure obscuring part of the bright yellow Ophelion star. The construction, used for capturing part of the star's energy output, was part of a much more ambitious project.
"Two of the most advanced races in the universe have reached out to report on the completion of the first intergalactic jump gate, fueled by their thirst for knowledge and desire to go farther than any of us have ever gone before.
The first of these are the Hytharians, a benevolent race of intelligent machines, their technological prowess unmatched by any other known species. The second is known under several names, the most common being Xhi'tha. They are best described as advanced fungoid lifeforms that come in many different forms and communicate telepathically. The creatures, their ships, even their technology is entirely organic in nature and supposedly alive. They are both so unlike us in every perceivable way.
I am awaiting the arrival of a Hytharian envoy as we approach the Ophelion trade hub. Powered by the solar collector around the Ophelion star, a courtesy of them, the station has become one of the largest business centers in the quadrant. Not surprising, for the Ophelion system is considered neutral ground and its location puts it close to the galactic core."
Raeth wasn't quite sure what to expect. Both the Hytharian Unity, as the whole of their kind was called, and the Xhi'tha did not often seek active contact with other lifeforms unless it was in their own interest. In their message they had promised to explain their intentions to anyone willing to come to the Ophelion system. It was the main reason for the busy trade hub to be even more overcrowded than usual, with many worlds trying to ensure their presence at this incredible event.
Le'tan had maneuvered the Myr'shala around the station for a position at one of the massive docking rings attached to the sprawling complex that made up the trade station, awaiting final clearance. Larger vessels had to make do with a holding position and were only allowed to send smaller craft.
The heavy steps, audible through the closed doors of his ready room, warned him in advance that Jirro had gotten the order to join his side for the meeting. When he turned around, his Kaedar already stood in front of his desk, the doors sliding shut when they made eye contact. His eyes were like pieces of emerald, and piercing as always, but he detected a bit of enthusiasm in Jirro's voice.
"You wanted me present, Raeth."
"Yes. I'm not sure what to expect."
Walking around his desk, he joined Jirro in front of it, leaving plenty of room for visitors. And his Kaedar did not arrive a moment too soon.
"Bridge to Raeth."
"Go ahead, Jetreycka."
"The Hytharians have asked permission to transport one of their envoy constructs onboard. They thought it would be appropriate to warn us for their unconventional method of transportation."
Raising an eye ridge at the same time as Jirro, he took a breath and braced instinctively, though he didn't know for what.
"Tell 'em we're ready."
After a short silence, Jetreycka confirmed. About five ticks passed after that. There was a bright flash in the middle of the room about two steps away from them. Tiny particles of light swirled around, coming together faster and faster, growing into a shape that took solid form. It happened in ticks and to their surprise, the particles took the shape of a Mantrin of average size as the light began to fade. What stood before them Raeth could only describe as something out of a work of science fiction.
A shiny metallic shell. A shape that mimicked his kind to perfection, including a tail that moved in a calm sweeping way and with fluid grace, as if made of liquid metal. Even the eyes, which had to be advanced optical sensors, were designed to look like real eyes, apart from the rotating irises as the machine analyzed its surroundings.
"Greetings," it spoke with a male voice that approached that of a living, breathing person, yet with a slight electronic edge.
"Welcome," Raeth replied with a slight nod.
"We have chosen the form of his construct to ease communications between our two people. We had hoped that this would not be unsettling."
Realizing that he was still trying to determine what he was looking at, with the matching expression on his face, Raeth suspected that the machine could analyze their behavior down to the smallest detail within a tick to decipher their intentions. There was no point in trying to hide anything from it.
"To be honest, it is a little, though I'm glad you have not taken over a member of my crew to use as a conduit."
"Honesty is a good trait. We have considered that possibility, but the method was too invasive. During future communications our constructs will take more flexible forms."
"I'm Raeth, House of Meztar. This is my First Officer."
"Jirro, House of Kezani."
"Greetings, Raeth and Jirro. We have also established contact with other leading members of your kind, as well as all other leading entities present in the system. To avoid confusion, we assure you that our intentions are non-hostile. We have requested your presence to witness the completion of our project. One of our hive worlds is present to oversee the activation sequence. If you have any further questions, we will answer them if it is within our knowledge."
Hytharian hive worlds. Having abandoned their own home planet long ago, they had created these aptly-named moon-sized objects which were artificial mobile worlds in the shape of a perfect sphere. Their jump drives rendered the structures, that housed millions of constructs and unfathomable computational capability, capable of travelling enormous distances in the blink of an eye.
"Mind-blowing," Raeth thought, having trouble deciding what to ask first.
It was an incredible opportunity to be able to freely ask such an advanced race anything. The amount of knowledge they had gathered over eons was far greater than most species in their comparably short spans of existence. But the first questions would have to be the necessary ones, to lift some concerns.
"What will happen upon activation of the gate?"
"If successful, the gate will synchronize with its counterpart, set up by our expeditionary taskforce in the M thirty-one galaxy. When stable, the gates will create a conduit for instantaneous travel between both points. We estimate it will take another eight-point-four-three cycles until activation."
"Can we expect any side effects?"
"If all goes according to our design, the gates will create a conduit stable enough for travel. However, we are unable to compensate for all variables in advance. Even we cannot predict the precise outcome of this experiment."
"Interesting answer," Raeth thought. It was somehow comforting to hear a race of such powerful beings admit that even they were not infallible. It was also a fitting answer for a race of intelligent machines. There was no such thing as one-hundred percent certainty. External influences for example were always a risk factor. Although they are certainly one of the few races in the galaxy that could pull off something like this.
"What about the Xhi'tha? What do they get out of this?"
"The Xhi'tha are incredibly complex biological lifeforms. Their biotechnology makes up a significant portion of both gate constructs. In some regards it is even more efficient than our own. Like us, the Xhi'tha will attempt to travel through the gate to explore the other galaxy and expand their knowledge. We are both looking for more signs of the Ancients, the precursor civilizations that predate even our own kind by countless millennicycles."
"So they're after the technology of the Ancients," Raeth thought.
If that was the case they still had a long way to go. Remains and dormant pieces of Ancient tech had been found all over the galaxy. None of them were in a working state and even the galaxy's most accomplished scientists and engineers had no idea how to interface with it to make it work. Their best theory was that the only way to operate it was for the user to possess Ancient DNA. In other words, the tech could only be used by a member of their kind. With every living sample of these advanced civilizations wiped from existence eons ago, they figured it would take a long time before they could even begin to fully understand the basic principles of their inner workings.
The only piece that ever showed signs of activity was kept in a heavily secured facility located on neutral grounds where scientists of many worlds conducted research on the most dangerous of subjects. No single organization should be allowed to tinker with Ancient tech on their own.
"May I ask a more personal question?" Jirro asked.
The machine did not even hesitate for a moment.
"We are many. We are one. Ask us, and we will answer to the best of our abilities."
"All right. Where do you come from? Why do you do this?"
"Once we were like you. Biological lifeforms. We had a planet we called our own. Our citizens lead peaceful lives in search of knowledge. But our biological forms were fragile. They withered and died, having a very limited lifespan. As we ventured out into the void, it became apparent that we needed to find ways to preserve knowledge even after death. And so we unified our minds into a single consciousness. Created immortal machine bodies that became our senses and our way of interacting with the universe. To gather and preserve knowledge has always been our primary purpose."
Cold. Calculating. Emotionless. Raeth's vision of the Hytharians did not change after the answers to Jirro's questions. These people, or at least the people they once were, sacrificed their individuality for incorporeal immortality. All species sought knowledge to improve their civilization and technology to some degree, though few made it the sole reason for their existence.
Jirro somehow seemed satisfied with the answers, emitting a low hum from deep within his throat. The construct entered a kind of standby mode, its eye-like sensors tracking their every move. Until a few ticks had passed.
"If you have any further questions during the next few cycles, we have left instructions with your communications unit on how to contact us."
"Hyami," Raeth said. "We will keep disturbances to a minimum."
"That is appreciated. We will send all leaders present a final notice before we begin the activation sequence. This construct will now transport back to its hive."
The machine flicked its tail for the last time before the teleporter that brought it abort the Myr'shala reversed the process. Decomposing its molecular structure into data, it disappeared in a whirlwind of glowing particles, leaving nothing behind but empty space with a slight rush of air as the space it had occupied filled up with atmosphere.
"Good questions," Raeth admitted, when the sudden silence fell upon them. "I wanted to ask the same thing."
Jirro grunted.
"I don't understand why someone would sacrifice everything that makes life worth living for their kind of immortality."
"Well, we don't know all about what drove them to make such a decision. Maybe there were other reasons besides their eagerness to preserve their knowledge."
Jirro hummed in response.
"Do you think they needed our consent to beam that machine aboard our ship?"
Raeth scoffed.
"Maybe we don't wanna know the answer to that question."
"Keep it up. Keep it up!"
Time and time again, Houn felt energized whenever his clawed fingers plucked the strings of his joyt, a spiraling tube-shaped harp-like instrument and a universal piece of Mantrin culture. Traditionally on Solbrecht, the instrument was never meant to be played outside of ceremonies, in which it was not even used to bring forth music in its expressive form. They had other ways to do that. However, when humans brought music to his world as a form of expression a long time ago, this had changed among the modernized part of his people, much to the disapproval of the traditionalists.
Having been taught by his parents, in particular his father, he played the instrument to improve his skills, to deal with various emotions and whenever he felt like playing. He therefore felt thrilled to learn that there were other crewmembers who played an instrument as well.
Norgu possessed a set of ryl'agri hand drums, an instrument almost exclusively played by Logri, and like the joyt often used in rituals, ceremonies and celebrations. Freya's t'riia flute was played by non-Orkehts as well, although her race's subculture was its irrefutable origin. They had set up in the back of the mess hall behind the tables, in front of the narrow viewport that ran across the room's entire width, where they had ample room to play and entertain the occasional fellow crewmember stumbling in for a quick bite.
They hadn't accounted for the small audience, composed of Trezka, Le'tan, Thylun, Weyan, Masai and Azdar who enjoyed their practice time as much as they did. The occasional drum of hands on tables and cheers of enjoyment worked in encouraging ways. Having practiced on a particular piece since their first time coming together they had become well attuned to each other's capabilities and Houn enjoyed every millicycle of it.
They were in the middle of a highlight in the classic piece with its powerful tribal influences, a harmonious blend of traditional and modern. The audience felt it. Some crewmembers sat around the table, trying to follow Norgu who sat on his own floor pillow, using the table as a makeshift drum surface. Trezka and Weyan were standing, like Freya and Houn himself, swinging their whole body with the rhythm while clapping hands.
Grand Old Lady by Bear McCreary (BSG Season 4): youtube /watch?v=KH0Ph2Opdbg
After the piece ended with a thunderous crescendo, nobody expected the short emotional solo performance by Freya, who seemed to pull it right out of her sleeve. Holding the applause and their breath in unison as the ethereal notes caressed their ears they waited for her to finish her performance. She had everyone mesmerized, a moment of silence following after she lowered the wooden flute and opened her eyes.
"What was that?" Masai asked, attempting to satisfy everyone's curiosity.
Houn was as surprised as she was. Of course they also practiced on their own in their spare time, but he hadn't heard her play that particular tune before.
"I eh… I heard that somewhere," was Freya's shy response. "Jacky listens to music a lot. She shared a couple of pieces with me and I loved it."
"Beautiful," Le'tan commented. "Sounded like it came straight out of your hearts."
Their comments added more red to her cheeks and ears, but it was well-earned, just like the applause that followed.
"You guys are becoming a real band. I love it!" Thylun cheered.
"One more song?" Houn asked.
The response was overwhelmingly positive. Just as they prepared for the next humble performance, Jirro entered the mess hall. Judging him from a distance, Houn concluded that he was cranky, the way he grunted at the scene in front of him. There was something about him these past few days. Alternating between being moody and lashing out at random for little reason, to being his usual grumpy but quiet self. Striking a few strings, while Freya blew a couple of notes was the trigger.
"What's all this ruckus about?" Jirro grunted, stepping toward them in a rather threatening way.
They stopped playing and everyone turned their heads.
"Oh c'mon, Jirro. We're just practicing and having a little fun," Houn said, trying to salvage the situation.
Jirro didn't seem the least bit in the mood for being contradicted. Snorting as he closed the distance between them, his thick tail lashing with restrained anger, he bared his teeth, emerald eyes glittering.
"Can't I get some peace and quiet around here?" he growled.
"Just siddown and relax," Trezka stepped in. "Don't be such a grump."
"Shut. Your. Mouth," he bit back, pointing a clawed finger. "I'm ordering you to pack it up."
"You're such a sourpuss," Freya said. "Everyone likes what we're doing here. So we're playing."
Bringing the mouthpiece of her flute to her lips, she started playing again.
"You're not. Now gimme that flute."
"No!"
Strong as he was, he dashed forward and grabbed Freya's arm. Houn's suddenly felt very warm as the situation spiraled out of control. Resting the joyt on its stand, he prepared to help Freya out, for the Orkeht girl seemed outmatched in every way. Angry as he was, Jirro grabbed hold of the flute as she resisted to the best of her abilities.
"Give it to me!" he shouted in her ear.
"No! Let go!" she shouted back, tearing the sleeve of his uniform as she used her claws on the arm he was holding her with. "You'll break it!"
"Get your hands off her," Weyan yelled.
"Let her go, you uvaht!" Trezka thundered.
With her claws unsheathed she moved in, ready to attack him. Everyone started shouting and prepared to get Freya out of her perilous situation, by force if necessary.
"You'll leave her alone!" Norgu's mighty voice bellowed across the room.
It was his shout, giving Houn a slight deaf feeling in his right ear that seemed to freeze everyone in their current act. Including Jirro, who finally let go of Freya's arm and her flute. Norgu was standing on his enormous thickly built legs, his sharp Logri teeth bared, his large black claws ready to tear into flesh. He had already taken a step toward his superior, taken rumbling breaths, his big brown eyes that were capable of expressing such kindness, shimmering.
"All right, break it up!" Raeth growled as he entered the mess hall and stepped in before it turned into a fistfight. "Before I break something else. What's going on here?"
"Jirro's being an incredible jerk again," Trezka grunted. "Should've seen what he did to her."
Freya sniffled, making use of the confusion to take a step back, inspecting her flute for any kind of damage. Houn watched her run off, spotting the tears on her face as she disappeared. Jirro didn't know where to look. He had turned himself into the center of shame, but he was still grinding his teeth and apologies were nowhere to be found. Raeth's eyes narrowed to slits as he spotted the torn sleeve of his uniform and the trickle of blood.
"Jirro! Back to my ready room. Now!"
"Take the other platform!" Not that he expected that Jirro wanted to be in the same small confined space with him at the moment, but he was about to strangle him. Going up one level, he went back to his ready room, his feet hitting the metal of the deck with considerable force. Walking until he stood at less than a foot's length away from the guest floor pillows in front of his desk, he waited for the sound of the doors closing while grinding his teeth. If you think you can pull something like this because of rank you're sadly mistaken.
Inadvertently making himself look taller by straightening his back as he turned around, he shook his head. Jirro didn't have his usual glare ready. He didn't seem to know where to look for the first time during a confrontation. Although he tried to keep his voice down, Raeth's frustration with Jirro's behavior toward the rest of the crew as of late had reached a threshold.
"What is wrong with you lately?" No response. Jirro snorted. The wounds inflicted by Freya's claws had to hurt to some degree, but he was a tough one. After all this time Jirro was still the same angry person he was when he first set foot aboard the Myr'shala. Azdar had shown similar behavior, with one major difference. Azdar had actually talked about what bothered him and that seemed to have positive effects. Jirro on the other hand seemed to hate talking about anything that involved his personal life, so the only source of information so far had been his personnel file. "Do you have anything to say for yourself? Anything at all?"
"I don't wanna talk about it," came the answer between clenched teeth.
He still avoided eye contact. It was as if the question itself only increased his anger.
"No? So you'll just continue to vent your anger at whoever happens to be in the same room with you?"
"I asked if I could get some peace and quiet."
"That's not the point!" The intrusive thought of using his fists to beat the reason out of the man in front of him crossed Raeth's mind. Just for a tick. Besides that it would be unprofessional to start a fistfight, it would also make matters worse. If Jirro continued to behave unlike someone his age, the punishment would have to be fitting as well. "To be frank, I've had it with you! I need someone I can depend on! Like I depend on every other member of this crew. If you can't promise me that, then I will find someone else."
"Sir, I-"
"You're hereby confined to quarters. At least until you're ready to apologize. And I don't mean to me. You're dismissed."
The moment he entered the quarters he shared with Freya, Salu felt something was wrong. The gut feeling started the tick before he opened the door, when he thought he heard a sniffle. Freya sat on her bed, huddled against the bulkhead, her legs pulled close to her body. When she looked at him with a tear-stained face, his first thought was what. Freya had always appeared to him as a sweet, but strong and daring girl. Someone who didn't know how to give up. The talks they had about their Academy days and in her case, fighter pilot training, emphasized this. Who or what could've caused this?
"Freya, what… what's wrong?"
Stepping inside with the door closing behind him with a soft hiss, he remained standing in the middle of the room between the bunks. He wanted to comfort her but wasn't sure if she would let him. When he spotted her wooden t'riia flute in its protective case on the covers next to her he suspected it had something to do with it, yet he waited for her to explain.
"I don't understand," she whimpered. "How could he do something like that?"
"Who did what? What happened?"
"We were just playing. Everyone was having fun. And then Jirro came in and demanded that we stop."
"So he went off again at you guys."
She nodded, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. Sliding forward on her bed, she placed her large three-toed feet on the floor and took a deep quivering breath. Judging by the size of the wet spots on the thighs of her pants she had been crying a lot.
"I started playing again. Everyone agreed that he shouldn't try to ruin the fun for everyone just because he's such a grump. So he… he grabbed my flute. I told him to let go." She seemed on the verge of another fit and it was Salu's guess that the only thing that kept her was his presence. "He… he broke it."
Although he had trained himself to stay cool in a variety of situations, Salu's first instinctive response was a stab of anger. Indeed, how could he do such a thing? Breaking an object of such emotional value. It wasn't about the flute. It was about what it meant to her. Another one on the list. It seemed that Azdar wasn't the only member of the crew who wrestled with the remnants of his past. Raeth had asked him to assume a counseling role and even though he agreed, it began to look like that task was about to become more challenging.
"The question is indeed why," he said, keeping his usual calm tone. "I eh. I'm not allowed to reveal any details, but we have crewmates who wrestle with personal problems beyond our understanding. To me it seems Jirro is one of them as well. I've always suspected as much, but even during his checkups he never really talks. I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing him about this soon." Freya sighed, wiping away the remaining tears with the palm of her hand. Then she looked up at him, ears still in a drooped down position, her golden brown eyes a little bloodshot. "That doesn't take away the fact," Salu continued. "That he had no right to do something like that."
Freya shook her head
"He didn't even apologize."
"Hmm, at some point he will. Give it time. He might even reveal some clues about why he's so angry, because to be frank, even I don't know what's driving him up the wall." She nodded, taking another deep breath. "Whaddaya say? Shall we go down to the lab together so we can repair your flute?"
"Y-Yeah. Let's do that." Handling it with care, she closed the engraved lid of the cushioned case and stood up, holding it close to her chest with her arms around it in a protective way. "It's a crack, running along the body. That can be repaired, right?"
She sounded unsure, but the whole thing gave her quite a scare. Salu nodded, then turned to open the door.
"Those nanobots are miracle workers," he said while leading the way. "A crack shouldn't be any trouble."
"You know, my hahme gave me this flute when I turned twelve. She even taught me how to play."
"I understand it means a lot to you. Don't worry. We'll fix it."
Going one deck below, they were about to enter the science lab, that with its sophisticated equipment would make the repair an easy task, when a vibration of the deck plating could mean only one thing. Not long thereafter Raeth's voice sounded over the internal comm.
"Raeth to all crew, we've docked with the Ophelion trade hub. You're free to leave the ship and roam around. Remember, not every section of that place is friendly to us. Make sure to stay out of trouble."