Chapter 5: Diplomatic Immunity.
Jack woke up and stepped back from Celina, releasing her head as he did and the large Serpentinus female shook her head as if trying to clear cobwebs from it and he saw her large, slit shaped pupils dilating as her consciousness realigned itself.
"Any luck?" Analise's voice snapping Jack's mind back into reality, jumping into and out of someone's mind could be really disorientating.
"Yeah, actually I did, this here is Celia Diamondscale, she's a diplomat of the Serpentinus people, she was on a diplomatic mission when her ship was attacked by Scalathor pirates and she was taken hostage, most likely for some kind of ransom, it seems the races really don't get along all that well, or at least the Scalathor and Draconis don't, so they handed her over to this bribed freighter crew and they were to transport her to a drop off point when they themselves got ambushed by assailants unknown, so that now leaves us with a question, was the target killing the crew or actually robbing them and if that's the case why leave all the rest of the cargo, why not just take the ship?" Jack said.
Analise shrugged, "I hope maybe we'll find answer on the bridge, umm, any luck with her language?" she said, and Jack nodded, reaching up and touching the side of her head, causing Analise's eyes to brighten and mirror his own in color for a moment as what he'd learned of Celia's language was transfered to her, Dream Warrior memory transfer was an incredibly useful talent, it not only allowed them to spread knowledge and experiences among each other without any ambiguity of description, they simply lived them as the owner of the original memory did, but it could also be used in the way that Jack was using it now, to transfer language from one person to another, so now there were two of them that would be able to understand what she was saying, plus, Jack had left Celia with the knowledge of how to speak English whic,h even if she couldn't speak it, she'd be able to understand what was being said to her, plus, now there were two Dream Warriors capable of transferring her language to others.
Celia rose up to her full height and sat up on her coiled tail section and looked at them, "Alright, let's get you out of those restraints, big girl," Jack said, turning his attention to the large serpent girl, she nodded and offered no resistance as Jack used his own plasma cutter to break the restraints, once free, Celia slowly and stiffly unwound herself and suddenly they got a real look at how big she truly was, her coils would easily fill the room if she wasn't wound tightly, she had to be at least twenty feet head to tail.
Her tail section was as thick as a decent sized tree trunk and Jack could see the solid, pure muscle rippling and undulating under her glass smooth green scales, "Thank you, Jack Mason, you would not believe how much of a relief it is to finally be able to stretch my tail," Celia said, surprisingly in English, it appeared the language transference had stuck and it also appeared that her vocal chords were complex enough to be able to recreate the sounds of their language, though it did give her a rather interesting accent.
She seemed to really draw out sounds and like a pure cliche she really drew out her S sounds which made Jack smile slightly as he realized she actually sounded what he'd imagined she'd sound like before he spoke to her, "You're welcome, Celia, ok, follow us and we'll take you back to our shuttle, you'll have to wait there with the Draconis male we rescued while we secure the rest of the ship before we transport you back to our ship where we will get you some comfortable quarters along with some hot food," Jack said, and Celia smiled an oddly pleasant smile, at least her variant of her species didn't appear to have fangs, but then there were those who would probably be creeped out by a Yautja's smile when they drew up their mandibles, though to Jack, seeing his wife smile was always Jack's happiest moments, well, apart from seeing her pulling the Yautja version of an ahegao face and knowing he was the cause.
"Hello, Celia, my name is Analise, I'm a member of the Tamer section of the Seekers and this here his Zed, don't let his looks fool you, he's a sweetheart," the young human tamer said, stroking the big fire tiger's head as he leaned into her and looked adoringly at his mistress.
Celia cocked her head and looked at her, "You are a female of your species, correct?" she asked, and Analise nodded in affirmation.
"Yes, and Jack is a male," Analise said as the big snake girl moved forwards to examine her closely.
"You are small for a female, is there something wrong with you?" Celia asked so bluntly that it took both Jack and Analise aback, but then she did kind have a point really, a great many species had the females as the larger of the two genders, in fact, it was only really mammals that seemed to have the opposite to this rule, well, generally.
It was certinally true of the Yautja and by her reaction it must be true of Celia's species too and given her knowledge of the other races in her strata it must be true of the other three as well, "No, males are generally bigger in my species, no more capable really, they are stronger but females are more flexible and agile so it tends to even out, though when it comes to Dream Warriors we're about the same, though Jack is our leader and the most powerful of us all," Analise said, making Celia look at him curiously.
"You have an interesting society, I would very much like to learn more about your kind," Celia said, and Jack nodded.
"And we'd be happy to answer all your questions and trust me we have our own for you too, but let's get this place secure and find out what's going on here first," Jack said, gesturing to the doorway and Celia nodded in agreement but before he could turn she leaned down close to him and flicked her very long, thin forked tongue out at him like she was tasting the air around him, making him jump but rather than explain she just cocked her head and smiled at him like it required no explanation.
Watching Celia slither along the ground was rather interesting, she held the humanoid part of her body well above the ground as her tail section propelled her along, it looked like a rather counter intuitive method of movement but she both looked surprisingly graceful and fluid as she slithered along next to them as they headed out of the cell exit.
That's when she caught sight of one of the Yautja Hunters that had acompanined them and she got curious again, Jack and Analise transfered the language to all of the Hunters so that they could understand her and while they did that she moved herself around him, looking like she was going to wrap him in her coils, Jack saw him glance at him for instruction on what to do to politely fend off the curious serpent girl, but before Jack could say a word Celia spoke.
"Are you a different form of human?" she asked, and the Hunter shook his head as she leaned in, trying to see him properly through his helmet visor.
"No, I am a Yautja, we are a totally a separate species but we are all members of the same clan," the Hunter called T'Ven said.
"Clan? Is that like a family?" she asked him, moving close enough to his helmet that her tongue actually flickered over his visor, leaving marks on it,.
"Sort of, but it's more extended and complex than that," he said, obviously trying to search for a way to explain it to her.
"Basically it's based off the Yautja hunting clan and put very simply a clan is a collection of families and individuals grouped together for mutual benefit and united by their beliefs, it's made up of multiple unrelated species and it is more complex really but that's a simplistic way of explaining it," Jack said, and Celia turned to face him, uncoiling from around T'Ven and moving back to him, she really didn't seem to understand personal space very well.
Celia barraged them with questions as they escorted her through the ship back towards the where the shuttle was docked, Liam must have heard them talking as they came down the corridor, as he appeared in front of them Celia stopped dead in her tracks and Jack saw her tense up and puff herself up, a threat response maybe?
"Don't worry, Celia, this is Liam, he's another one of our human Dream Warriors, the large handsome Yautja human hybrid behind him is my son Ryan, the leader of the Tamer section of the Dream Warriors," Jack said as Ryan appeared behind Liam and even behind his visor Jack saw his eyes widen as he took in the huge serpent female before him.
"Your son? Then your mate is one of the Yautja race? Is she your slave?" Celia asked, and Analise snorted a laugh, causing Celia to look at her curiously and with a hint of annoyance in her golden eyes.
"I would love to see what would happen to someone who tried to enslave my beloved wife, no, scratch that, I have seen it and it was not a good day for them, I'm pretty sure the ones that survived are to this day still trying to dig their detached limbs out of various bodily orifices," Jack said.
"What did she say? Somehow I get the feeling it was about Matriarch," Ryan asked, and Jack laughed this time and nodded.
"She wondered if because you are my son if Tik was my slave," Jack said, and Ryan snorted a laugh, making Celia look even more annoyed.
"Well, forgive me for not knowing the complex nature of your society," she spat angrily, and Jack realized that she really didn't like being laughed at, she was scowling at them and had her arms folded over her ample chest.
"My apologies, Celia, it was not my intention to offend you and we were not laughing at you, simply at the idea of my beloved wife being a slave to anyone, if you knew her and when you meet her you will truly understand what we found funny, let's just say there is not a person alive who could subjugate my beloved wife, but to explain for you in our society all members of the clan are equal, there is a leadership hierarchy of course, but all members of the clan are free to make their own choices and to lead their own lives, we don't believe in restricting love based on species or gender or even to a degree, age, with the obvious exception of children, so in our clan you are free to fall in love with anyone free of judgement and if they love you too then you're golden, so a man can love a woman or a man, a human can love a human, or a Yautja or a Xenomorph of either gender," Jack explained, and Celia seemed to calm down as her curiosity took over.
Genuine surprise seemed to have painted itself over her features, both Jack and Analise stepped forward and with a simple movement they transfered the Serpentinus language to both Ryan and Liam so that they could understand her, "You mentioned Xenomorphs, what are they?" Celia asked as she watched the memory transfer take place, that's when it hit Jack, she didn't understand Xeno, so he stepped forward and gestured for her to come down to him, she looked confused but she did so and he touched her head and pushed the Xeno language into her mind, granted they were telepathic and this could usually be done only by a queen, but Dream Warriors who had received their kiss directly from a queen could also forge this mental bond.
Once done he pointed into the cargo container beyond Ryan and Liam, "They are," he said, indicating the Battle Angels hard at work on the bodies of the dead crew, one of the Battle Angels noticed them and scurried over to get a look at the huge and now utterly horrified serpent girl who'd now clocked the skinned dead bodies.
"B-B-By the great tree! As much hatred as I held for this crew nobody deserves to die like this!" Celia exclaimed, looking like she was about to be sick.
"Here, lean on me, I will accompany you to to the shuttle, Lady Celia, and we can get one of our Battle Angels to check you over," Liam said, stepping forward and taking the large serpent woman's arm, but rather than flinch out of his grasp she allowed him to lead her away towards the hatch where one of the Battle Angels was dealing with the Draconis male.
Jack Turned to Analise, "Let's head for the bridge, if we're going to find out what happened here that's where we're going to find it," he said, she gave a nod and fell in step with him along with the Hunters.
The main bridge wasn't that hard to find as it was really the only place they had left to check, following the maze of corridors they finally reached the freighter bridge, the bridge was much smaller then the Dreamer's bridge, having only three seats, one was in the centre of the circular room and obviously belonged to the captain, the other two were directly in front of it, forming a kind of triangle shape, one would obviously be the pilot's seat and the other would probably be the comms and sensors, but as to which of the two was which was anyone's guess as they still hadn't deciphered the language.
"Seeker one to the Dreamer, we've reached the bridge, so far we've recovered two survivors from the ship, not the crew though, one slave and one prisoner who was being held as a hostage, two separate species, it seems rather than find a single new species we've found four different species all born of the same world originally and seemed to have spilt off, oh, and me and Seeker Three met their deity, it's a talking tree, over," Jack said.
"Did you just say a talking tree? over," Tik's surprised voice exclaimed.
"Yup, it's called the Great Tree and it wants our help to try and save its people, though it seems to believe that they are a threat to themselves, there's a lot to explain, more than I can go over on the comms, we're going to try and crack into the computer and see if we can download the logs and their star charts, but the question remains here, what do we do with the ship? Are we just going to leave it here, take it with us back to our space or destroy it? Or do we try and take it back to the Scalathor and hope they don't misunderstand our intentions? Over," Jack said.
Tik was quiet for a moment before coming back to him, "If someone is trying to frame my people for murdering the crew then we need to tread very cautiously, maybe the person who was being held hostage could shed more light on it, did they shed any light on who killed the crew? Over," Tik asked.
"No, nothing, she heard it happening though, her people have the ability to hear through their skin by sensing the vibrations, she's called Celia Diamondscale and her people are called the Serpentinus, she's an ambassoder for her people so she should have some good insights into making first contact with the other races, if you want I can have Seeker Four bring her and the Draconis slave over while we wait here, over," Jack said.
Tik seemed to mull this over before coming back to him, "No, I think it would be best to bring you all back together, the pair should be ok on the shuttle for the time being, they've got Seeker Four and the Battle Angels taking care of them, see what you can get from the computers and then we'll make a decision on what to do, so far though I'm leaning towards destroying the ship if these people were taking slaves and hostages then I am inclined to believe that the goods they are transporting are either ill gotten or bought with the proceeds of blood money and I do not believe that anyone should be allowed to profit from either piracy or slavery, Hunter One out," Tik said and Jack shut the comms.
"Wow, the Grand Matriarch sounds pissed," Analise said, looking at Jack and he nodded.
"My beloved really hates both slavery and hostage taking, especially after what happened to our son where her previous clan put him through a trial by combat after taking him as a kind of hostage after discovering his lineage as both human and Yautja, even to this day that kind of bigotry exists," Jack said.
Analise nodded and looked at Zed thoughtfully as she rubbed his large head, "Sometimes I forget what's going on in the universe at large having grown up in the clan, it's so easy to take it for granted how good we have things as children of Clan Mason," Analise said, and Jack smiled.
"That actually makes me happy in an odd way because it means we succeeded in what we were trying to achieve with our society, a peaceful place away from the rest of the universe born of love and freedom and that's what we achieved," Jack said as Analise nodded in complete agreement.
Jack turned to Shena, "Alright, Shena, your guys are up, see what you can get from the computer," he said, and Shena nodded and took two of her Hunters over to one of the terminals and began unpacking decryption equipment, they began work as Jack decided to see if he could pull a commune here, he moved to the captain's chair and noticing a large hole in the back of the chair which was obviously for their tails to fit through, he sat down wondering to himself what chairs for the Serpentinus would looks like, would they even have chairs or furniture like they knew it?
"Are you doing a commune? Do you need any help?" Analise asked, and Jack glanced at her, being a Tamer, this was outside of her talents really, but Analise was always determined to learn all she could and even though she couldn't initiate a commune on her own she could join a Soul Knight as they initiated one if they allowed her to connect to them.
"Not this time, kiddo, I need you watching my back, I..." Jack began, but before he could even finish his sentence alarms began blaring and red lights began flashing, causing their night vision to flare.
"Report!" Shena exclaimed, looking at the two Hunters working on the computer.
"We tripped some sort of virus! They booby trapped something in here but we can't read enough of this code to tell where the hell it's coming from!" one of the Hunters exclaimed, working furiously at his virtual keyboard.
"It's no good, this damn thing is like a fucking hydra program! Every time I isolate one, two more pop up and it's invading everything and...oh shit, I can't be a hundred percent here but I think it's trying to overload the hyper drive!" the second Hunter exclaimed.
"Unplug now! Everybody out! We're getting the fuck out of here!" Jack yelled, and both Hunters yanked their connectors as Jack triggered his comms, "Everybody, abandon ship! Back to the shuttle right fucking now! The ship is going to blow! Seeker One to the Dreamer, back up to a safe distance, the hypercore is going to go critical!" Jack yelled before shutting the comms down, knowing Tik would only argue with him.
It seemed that the virus trap they'd unleashed triggered a cascade of epic proportions which had triggered just about every system on the ship, sending the whole thing bat shit crazy, doors opened and closed at random speeds, some didn't open at all, lights flashed on and off in a sensory breaking strobe effect, not to mention that the whole ship seemed to be coming apart at the seams, they could hear muted explosions from parts of the ship, everyone made sure their suits were sealed which Analise did for Zed as well and after they got slammed into the ceiling after the gravity began to reverse on them they activated their magnetic boots which while they slowed their running down at least they stuck to the floor.
But even despite the ship quake shaping the whole place they managed to make it back to the shuttle, where they found Liam at the controls trying to hold the shuttle in place so that the seal didn't break, "are we the last ones? Everyone sound off!" Jack yelled, and everybody called back, revealing that everyone was aboard, plus their two new acquisitions, Celia was clinging on to the back of the pilot seat as she tried to look over Liam's shoulder while their Draconis friend had rolled himself into a ball and was wailing in fear, he was being comforted by one of the Battle Angels and no sooner had he set eyes on Analise he grabbed onto her and refused to let go, so she sat down next to him and tried to reassure the terrified young male by stroking his horned head like she had in the bedroom.
"Liam, seal us up detach us and get us the fuck out of here!" Jack yelled, and Liam did just that, swinging the shuttle around and hauling ass towards the Dreamer but as it turned out they'd made it just in time, as they'd only been flying for a total of ten second before the ship exploded behind them.
Explosions in space aren't like they are in the movies, it's utterly silent, there was a bright flash and the blast wave began chasing them as the hypercore from the ship's hyperdrive went critical and exploded with enough power to make a nuke look like a firecracker.
"Hold on to your arse, tail or what the fuck ever, here it comes!' Liam yelled, and everybody braced for impact before gravity seemed to cease to exist as they got tossed around like an empty can riding a hundred foot wave, sparks exploded out of panels all around them as their shielding and armor fought against the pressure assaulting them from all directions until, just as agressively and suddenly as it started, it stopped.
Jack felt like a ball bearing that had found itself tossed into a blender, "Uggghh, sound off, is everyone still alive?" he said as he tried to raise from the floor, everybody had been pretty much strapped in so they were ok, the only ones that weren't were the four Seekers and their two new friends, well, one new friend as it looked like Analise had managed to get the young Draconis strapped in before the shit had it the fan and they seemed to be having some sort of role reversal moment as she was now upside down in his lap with Zed piled on them both, though by the thumbs up she gave he knew she was ok.
Shena had managed to grab hold of her husband and stopped him from bouncing around like a metal pinball in the cabin like his father, but it looked like by the muffled cries from the cockpit Liam had it worse as he now appeared to be buried under a mound of scales and coils, it looked like Celia had been pitched into the front and buried him under her large mass, "You both ok?" Jack said, standing up and addressing them as they tried in vain to disentangle themselves, a thumbs up appeared from between Celia's coils, indicating that Liam was ok and a moment later a second one appeared as Celia copied Liam.
With a bit of help from Jack, Liam managed to disentangle the embarassed serpent woman from Liam's lap and she scurried back into the cabin and perched herself next to the seats and by the look on her face and her body language holding her arms clamped tightly over her chest and her tightly clamped jaw Jack could see she was both deeply embarassed and mortified about something.
"Report," Jack said, looking at Liam who was furiously mashing buttons on the controls.
"Most of the systems are down or just utterly toast, we've lost shields, weapons, drive, so we're utterly defenceless and adrift and the main comms relay is down," Liam said, their suit comms were tied into this relay to allow them to broadcast to the Dreamer in real time, their suit comms could still broadcast but there would now be a delay, but that was better than nothing.
"Seeker one to the Dreamer, we survived the blast, but we're dead in the water, comms relay is down now, broadcasting in the dark, we require pick-up, out," Jack said, and thirty seconds later a reply came back.
"Roger that, my love, we're on our way, hold on!" Tik's both worried and determined voice said.
"Ok, people, pick-up's coming," Jack said, and no sooner had he said it than a shadow washed over them as the Dreamer pulled up over them, there were two sharp clanks as the grapple attacked magnetic clamps to the hull and they were towed into the shuttle bay, once it was dropped on the deckplate Jack began pumping the hatch release as the automatic release wasn't working and by the time he got it open Tik appeared like a phantom out of thin air and reached into the shuttle and yanked him out into a tight embrace.
"I'm alright, my love, I'm ok, we all are," jack said soothingly as he lowered his helmet so she could clamp his face and kiss him deeply.
"You scared the living daylights out of me, my love!' she exclaimed, and no sooner had Ryan taken a step through the doorway than it was his turn for the worried huggy Tik treatment as she grabbed him into a tight hug and lifted him off his feet.
Shena stepped out behind her husband and grinned at his fate as he squirmed and tried to free himself from his mother's death grip, that's when he saw another face peeking out behind her and Jack smiled, he reached out and touched his wife's face and with a flash he transfered the Serpentinus language into her mind and Tik looked at him oddly, letting Ryan go who now seemed to be having problems breathing, "Tik eleth Mason, may I introduce ambassoder Celia Diamondscale of the Serpentinus people, Celia Diamondscale, may I proudly introduce Tik eleth Mason of the proud Yautja people and my loving wife and Grand Matriarch of Clan Mason," Jack said as the Serpentinus female slithered out of the damaged shuttle hatch and drew herself up before Tik who looked up at her in surprise.
But Tik being Tik, she went into full diplomat mode, "It is very good to meet you, ambassador, and I welcome you aboard the Dreamer, flagship of Clan Mason," Tik said, first saluting in Yautja tradition before offering her a handshake in human tradition, which Celia looked confused by.
"It is an ooman gesture and a sign of friendship and trust," Tik explained, and Celia looked at her hand and then stuck it out in the same way Tik did but didn't take it but still managed to look surprised as Tik clasped it and shook it.
"I thank you for your warm welcome, Grand Matriarch Tik eleth Mason," Celia said.
Tik smiled warmly and nodded, "Please, call me Tik, or if you prefer more formal, Tik eleth," Tik said, and Celia nodded.
"Thank you, then I ask you to call me Celia, umm, may I ask why you just referred to your husband's species as ooman? I thought they were called human?" Celia asked, puzzled and Jack laughed.
"It's ok, it's just the way Yautja pronounce it, much the same way Tik calls me Ack because she has problems saying the letter J in the human alphabet," Jack said, and Tik smiled and nodded in agreement.
"It is as my beloved husband says, though my accent is not half as funny as listening to him speaking Yautja, his accent is hilarious," Tik said with a playful grin aimed at her husband and Jack laughed.
"Hey, in my defence I don't exactly have mandibles to help pronounce most of it and have to click my teeth," Jack said and Tik laughed.
Celia looked at them curiously and then smiled, "I can see it is as your husband said that your species are equals and I can see this is true of your genders as well, it is refreshing to see that this is the more accepted way of things in the greater universe, a part of me had feared that it could be more like the Scalathor or Draconis way of doing things where their males are oppressed to the point of being nothing but abused slaves, much like this poor individual behind me, it breaks my heart and infuriates me to know that their and my species were born of the same world and yet their attitudes never evolved beyond the old days when males were considered nothing more than property," she said.
"So your society is matriarchal then?" Tik asked, and Celia tilted her head curiously.
"Somewhat, but only because we outnumber males four to one, males on both my world and that of the Raptorians are rarer than us females, but we embraced this difference and protect our males, it is worse for the Raptorians as their species is born roughly eight females to every one male but they still do not oppress them, males on both of our worlds are afforded the very same rights as any female, they can do any job and even rule territory which in some territories they do just that and it is something we are very proud of and I am very glad and happy to see that this is the universal standard way of doing things," Celia said, looking around at all the curious people who had wandered over to look at the newcomers.
While Celia seemed to be taking all this curiosity in her stride the young Draconis was obviously frightened by it all and was clinging to Analise who was trying to comfort him gently, Jack could see his bright eyes darting around looking at all the strange faces peering in at him, he'd folded his wings and tail protectively around himself as he clung to Analise's arm, "Analise, take our friend there to the medical bay, get him checked out," Jack said, and she nodded and gently led him away, two Battle Angels falling step with her as they went along with Zed.
"If we may, Celia, I'd like to make sure that you have suffered no injury or ill effect from your captivity, I'd like to take you down to the medical bay and have our doctors check you over as well, we wouldn't be very gracious hosts if we did not ensure the well being of our guests, it's also standard procedure for our soldiers to be checked over by the doctors after a mission doubly so after one like this, encountering new species, we have to be sure that we're not carrying anything that would be harmful to you and visa versa," Jack said softly, and Celia nodded, he did a circular motion with his hand and the whole compliment of Hunters and the remaining Seekers and Battle Angels fell into step with him as he and Tik led the way.
The Dreamer's medical bay was state of the art and had been a very close collaboration between the hives of queens Zara and Citrus, both queens and indeed their kings had thrown their all into designing this place to combat any threat to the well being and safety of all aboard, it carried some of the very best the Battle Angels had to offer, the look on Celia's face as she entered the very clean and brightly lit medical centre full of beds and diagnostic tools, not to mention colorful Xenos running around everywhere tending to people, well, sometimes the tending was a little different as was evident when her eyes locked onto something down the far end and Jack tracked her vision and at first scowled but then smiled as he saw one of the female Xeno's with her back to the wall and was being kissed by a human male dressed in a Hunter's uniform.
"Mack! Lilla! Honored guests here, bit of discression please!" he called out, and the couple jolted like someone had just run a current through them breaking apart both saluting crisply and apoligising before scurrying away to find some duties to attend to.
Turning to Celia he found looking both amused and curious, "Sorry about that, my people are both passionate about their loves and they aren't afraid to display it and it can sometimes lead them to get carried away," he said apologetically.
"No apologies necessary, we are the guests here but are you referring to Humans? Or do you mean Clan Mason in general?" Celia said, and Jack laughed.
"Both I guess," Jack said, and suddenly Tik clamped her arm around his shoulders, giving him a squeeze, typical of Tik, she didn't care a single bit who knew she loved her husband and was not shy about it.
"Ooman love is a highly sought thing where we come from, most who have come seeking to join our Clan have done so because we offer them something that is found in very few places anywhere else, acceptance," she said, and Celia turned to look at her curiously.
"Acceptance?" she asked curiously, and Tik nodded.
"Among my people, the Yautja, to love another species is forbidden under pain of death for you and disgrace for your family or clan, worse, if that species is considered by the majority to be a weak prey species like oomans are, but my Ack here changed my life and not because he is a Dream Warrior but because he is a man, an ooman man, he did for me what no one among my own kind has ever done, he loved me unconditionally and he proved it over and over again, he fought for me, he fought to protect me, to save me and to claim me and no man has ever stood so tall and so proud before me before, I knew that in that instant everything I had been taught was not only wrong but was an outright lie designed to maintain the purity of my species, to forbid us from experiencing things we never dared to even dream possible and to just accept our lot, but I refused to accept the lies any longer, my heart did not belong to my own kind, it beat with a very different rythem, an ooman rythem, we knew that neither of our races would accept us as we are really, the Yautja are to narrow minded and the oomans just were not ready, so we broke away and formed our own clan," Tik said proudly.
Celia looked utterly stunned, "So you both defied your species to form this clan?" she asked.
"I did, but Ack's people are a different story, they've only really just started to take their first steps into the cosmos so they, apart from the few enlightened ones, don't know of our existence properly," Tik said as they guided Celia to a bio bed so the doctor could take a proper look at her, instantly a Xeno holding a pad and diagnostic scanning tools appeared and began to examine her.
"But there are so many Humans here?" Celia asked, and Jack nodded.
"We, back when we started, the clan realized that we had nowhere near enough humans to keep up with the demand, we were getting defecting recruits from the Yautja clans as word of what had happened aboard the Shadowclaw clanship involving our son and a trial by combat began to spread, not to mention my wife's captive diaries were swiftly becoming the must read literature of those seeking love outside of their own race, like a battle cry of those who knew they were different it began to ripple across Yautja space, calling them to us, so we took steps to counter the flood of Yautja coming to us with the hope of finding a human of their own to love, we created a challenge on my homeworld and to those who succeeded in completing it were given the chance to join us, we took ten thousand humans from my home world in one hit, this stabilize things, after that we've maintained a healthy population of all three races you see here, we have pure blood humans, pure blood Yautja, pure blood Xeno's and mixtures of all, humans dating Yautja, humans dating Xenos as you just saw as well as each other, we don't discriminate on love at all, all are free with us," Jack said proudly, and Celia looked impressed.
The doctor was scanning her with a multitude of tools and images of her anatomy were appearing on the monitors around them, suddenly Jack noticed she appeared to be looking over his shoulder and he glanced back to see that his team were going through their own medicals, Liam had been taken to the next bio bed over and had removed his upper armor because the scanners couldn't penetrate the reflective material, he was wearing a tight undershirt that had risen up, revealing his toned flat stomach before he pulled it back down before placing his armor down and stripping off his pants to reveal his shorts as the Battle Angel doctor fussed around him, scanning away.
Jack turned back to her and he saw her long tongue was flicking out of her mouth tasting the air and he could have sworn that she was aiming it at Liam, "We'd be more than happy to take you on a tour of our homeworld, Celia, if you wish then you can see what we're saying is true," Tik said suddenly, and Celia snapped her attention to her as if being snapped ot of a happy day dream.
"I thank you for your offer but I really must get back to my people, by now my kidnapping has obviously been reported and trouble will most likely be brewing, it could lead to big trouble between us and the Scalathor if I am not returned immediately," she said, sounding regretful.
"Understandable, if you can provide us with the coordinates we will take you there immediately," Jack said, and Celia nodded but then she suddenly looked lost.
"Ummm, I'd have to look at your star charts to be able to find my world, but after that business is concluded I would very much like to visit your world, it sounds like a most fascinating place and I'd very much like to see this utopia sounding place with my own eyes, in fact, I'm positive my people would very much like to meet yours on a much more official basis, they will most likely wish to send a contingent to your world to negotiate relations and I will request to be among them because I would very much like to learn all about your people and your culture," Celia said, and Jack nodded.
"We would like that too, we are always eager to meet new friends and potential allies and to learn all about them, knowledge and understanding makes us stronger, so once we get the star charts from the Scalathor freighter compiled with our own we'll bring you to the bridge and show us where we need to go, is that acceptable to you?" Jack said, and Celia smiled brightly, flicking her tongue slightly.
"That's fine, and thank you, also, may I compliment you on a very enlightened attitude, you're species is fascinating, I must say," she said, then her face went a little solumn and Jack noticed what had caught her attention, it was the young Draconis male, he was sat on a bio bed being examined by what appeared to be deeply concerned and anxious Xenos, there were four of them fussing around him and he was nervously looking at Analise who was stood next to him.
"Please don't return him to his people, I've never set eyes upon him before today but even I can tell that poor boy has suffered greatly at the hands of his own, he deserves to know what freedom and choice are, give him asylum with you and if you can't, let us take him and we will give him the best we can among ours," Celia said, Jack scowled for a moment.
"One moment, please, excuse me," he said, and then he broke from them and walked over to the Draconis who looked up at him both curiously and nervously, Jack reached out to him gently and the male shrank and looked at Analise for reassurance, "It's ok, sweetheart, he won't hurt you, this is the kindest man you're ever going to meet," she said softly, and the male obviously didn't have a clue what she was saying but he trusted her voice, he leaned forward and Jack placed his hands on the male's cool scales and with a flicker his eyes flashed and changed color as Jack connected their minds.
Normally Jack would ask someone's permission to see their memories unless they were an enemy but he wanted to see for himself what this male had been through and what his people were like, he also exchanged languages with him while he dove through his mind and after only moments Jack released him and placed his hands on his shoulders, his face was set into a look of pure rage and horror, he gently stroked the male who's name was Kelmar on the head and then he turned and face the room, noticing all eyes were on him, "This is Kelmar Littlewing, I have seen his mind and the horrors and indignities it contains and for that I offer him my humblest apologies, it is not my way to take that which is not freely given but I needed to understand and now I do and from this moment on he is under the protection of Clan Mason, never again will anyone lift a hand against him and have it go unanswered, if anyone ever harms him again it will be answered by Clan Mason and we will not show mercy, as Grand Patriarch I before you all hereby offer him asylum, from this moment he is ours and we are his, he will live free," Jack said in a voice so powerful it shook the hearts of everyone in the room and cheers went up.
Jack turned back to the surprised looking Draconis male who had obviously now understood every word he'd said, he offered him his hand and Kelmar looked at it, "Take my hand and be free, Kelmar, let us show you the meaning of freedom," Jack said.
"W-W-What is freedom?" he asked in a soft voice using English, this softest of sentences made Analise's face crease as his true non understanding hit her like a hammer blow.
Jack smiled softly, "Would you like to see it?" he asked, and Kelmar nodded and Jack turned to Analise, "Would you like to show him?" he said, and without hesitation Analise stepped forward and gently took Kelmar's head in her hands and once again his eyes changed but this time to match her's and by the look on his face and by the face that tears began to stream down his face making little rivers in the gaps between his scales he was seeing it.
When she let go he blinked and looked between them, "I-I-I can have this beautiful thing? It can be mine?" he asked in utter shock.
"All you have to do is say yes and it will be yours, young one," Jack said softly, and Kelmar nodded.
"Yes! Please! I want to be free!" he said, and Jack nodded, he took a deep breath and he planted a firm hand on his shoulder, "Stength through unity..." he began, Analise instantly planted her hand on Kelmar's other shoulder.
"...Unity through togetherness..." she continued, instantly Tik eleth appeared and planted her hand on top of her husband's on Kelmar's shoulder.
"...Togetherness through pure love..." she said.
Ryan was next, planting his hand atop his parents', "... a love so pure it burns through all who hear its call..." he said.
Liam placed his hand atop Analise's, "...and hear its call, we do..." he said.
Shena placed her hand atop Ryan's, "...and answer that call honestly, we do..." she said.
Next up was a Xeno called Liv, she planted her hand atop Liam's, "...humbled by its power, we are..." she said.
One after another, the room joined, each placing a hand on him, "...humble and proud we stand...shoulder to shoulder...these are my brothers and my sisters...they stand for me as I stand for them... I am never alone for wherever I am I carry my brothers and sisters with me... as they carry me...my strength is theirs as theirs is mine...together we are strong and we are free...for we are Clan Mason and we stand proudly together now and always...and together we welcome you, brother," the last part was said in complete unison by everyone gathered around him and with that Kelmar was swallowed in a huge group hug with him at the centre.
The young Draconis had never ever imagined anything like this and he broke, he began to sob his young heart out as he was surrounded by a wall of love, "Welcome, Kelmar Littlewing, as Grand Matriarch I name you Kelmar Littlewing Mason, wear this name with pride, little one, it is a symbol of your freedom," she said.
"Thank you! Thank you all so much! No one has never been so kind to me before," Kelmar said.
"Analise, sort our newest member out with some quarters and make sure he's taken care of," Ryan said, and the young Tamer saluted and nodded.
The group separated and left Analise to comfort the young Draconis while the Battle Angels began their work to see what they could do for his injuries, Jack and Tik headed back over to Celia who looked utterly amazed, "That's how you induct someone into Clan Mason?" she asked, looking curious, and Jack smile and nodded.
"It's meant to show our unity, every member of the Clan knows it by heart and if you're present at an induction you join in, it's as simple as that, every member of the Clan is valued equally, our strength is the Clan and the Clan's strength is us, every one of us," Jack said proudly.
Celia looked impressed, the Xeno doctor who had been examining her turned to Jack and Tik, "She is vulnerable to some of our bacterium and viruses but it's nothing that a broad spectrum immune shot can't deal with and it's perfectly safe for her to take, I'm not detecting anything that she has that our immune systems can't handle but I would recommend an exchange of medical knowledge before heading down to the planet's surface Grand Patriarch and Matriarch," she said.
"Permission to give you a shot to keep you safe and don't worry, it's totally painless, we don't use needles due to Xeno's having acidic blood," Jack said, and Celia nodded her consent, the young Xeno doctor gave her a hydrospray shot and that was it done.
"Other than some malnutrition and some scale sores from the manacles which we can treat easily, Miss Diamondscale is in good health, a good meal, comfortable bed and a good night's sleep and she should be all good," the doctor said, and Jack nodded.
"Ok, we're going to debrief while we run over the intel we gathered from that ship, if you can provide us with the coordinates we'll get you home, in the mean time, I'll appoint one of ours to guide you around, is that acceptable?" Jack asked, and without a single second's hesitation Celia nodded.
"May I make just one request? she asked, and Jack nodded.
"Of course, go ahead," he said, and Celia pointed at Liam who was now getting dressed in his armor again after completing his medical.
"I'd like to request him to show me around if you can spare him," she said, and Jack grinned.
"Liam, you're on duty looking after our guest here, show her around make sure she's taken care of," he said, and Liam looked at him before turning his attention to Celia who was looking at him and flicking her tongue repeatedly, making a very soft hissing noise every time she did.
"Umm, sure, of course, boss, ok, Lady ambassador, if you will follow me I'll take you on a tour of the ship, I just need to get out of this armor and get into my regular uniform if that's ok with you?" he said, and she nodded.
"Of course, Seeker Liam, and please, call me Celia," she said, slithering over to join him.
"Umm, sure, thank you, and please, call me Liam, I'm not much one for titles," he replied, and he guided the large Serpent woman towards the exit.
"Are you hungry, the mess hall here is open twenty four hours a day because there's always someone on duty and we cater to three different species before hybrids so I'm sure we'll have something to your taste," Liam said.
"I'm glad you brought it up, although my species only eat every four days or so I'm ravenous so please, lead on," she said, and just like that they were gone, though with the length of her tail it did take a rather long time for her to fully go anywhere.
Jack turned to Tik and she smiled at him, "It looks our new friend made a friend," he said, and her smile widened.
"I think she likes him," Tik said, and Jack looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Seriously? They just met and we don't even know if both species are even compatible yet," Jack said.
"Oh, they are, our scan revealed that her species are essentially compatible with any species aboard, I'm sure it would be a little odd but essentially all the right equipment is all there and her reproductive organs are essentially compatible, genetics are another question but we've sampled it and it will be transmitted to the hive for analysis," the Xeno doctor who had examined her said upon hearing what they'd said.
Tik's smile got even wider and Jack just laughed and sighed, "Perhaps I should have told Liam to be on ambassador level best behavior," he said, and Tik laughed.
"Think you could tell her that too?" she said, laughing, and Jack shook his head, pinching his brow and chuckling.
"She's probably just curious about us is all, think about it, not only is she meeting three new species at once but Dream Warriors as well, so by talking to Liam she gets to learn about a species and a Dream Warrior as well," he said, and Tik suddenly looked very sly.
"Care to make a bet?" she asked, and Jack shook his head.
"Not a fucking chance, my heart, I beat you fair and square and you are not wriggling out of paying up by doing double or nothing on something I have no control over," he said, and Tik roared with laughter.
"Can't blame a girl for trying," she said with a shrug before clapping him on the shoulder.
"Come on, let's go get to the bottom of this mystery, it's Scooby Doo time," Jack said, and now Tik just looked confused.
"What in the name of pauk is a Scooby Doo?" she asked, and now Jack roared with laughter.
"Never mind, my love, never mind," Jack said, and the pair headed for the bridge to get to work, they did still have a mystery to solve and a serpent damsel in distress to return home after all, they really had their work cut out for them, but the first thing they had to do was get the hell out of here before anyone else decided to show up in response to the now non broadcasting distress call, so they'd jump out of here and take cover in a nearby binary star system which should hide them from any long range scans while they worked their way through the data they'd retrieved, they had a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it in.