"Eliksni Language"

"Talking"

'Thinking'


Chapter 2: Throwing Stones

"Hold the data scanner there, it needs to be connected to the main power source and then linked to the communications array." Itaklos spoke as he gestured to the loose connection of wiring and cables combined with several metallic objects which intermittently blinked several different colours.

"I have no idea what any of those look like." Phisken replied as he blankly stared at the pile of junk, Itaklos released a hiss of annoyance and looked away from the other casing of the probe.

"What kind of assistant are you?"

"You called the bridge, said you required aid and then the moment I walk through the doors you begin barking orders at me and start throwing…" He held up with silver sphere in his hands "Whatever this is at me."

"That's the power source." Itaklos pointed out "I would handle it with care, I have no interest in being vaporized in a lab accident."

Phisken wordlessly, and very gently, set the sphere down on the closet table to him and stared at it for a few seconds to ensure it didn't roll anywhere. Satisfied he was no longer going to be in danger of a sudden and explosive death, he turned back to Itaklos "My point is, would it not be better for you to request the aid of Friksis?"

"Friksis!?" Itaklos head shot up and snapped towards Phisken, the blue eyes narrowed in anger "Friksis is a brute! This requires delicate care and sophistication! Friksis would weld all these parts together and simply fling the assembled scrap pile out of an airlock!"

Phisken very purposefully did not look at the welding tool that Itaklos was holding before shaking his head "Why not ask someone else though? Surely one of the other engineers would be better served."

"I needed someone who could take orders and wasn't necessary to the ships function." Itaklos sighed and turned back to the probe, turning on his welding tool and began to attach another layer of metal to the out layer of the probe "You fit the criteria of being an adequate assistant."

"...You just needed someone to boss around didn't you?"

"Must you be so simplistic?" Itaklos scoffed "I required the aid of an Eliksni who would make a useful assistant. You should feel privileged to be in a position to provide aid to the great Itaklos!"

"I truly am the Archon to your greatness." Phisken dryly replied, Itaklos hummed in acceptance, completely missing the sarcasm in his sentence.

"Now then. Hand me the data scanner." Itaklos held out a hand for a few seconds, when nothing happened he released a sigh "The white cubical object with the red and green lights."

"Ah!" Phisken nodded and placed the cube in his hands "Here you are!"

"Hmph." The Vandal grunted and placed the cube within its slot and began to attack the wires and cables to it.

Phisken looked around the room for a few moments before he turned back to Itaklos "So...what do you think about our situation?"

"Hmm?" The scientist looked up from his work briefly before turning back to the probe "What is there to think about? We all knew this would be a difficult journey. Generations of hatred towards the Lightbearers and their kin are not easily forgotten. The attack of the Hive was merely another obstacle."

"...What about the being stranded in unknown space part?"

"That is actually exciting." Itaklos perked up "Eliksni have forgotten that before the exodus we were explorers of the unknown, cartographers of the stars. I think of this as a call back to our roots. An opportunity to forget the disaster that befell our race and discover something new." he released a sigh and stood up, slumping his shoulders "Although I fear our first reaction will be the same as what we always do." he turned around and looked Phisken in the eyes "We'll scavenge what we need, kill those who stand against us and ignore the opportunity to learn something new."

"We didn't set out to learn something new." Phisken retorted "We set out to find a home for our people."

"We did indeed." Itaklos grimly replied, then turned back to his work and released a bitter chuckle "But who is to say that this planet isn't it?"

Phisken remained silent following Itaklos question. The Vandal's eyes revealed a thoughtful expression while the scientist merely continued on his work.

The pair continued to work on the probe in silence, the only time they occasionally opened their mouths to speak was when Itaklos asked for another component.


Friksis crossed his four arms as he looked over the damage to their jump drive. He made a growl of annoyance before he turned to one of the Dreg engineers "How bad?"

"Outer casing of the jump drive is the most damaged part." The Dreg replied, then grimaced "The actual drive itself has several components damaged beyond repair, the link to the power generator and the connection to navigation as well as the distance drives."

"How bad are the damages?"

The Dreg released a sigh "The damage is both worse and better than we thought. We link to the navigation console can be repaired with the parts we have on hand, should take no more than a few days. The distance drives...we can jury rig it to make an short jump."

"How short?"

"Cross continental if we were in the atmosphere of a planet." The Dreg replied "That's it. Anything more than that and we'd risk overheating the power couplings."

"So the jump drive, for the moment, is worthless." Friksis snarled "...You said the damage was worse than we feared?"

"It is." The Dreg nodded "Come, see the outer casing of the jump drive itself?"

Friksis followed the Dreg's finger before his eyes caught sight of it, and the large hole above the actual drive itself "The core is exposed…"

"Yes. If we were to turn the Drive on now…"

"The Radiation surge would kill everyone in this room." He snarled "Get that hole plugged, I don't care if its temporary or not, I won't have the jump drive subjected to further damage or risk dying of radiation poisoning."

"We can rig up a makeshift cover." The Dreg replied, then cringed "Although it won't have the same durability as the Heskyx alloy."

"Can it withstand the cross continental jumps you spoke of?"

"It...We have scraps of Basnese which would have been used to repair the outer hull. It won't be as useful but it will work."

"Get to work on that cover immediately." Friksis ordered the Dreg, the smaller Eliksni nodded his head and moved to the other engineers and technicians before ordering them to carry out the chief's orders.

Friksis growled before he moved to the intercom at the edge of the door leading out of the engine deck "Friksis to bridge."

"Bridge here, what do you have to report Friksis?"

"Zepis? What are you doing on the bridge?" Friksis blinked in surprise "Where is Kell Adolviks?"

"Kell Adolviks has retired to his quarters for the evening. He has placed me in command until he returns, deliver your report."

"I see. The situation with the jump drives is worse than we thought. We can activate it for a short, cross continental distance at best. However attempting to jump further would overheat the drive and rip the ship apart."

"...I understand." Zepis voice replied, tone slightly grim "Can they be repaired?"

"That is how they will function after being repaired." Friksis sighed out "The situation is actually worse than that. The jump drive itself is exposed. Attempting a jump will flood the room with radiation and kill everyone near the engines at the time. We can rig up a makeshift cover but it wouldn't be able to withstand a prolonged jump further than the drive would actually allow at the moment."

"...I assume you do not have the parts to fully repair the casing of the drive then?"

"Not on the ship no. We'd need to find a deposit of Heskyx or a similar enough material."

"I've been informed we have a single excavation drill onboard, although it will require repairs and Itaklos is currently making his final refinements to his probe. Unfortunately it isn't designed to scan for subterranean deposits."

Friksis growled before letting out a breath "We'll make do with what we have down here, tell the Captain that our fuel capacity is at twenty percent. We'll be forced to land conventionally on the planet rather than hover unless we find a suitable replacement."

"I will inform him. Itaklos believes he can deploy the probe in under an hour, I will pass along your report at that time. Bridge out."


"Commander Zepis." Vasgir called out as the larger Eliksni turned off the intercom, he turned to the Dreg and saw Byviks standing beside him as they both looked at a panel in front of them.

"What is it?" Zepis asked as he marched over to the pair, Vasgir fidgeted sightly while Byviks remained stoic, his robotic arms occasionally making a whirling sound.

"W-well, we weren't within scanner range of the planet yet, so I and Byviks had decided to send out a sublight ping to detect the presence of any other celestial bodies, in case this planet turned out to be a wasted effort or in case we could find an asteroid field to mine from."

"You sent out a sublight ping, which could be detected by any spacefaring civilisation and you are telling me this now!?" Zepis roared at the Dreg, the bridge went silent as all eyes turned to the trio. The Eliksni gripped the Dreg by the throat and lifted him into the air "If we were not in a dire situation, I would rip off your other arms."

"Sir." Byviks spoke up, his deep and somewhat mechanical voice caused Zepis turned to him as the Dreg struggled in his grip "Preliminary scans of the system showed no signs of other space faring civilisations. The results of the ping are also why were are discussing this with you now."

"Hmph." Zepis grunted and dropped Vasgir to the ground, the smaller Dreg took in several gasps as he tried to get air back into his body "Explain."

"The Ping revealed only three celestial bodies in this system." Byviks explained, much to the confusion of Zepis "The Planet, its moon and the star it orbits."

"What?" Zepis scoffed "Impossible. Systems are no so devoid of life, what of the asteroid fields which usually surround them, or other worlds?"

"They were not detected."

"Try again. The scan must have been faulty."

"Sir, this is the result of five separate pings." Zepis eyes went wide and he turned to look at the makeshift map of the star system, showing the planet they were heading for, the damaged moon and the star in the distance "This planet is the only one in the system."

"That…" Zepis blinked in confusion "That's not...It's the only planet in the system...and it can support life?"

"The odds of such an outcome are slim." Byviks replied "And were it not for the damage to the lunar satellite, I would have believed this star system to have been designed."

"This is…" Zepis frowned and crossed his arms "I'll inform the Kell of our situation and this development. In the meantime, tell Itaklos to hurry up with the probe we need it on that planet and transmitting data as soon as possible." he looked down at Vasgir, who was still picking himself up off the floor "How far are we from the planet?"

"Setker-4 informed me that it was three days and a half perhaps…" Vasgir released a cough "No more however."

"Hmph." Zepis grunted and turned back to Byviks "Once Itaklos has finished his probe and we begin getting reading, I want you to inform him of the situation and begin working on theories as to what could cause this...bizarre star system we find ourselves in."

"Yes, Commander." Byviks nodded his head and turned back to the panel, Vasgir nodded and scurried back to the navigation controls.


Adolviks sat in a large chair which hung down from the ceiling, his helm, dark plated with two wings which jutted from either side and curved upwards, sat on a table near him as he read over the data pad in his hands.

He looked up when he heard a knock at the door to his room "Enter." he called out and turned back to his tablet, the door slid open and heavy footfalls sounded out.

"Kell Adolviks." The Eliksni Captain withheld a sigh at Zepis sentence.

"I have told you, I am no longer a Kell." He looked over at the slightly smaller Eliksni entering the room "I renounced that title when we made the decision to join House Light."

"We are not in House Light yet." Zepis pointed out "Until we are, you are Kell of House Restitution. Whether you wish to be or not."

"Would that not make you Archon of Bavrir Prime then?"

Zepis twitched slightly "Ex-Archon. I only held the title to maintain the status quo and to avoid us coming to confrontation with the more...zealous houses. Worshipping the machines we constructed never held much sense."

"And yet we were slaves to it for centuries." Adolviks sighed "I assume you are here to report something to me?"

"I have Friksis report on the engines here." Zepis held up a data pad as he advanced on the Kell "I also have news on the system which could not wait an-" he paused when he looked over at what the Kell was reading "Literature?"

"Casualty reports." Adolviks corrected "Vrovkys has completed a tally of our numbers we have lost in total. We're down to ninety seven...Out of one hundred and ninety five. Vrovkys expects at least twenty six to recover. So actually the closer number is one hundred and twenty three."

"We have lost many." Zerpis muttered, Adolviks nodded silently before looking back to the Commander.

"You spoke of a report on the system?" Zepis perked up slightly and handed the pad to the Kell before elaborating.

"Vasgir and Byviks sent out a signal ping to detect other celestial bodies-"

"Risky, it could have altered others to our presence."

"I informed him of that."

"...You threatened him didn't you?" Adolviks sighed "We are supposed to be better than the old ways of Ether rationing and mutilation of our kin."

"Even if we have no intention of carrying out the threats, the punishment still provides order among the crew." Zepis argued "A firm hand is required for discipline."

"We will discuss that later, what were the results of the signal ping?"

Zepis crossed his arms and hung his head "There are only three celestial bodies. The sun, the planet and its moon."

Adolviks straightened in surprise and snapped his head to Zepis, eyes wide "What? That isn't...That's not…"

"Possible?" Zepis finished "I know. I thought the signal faulty...until Byviks informed me that they had carried out five separate pings over the last few hours. This planet is the only one in the system."

"And it just so happens to be a planet capable of sustaining life." Adolviks narrowed his eyes "I do not like this. It is far too coincidental. No...far too clinical to be natural. No sign of debris?"

"None. No asteroid belt, no cloud of space gas either. It is as if the system was merely...willed into existence."

"How soon can Itaklos deploy his probe?" Adolviks stood up "This is becoming a far more hazardous situation. I do not want to be flying blind, especially with how damaged we are right now."

"Itaklos should have his probe ready within the hour." Zepis replied "He has had it modified for detection of communications channels, geographical mapping and life form scans within a 10 mile radius."

"Has he decided on a continent?"

"The central continent appears to be the most promising from distant viewing. The others are either a frozen wasteland, a desert or what appears to be a blackened area. It looks scorched."

"Hmmm." Adolviks nodded his head as he made he way over to his desk, he gripping his helm in his hands and raised it over his head "I am returning to the bridge, I shall oversee the deployment of the probe personally." he slid the helm onto his head and pressurised it, the dozen glowing eyes on the front lit up a brilliant orange before he turned around and looked over at Zepis "Once we have a better understanding of the situation on the planet, we will decide upon next steps."

"Yes, Kell." Zepis bowed his head "I also recommend reading Friksis report...our engine situation is...problematic."

"I'll read it on the bridge." Adolviks replied as he marched past Zepis "It will also allow me better communication with the engineering deck." Zepis nodded and followed the Kell out of his room.

The bridge was moderately silent as Adolviks entered and took a seat on his chair, he occasionally looked up at the distant blue spec of the planet through the large window before he returned to reading the report from Friksis. His eyes would occasionally narrow before returning to their original size.

As he read through the report, his eyes got duller until he came to the bottom of it. He shut his eye lids and handed the report off to another of the bridge crew before he turned to Zepis, the commander was standing not too far from him "I assume you read the report first?" he asked the former Archon, Zepis shook his head.

"Friksis saw fit to inform me himself. He sent the fully detailed report up not long after."

"I don't know whether to pity or envy you." He slumped in his chair "I don't believe I've ever read something so disheartening." he gripped his head in one of his hands "All made worse by this freakish system."

"I admit to be more than a little concerned Kell." Zepis began "Although I believe it was you who told us to 'weather the storm' as it were."

"That was before I realised the state the ship was in." He muttered, then shook his head "Still, no Eliksni have ever abandoned their ship in the past. We will not be the first. The limited jump drive gives us some options...although a maximum jump range of five thousand kilometres is less than what I hoped for."

"Human measurements?" Zepis tilted his head in confusion, Adolviks sighed.

"Vilzak suggested it. He believed it would better aid us in communication if we learned basic units from our new neighbours." He let out a mirthless breath "It seems to have picked up amongst the crew."

"Except Byviks." Zepis pointed out "He still hates the humans."

"Hmph. So does Vrovkys." Adolviks replied "I do not expect them to make friends with the Lighbearers and their kin, but we cannot risk incidents."

"...If we can return."

"When we return." The Kell corrected "We survived this far, I will not believe our journey was for nothing."

"Still. This system…"

"I know." Adolviks growled "It's wrong...its all wrong. Unnatural. With luck, Itaklos probe will answer more pressing questions such as if we can make repairs."

"You think the planet holds a civilisation?"

"We should pray it does." Adolviks replied "For all our sakes. Although the lack of any ships or satellites does not give me hope."

"Perhaps, if they exist, they are simply primitive."

"If they are, then we will have to spend more time here than necessary and with only one excavation drill available and our limited glimmer supply."

"The Glimmer has already been put towards repairs to the engines." Zepis replied "Ammunition...is another thing entirely."

"What were those old substitutes the humans used?" Adolviks asked "They ignited some component to propel metal."

Zepis nodded "I know what you refer to...I will speak with Itaklos, it is not an issue for the moment-"

"Better to make sure it does not become an issue at all." Adolviks finished "Vasgir, how far are we from the planet now?"

"Currently at 504,563 Kilometres Kell." Adolviks sighed and turned to Zepis.

"Kell?"

"We are not yet with House Light." Zepis shrugged his shoulders, although his eyes glinted with humour "At least let this be the last voyage of House Restitution."

"With luck it will be a short one and uneventful." Adolviks dryly replied "Where is Itaklos?"

"Here, Kell." Itaklos chimed in as he and Phisken entered the bridge "The Probe is ready and I and my assistant here-" he gestured to the Vandal next to him "Have already loaded it into one of the torpedo launchers and set co-ordinates for Continent-1!"

The Bridge crew looked at Itaklos and then to Phisken, the Vandal slumped his shoulders slightly "I wanted to call it Site-1…" he muttered, Adolviks and Zepis exchanged a quick glance before they both shrugged their shoulders.

"Byviks? Is the probe ready for launch?" Adolviks turned to look down at the communication officer, the cyborg Vandal looked up at the Kell and nodded once.

"Confirm target co-ordinates and prepare to launch the probe."

Byviks pressed several buttons and zoomed in on the map of the planet and held his hand over a large flashing button on the screen.

"Launch."

A small hatch at the front of the ship opened up and the cylindrical shape of the probe was fired out of the ship, accelerating away at impressive speeds.

"Probe speed at confirmed at 12,000km per hour and accelerating." Vasgir called out and looked up "Setker-4 estimates time until probe arrives at the planet to be 13 hours."

"In that case, Itaklos." Adolviks turned to him "Something else has arisen which requires your attention."

"Me and my assistant will be happy to help!" Itaklos eyes sparkled while Phisken blinked in surprise.

"We will?" Itaklos head snapped to him and hissed several words before Phisken turned back to Adolviks and nodded his head "I-I mean of course we will."

"...Obviously." Zepis sighed "Byviks will send you the necessary data. Read through it and come to your own conclusions. We will reconvene in 13 hours when the probe begins transmitting data back to us, you can discuss your findings with us then."

"Of course!" Itaklos threw his arms wide, and then grabbed Phisken "Come assistant! We have work to do! The the Laboratory!" before sprinting out of the room and dragging the rather hapless vandal along with him.

"...I think Phisken was right." Adolviks spoke after a few seconds, Zepis turned to him in slight confusion.

"Right about what, Kell?"

"Itaklos might be Ether starved."