Chapter Summary: The Quest for the Prophets really begins, in a desert.
Chapter Word Count: 5,267
They watched the Shadow craft pull away from the dock and move away from the station on the ship monitors. There was a brief moment of static and then it was gone from their sensors.
"We need to get one of those, for our next trip," Andy said, sitting down.
"There's a three cycle waiting list to get a berth on any ships of that class," Garnes said. "And that's after they build more of them."
"In five years," Dart said. "But until then, Lucia's a sweet little ride." She patted the wall she was leaning against.
"By which time the Kraal will be gone," Ixchel said.
"Which won't happen if we don't get going ourselves," Andy said. "And we need a better plan than 'Find the Prophets on Zord'."
"The Prophets must be somewhere in Wind Clan territory," Romana said.
"Nothing is known of their hiding place," Memo said. "Legend has it they simply disappeared. There is no mention in the legends of the Winter Folk hiding them away. Or of the planet Zord."
"Which is wrong," Miranda said. "We know they were taken way. But there's no easy to find trail."
"We still need a translation of the words on that chalice," Andy said. "Possibly it will tell us where they went."
"According to the Galactics, there is no planet called Zord," Garnes said. "If they have no record of it, we're stuck searching a wide area. And the Winter Folk only exist in ancient legends."
"Is there a Galactic library?" Andy said. "Something we can search."
"All planetary civilization wide libraries should be integrated into the Galactic system," Memo said.
"There must be local libraries that were never added to the system," Andy said. "Even with Galactic tech, it would be an enormous job to convert old books, scrolls, and databanks into something usable by the system."
"It isn't automatic," Memo said. "None of the Clan libraries are part of the Galactic data system. The Galactics insisted on getting everything, but the Clans objected."
"Is there a Clan library that includes all of the Clan libraries?" Andy asked.
"It has been discussed at the last three Council of Clans meetings," Memo said, "but there has been great resistance."
"Not surprised," Andy said. "Sharing isn't a big thing with the Clans."
"There's no strategic advantage," Miranda said, nodding. "Therefore nothing has happened."
"Can't fix it now," Andy said, grimacing. "Maybe after this is all over?" She sighed. "So where do we go from here?"
"There are other libraries," Memo said. "Legendary ones, that are supposed to have been lost during the last Kraal infestation."
"And, if they are lost, how do we find them?" Romana said.
"Not all were actually lost," Memo said. "Just their locations only known to a select few."
"So, you know the location of one of these lost libraries?" Andy said. "Can you share with the class?"
"I may," Memo said. "An ancestor of mine was captain on a ship that fought against the Kraal during their last appearance. His ship was destroyed, but he and his crew spent at least a cycle on a world that had been abandoned long before they found it. His journal claims that they lived in an ancient city for much of that year, before they were rescued."
"And there was a library in this city?" Andy said. "How do we know it would be worth visiting?"
"I cannot say," Memo said. "He just mentioned visiting a facility that seemed to be connected to other facilities in other systems. He called it a library, though they couldn't read what was stored there."
"It's at least a starting point," Andy said, looking at the others. "Do you know the location of this world? And is it still abandoned?"
"I do not know," Memo said. "I have never seen any mention of it in any Clan communications. But I can retrieve the coordinates in old Clan notation."
"You can convert from old Clan coordinates to our current system?" Andy say, looking at Garnes.
"Of course," Garnes said. She handed her tab to Memo. "Enter them here."
"It may take me several ticks," Memo said, taking the tablet. "They are very old memories." Closing her eyes, she started humming to herself.
"I feel like I need to whisper," Andy said, in a low voice, as they waited for Memo to dig up the coordinates.
"She cannot hear you," Miranda said, in a normal voice. "It's a form of deep meditation some Memories use."
"So, we should leave then," Andy said. "At least get ready to go."
"We can undock in ten," Garnes said. "We are already cleared and just need to wait for our leave window."
"Good, good," Andy said. "Anything else we need to do?"
"If this library exists, what is our plan?" Romana said.
"Caution," Andy said. "It may have been on a habitable world a thousand cycles ago, but who knows what it is like now. It might be populated."
"Or a trap for the unwary," Ixchel said. "We are not heavily armed."
"We'll be careful," Garnes said. "We have protocols for entering unknown systems."
"And we have Miranda," Andy said, grinning. "Anything our ship sensors can't detect, she will."
"I am not perfect," Miranda said. "But I will do my best to detect any potential issues."
"Here it is," Memo said. She entered a long string of numbers and letters into the tablet. "I cannot translate that into something more recent." She held up the tablet.
"Not a worry," Garnes said, taking the tablet. "It's a simple formula to convert between different coordinate systems."
"So, where is it?" Andy asked, after giving Garnes several minutes to check the new coordinates. "Somewhere we can get to easily or...?"
"It's five days from here," Garnes said. "It's in unclaimed Clan territory on the other side of Wind Clan territory, in what appears to be a dead zone on the charts."
"I thought all Clan territory is claimed?" Andy said. "By a Clan?"
"Not all of it," Memo said. "There are small pockets of unclaimed systems along the borders between the Clans. I do not know the reason for that, but suspect there is a historical reason why a Clan may leave a system unclaimed."
"Wars are often fought over unclaimed territory," Ixchel said. "For something to remain unclaimed is unusual."
"So, either we're headed to a war zone or something that made a system so undesirable that no one wanted it?" Andy said. "Lovely." She sighed.
"Yes, Lady A," Garnes said. "It may be uninhabitable following a war or some conflict."
"Or it's a taboo planet," Memo said. "We will have to go there to know for sure."
"The coordinates do not show up in our databanks," Garnes said. "Whatever reason it is unclaimed, the Galactics are unaware of it."
"So, we go?" Andy said, look at the others.
"Yes," Miranda said. "If there are no records of this dead zone and unclaimed territory we should look there."
Five days travel in the small scout ship with one more passenger was not too bad, Andy decided, as they reached their destination. Their initial trip to the center of Wind Clan territory and the Wind Clan central planet had been slightly longer, though with fewer people aboard.
"How close are we?" Andy asked, staring at the navigation monitors.
"We've reached the dead zone," Garnes said.
"It doesn't look any different," Andy said. "Why is it a dead zone?"
"There are no navigational beacons in the zone," Garnes said. "We're stopped at the last one before entering the zone."
"Does it say why?" Andy said, curious. "And info on what is beyond this?"
"It's a very old beacon," Garnes said. "They haven't made them like this since the last Bug incursion. Accessing now."
Andy watched the ship console, as several light flashed orange, before turning green.
"There's not a lot here," Garnes said, looking at the information she'd pulled from the beacon. "Looks like it hasn't been accessed in several centuries. It's part of a beacon fence surrounding the dead zone."
"So, someone took this dead zone seriously," Andy said.
"If the beacons in the fence are linked, what does that tell us about the dead zone?" Ixchel said.
"Just a warning that there was a battle with the Kraal," Garnes said. "And that there is a five thousand cycle Galactic quarantine on the area."
"Quarantine from what?" Ixchel said. "That is a long time to place an area of space under quarantine. How many systems are in this zone?"
"It doesn't say," Garnes said, frowning. "It just says 'Quarantined due to Kraal Battle' and the co-ordinates of the area."
"Do we know what battle it was or have a list of possible battles?" Miranda said. "If this is unusual, it must have been an important or infamous battle."
"I've sent a request for information to Lady Shadow," Garnes said. "We don't want the locals to know we're snooping around."
"That could take a while to get a response," Andy said. "What else do we know?"
"The beacon fence logs any ships that go through it or reads its databanks," Garnes said. "But seems to be ignoring us so far."
"So when was the last time anyone went through here?" Andy asked. "When was it last accessed or after?"
"Several cycles after the dead zone was created," Garnes said, "a small fleet passed through. They did not return."
"That's... concerning," Andy said. "In but not out?"
"It was still dangerous at the time," Ixchel said. "We will need to be very cautious."
"That's one way to put it," Andy said. "Do we go forward? Or wait to hear from Lady Shadow? Or should Miranda go take a look?"
"How many probes do we have left?" Romana said. "Cannot we use them to explore before making a decision? Or before Lady P risks it?"
"We have two long distance probes in storage that can handle the distances required," Garnes said.
"One then. How long will it take to prepare?" Andy asked.
"Two ticks at the most," Dart said. "They don't require a lot of maintenance. Just need to dig it out of the lower long term storage hold and test it before sending it out."
"Do it then," Andy say. "If it looks safe, then Miranda can take a closer look. If you don't mind babe," she added.
"You're in charge," Miranda said. "It's been here for centuries. A few more hours won't change anything."
"As long as no one followed us out here," Andy said, biting her lower lip.
"There have been no signs of anyone following us," Garnes said. "We lost our tail after we purged unauthorized monitoring nannites from our systems when we left Wind Clan central."
"I didn't think we'd been tagged since then," Andy said. "Just needed to check."
"The monitoring tech in this area is old," Dart said, pausing before leaving the main cabin. "We can see it before it notices us and avoid it. But if we want to hide from it they aren't going to see us."
"Good," Andy said. "I don't like being spied on."
"The Shadows designed the monitoring systems on Lucia," Garnes reminded her. "I trust their tech before I'd trust anyone else's to keep us safe."
"Memo, is there anything else you can tell us about this area that you haven't already?" Miranda said.
"I've shared all that I know," Memo said. "The journals never mentioned a quarantined area or the specific battle that brought them here."
"Probably in the ships log," Ixchel said. "A personal log isn't going to have anything sensitive in it."
"I have not seen the ships logs for my ancestor's ship. That is not considered necessary information for the Clan Memory," Memo said in a disgruntled voice.
"We don't work that way in the Serpent Clan," Garnes said. "The Clan Memory has access to everything, though she may not personally view it if it isn't noteworthy."
"A battle that caused an area like this to be closed off? That would have been noteworthy," Andy said. "But maybe the Galactics will be in a sharing mood and will tell us what happened before we step in it."
"It'll take several days to get a response back from the Shadows," Garnes said. "We're right on the edge of communication."
What do we have so far?" Andy asked, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.
"It really is a dead zone," Garnes said. "Three systems, so far, with signs of inhabited planets completely wiped out. The Kraal must have wanted something here."
"And they scrubbed the planets and systems bare to find it?" Andy said.
"Yes, Ma'am," Garnes said.
"How much of the zone do we have left to explore?" Ixchel asked her.
"We're not quite to the center of it," Garnes said.
"What does this mean?" Romana said, leaning over the console, and pointing at one of the charts below the probe view screen.
"It's an unknown form of radiation," Garnes said. "It gets stronger the further into the zone the probe gets."
"I've seen this before," Miranda said, humming to herself. "Ixchel?"
"You don't have the kind of tech that can produce that," Ixchel said, frowning. "And it was rare when I last saw it."
"What is it?" Andy asked.
"The Goa'uld fought a war against a fleet that appeared out of nowhere," Ixchel said. "This is a by-product of a weapon they used against the Goa'uld. It's a shield, of sorts."
"What does it do?" Garnes asked. "Will it harm us?"
"It attacked Goa'uld control systems," Ixchel said. "I do not understand how it works."
"Doesn't seem to be affecting the probe," Garnes said.
"It may not," Ixchel say. "It seemed to target only Goa'uld ships. Assuming it is what it appears to be."
"So, someone used this, stuff, to protect their systems?" Andy said. "Doesn't seem to have worked for the worlds we've seen so far."
"Used as a last resort," Miranda said. "The Kraal may have surpassed them and destroy those systems before they could defend themselves."
"Can you do your thing and find out?" Andy said.
"I may not find anything," Miranda said. "But we will see." She briefly shifted into her energy form before she disappeared from sight.
"What was that?" Memo asked, staring at the place Miranda no longer inhabited.
"We never mentioned that, did we," Andy said. "Oops."
"The Lady Miranda is special," Romana said.
"In more ways than one," Andy said. "She can explain it better. But I'll try."
"There are ancient legends of beings who can travel on beams of energy," Memo said. "I did not thing they were true."
"You'll have to share," Andy said. "Basically, she was in an accident and the ones who saved her helped her become that to save her. She has a few skills that are useful."
"Our instruments can't sense her in that form," Garnes said.
"Drives the Fleet researchers crazy," Andy said, smirking. "They can't keep her or anyone else like that out."
"I'm sure they'll figure it out, Andrea. Eventually," Miranda said, reappearing next to Andy. "Lady Air has some clever people."
"What'd you find babe?" Andy said. "Treasure? Hidden civilizations?"
"It appears that 'weapon' was a desperation move," Miranda said. "There is an old Kraal fleet further in, several ships drifting between two systems. Nothing living. But it looks older than a thousand cycles. Possibly ten times as old."
"So, an even earlier incursion," Andy said, frowning. "Any signs of what stopped them? Besides this radiation field."
"There's a system at the center of this zone," Miranda said. "I believe there are answers there. I was unable to reach it from here."
"That can't be the battle that caused this area to be declared a dead zone," Andy said.
"The radiation, if it did destroy the Kraal ships, would be enough for the Galactics to put up warnings," Garnes aid. "They're very conservative."
"Did your ancestor say who they were fighting when they were stranded here?" Ixchel asked Memo.
"I believe it was pirates," Memo said. "Or they ran into a Kraal ship while looking for pirates? It isn't very clear from the journal."
"Hmmm," Andy said, frowning. "We need to know if the Lucia can safely venture into this area." She turned to Garnes. "How is the probe doing? Has it reached the Kraal ships yet?"
"Not yet," Garnes said. "But it doesn't appear harmed by the radiation."
"It's possible it has deteriorated over time," Miranda said. "I could feel it but it wasn't any worse than bright sunlight."
"You can still burn," Andy said. "You need to be more careful."
"It was nothing," Miranda said. "I believe the Lucia's shields can protect it from this radiation, as long as we don't encounter any recent saturated areas."
"Okay," Andy said. "Let's head towards that Kraal fleet," she said. "And keep an eye of the sensors."
"Yes, ma'am," Garnes said.
"Those empty worlds were creepy," Andy said, as they passed the last one. "There's just nothing left except cinders."
"There are echoes of life," Miranda said, "but nothing alive as we know it."
"We don't seem to have had a lot of luck when it comes to abandoned worlds," Andy said.
"We are approaching the Kraal ships," Garnes said.
"Where's the probe?" Andy asked.
"It's approaching the central system. I've deployed a short range probe to give us a closer look at these ships." She switched the view on the central screen. Except for a few stars far away, it was dark. The darkness was interrupted by a sudden beam of light.
The light connected with a large object. If Miranda hadn't said they were several thousands of cycles old, Andy wouldn't have been able to tell. She wasn't an expert on Kraal ship design but these didn't look any different than the ones she'd seen video of.
"What makes them old?" She asked.
"I cannot tell you how I know," Miranda said. "It's just one of those things I know. They are old."
"Scanning now," Garnes said. "Looking for any energy signals."
"Is there anything here?" Andy asked, looking at Miranda.
"Nothing I could detect," Miranda said, "but I am not an expert in this area."
"We still love you," Andy said, hugging her.
"No life signs or energy readings," Garnes confirmed. "If they had any energy stored it has been drained."
"Worth taking a look?" Andy asked the others.
"The Lady Shadow will want to see this," Ixchel said. "But it is a distraction from our true purpose."
"Ancient library, and Furlings, and Prophets," Andy said, grimacing. "I remember."
"We can return at a later time," Miranda said. "It isn't going anywhere."
"We can leave the probe here, to keep an eye on it," Garnes said. "It's full charged. Should last a year before needing replacement."
"Okay," Andy said. "Onto our next stop. What's the other probe seeing?"
"The system also does not appear to be inhabited," Garnes said. "It's deserted."
"Anything? Even just plants?" Andy said.
"Forests and oceans," Garnes said, pulling up a view of this new world. "And an artificial satellite." The view changed. In the center of the scene was a large metallic object.
"Not very pretty," Andy said. "Very utilitarian."
"It appears abandoned," Garnes said. "Whatever is keeping it in orbit isn't using any form of energy our sensors recognize."
"Of course," Andy mumbled to herself. "Let's add another mystery to the pile."
"There is writing on this satellite," Romana said, pointing at a place on the distant satellite. "I do not recognize it."
"Looks like a variation of the script on that cup. It is too bad the Lady Shadow was unable to provide a translation," Ixchel said.
"That would have been too easy," Andy said. "And we are contractually required to take the more difficult path."
"It's inert," Romana said. "I suspect its docking stations are incompatible with the Lucia."
"Very incompatible," Garnes said, focusing in on a hole in the side of the satellite. "We don't have any docking adapters that would fit that."
"Do we need to visit the satellite?" Andy asked. "We can land on a planet with the Lucia, right?"
"Of course," Garnes said. "The Lucia is designed for exploration. Sometimes you don't have a satellite to dock with."
"Find us a good place to land," Andy said. "Doesn't need to be a tourist spot. Those never go well."
"It will take several ticks to determine the best place to land," Garnes said. "I would recommend eating something before we land."
"Oh! Lunch time," Andy said. "Perfect."
"What did you find?" Andy asked an hour later, after a quick meal.
"There are several cities," Garnes said. "This one." She displayed an overhead view of a snow covered area with faint square outlines. "And this one." This time she displayed a dune covered plain with a group of buildings barely visible.
"Which looks best?" Andy said. "Did your ancestor mention where the library they found was? In the desert or snow."
"There was no mention of snow," Memo said. "But this may just be the winter season."
"No," Garnes said. "One of the poles. Very cold."
"Let's try the other one, then, Garnes," Andy said.
"Already programmed in," Garnes said.
"Miranda! I'm getting too predictable," Andy said, pouting. "Tell her to stop guessing what I'm going to do before I do it."
"I agree," Miranda said. "The desert facility is more promising."
"Detecting a faint beacon," Garnes said. "It's an old Clan emergency beacon."
"Is it near either of those facilities?" Romana asked.
"No, Mother," Garnes said. "It's coming from a jungle several hundred clicks from the desert city."
"That's probably where Memo's ancestor landed. We can check it out afterward," Andy said. "It isn't going anywhere."
"Yes, Lady A," Garnes said. "Please take your seats."
They all quickly strapped themselves into their maneuver chairs. There was no sound, just a very brief vibration as the Lucia started to descend to the planet's surface.
"Think we're the first to come here in a thousand cycles?" Andy said, trying to watch the view screen as they headed down.
"We won't know," Miranda said.
"The warning beacons had no record of any ships crossing into the zone," Ixchel reminded her. "It is very unlikely this has been disturbed since then."
"Hopefully not," Andy murmured. "We really need a starting place and this is the first good clue we've had."
"Very dusty," Andy said, looking around the large plain they'd landed on. "Which way to the city?" She kicked the ground.
"We're standing on it," Garnes said, pointing at a small square building in the distance.
"It's underground?" Ixchel said. "How do we enter it?"
"Not underground, exactly," Miranda said, frowning. "It appears to have been buried by sand."
"Sandstorms?" Andy muttered. "We aren't going to get much done if we have to spend all of our time digging it out of the sand."
"I may have a solution for that," Dart said, over the comm. "But you'll have to come back inside."
"Anything where I don't have to use a shovel," Andy said, grabbing Miranda's arm and pulling her back to the ship.
They returned to the control room where Dart was standing next to the ship's science station.
"What's the plan," Andy said.
"It's simple," Dart said. "The ground is actually very fine dust. The next storm and a lot of it will blow away."
"Do we know when this next storm is?" Romana asked.
"Based on weather patterns? Several years," Dart said.
"We really don't have several years to wait," Andy said. "If there's a library here under that stuff, we need to find it as soon as possible. Days, not years."
"And we'll find it," Dart said. "The Lucia has several unique features for a ship her size."
"Such as?" Andy said, frowning.
"The output from the inter-warp engines can be redirected through the outer shields, which can be expanded in variable distances."
"Meaning?" Andy said.
"We can use the ship to displace the sand," Dart said. "It won't instantly remove the sand but we can get it away from the city."
"Won't it just come back?" Ixchel said. "The wind will blow and bury it again."
"It'll be like a giant bubble," Dart said. "We'll be in the inside with the ship, and the sand will be out there."
"How big," Garnes said. "We don't have the exact location of the library."
"Three clicks, possible more, depending on the density of the sand and how deep it is," Dart said.
"How long can the Lucia keep it that way, once we find the building we're looking for?" Andy said. "We don't know how long it will take to find the library and then find what we're looking for."
"It depends on the size of the shield bubble," Dart said. "The bigger you want it the less time we'll have."
"Can we use it to find the library and then make it smaller?" Andy asked.
"Maybe?" Dart said, grimacing. "The shields have never been used in that way. The math says yes, but..."
"Yeah, don't want to wake up one morning neck deep in the sand," Andy said. "What do you think?" she asked Miranda.
"Is there something unique about the library," Miranda said, turning to Memo. "If we can find it before we use the shield shovel, that might make it easier."
"It was large," Memo said. "That was the only distinguishing feature mentioned in the journal. And in the center of the city."
"So we just need to find the center of this," Andy said, waving her arms. "Easy, peasy."
"Not impossible," Garnes said, "but easy?"
"We have the other long range probe," Dart said. "Tie it into the ship's sensors, send it up several clicks, and we should be able to map the area."
"I've seen simulations of that technique," Garnes said, "but never seen it used in practice."
"No time like now," Dart said. "It'll tell us where to put the Lucia to clear the sand."
"What do you need from us?" Andy asked.
"It's just a matter of setting things up and turning it on," Garnes said. "Go take a nap or watch a vid. It could be a couple hours."
"I'm all for taking a nap," Andy aid, grinning at Miranda. "Right babe?"
"It's a little early for that," Miranda said, frowning at her.
"It's never too early for that," Andy said, grinning. "Come on." She grabbed Miranda's arm and pulled her to their cabin.
Romana raised an eyebrow and the departing women. Tilting her head, she looked at Ixchel. "Well?"
Ixchel blushed. "I was thinking about catching up on some reading. My suit isn't quite adjusted the way I want it to be."
"I'd be happy to help," Romana said.
"Do you know anything about the new hard suits?" Ixchel asked her.
"No, but I'm willing to learn," Romana said.
"We'll be down in hold three," Ixchel told the others. "Let us know when you have the map." Taking Romana's hand, she guided her out of the control cabin.
"Think they're actually going to work on her hard suit?" Dart said, grinning.
"Yes," Garnes said. "It's Ixchel."
"Right," Dart said. "She does think a little differently."
"Why?" Memo said, as she watched Garnes and Dart configure the ship controls for the site mapping. "Are they not companions?"
"Maybe?" Dart said. "They've been working together for several cycles, but Ixchel is very private."
"Shy," Garnes corrected. "What do you know of their history?"
"Almost nothing," Memo said. "Romana is your Clan Mother and Ixchel is her protector."
"It's a lot more complicated than that," Dart said. "Some would say scandalous."
"Non-Serpent Clan would likely say so," Garnes said. "But if they can be happy, we'll do what we can to help out."
"How so?" Memo said.
"What do you know of the Serpent Clan?" Garnes said.
"You're a protectorate of the Pan-Galactic Council, for some reason," Memo said. "No one has ever explained why or how it happened."
"We were almost wiped out," Dart said. "When we first took over our territory, after the last Kraal incursion, we encountered Red pirates. It did not go well for us."
"The Red Pirates? How did that happen? They aren't a threat," Memo said.
"Not now," Garnes said, nodding. She typed something, frowned and typed something else on the main console. "But back then? There were enough of them to be a problem. There was a squabble between the members of the ruling Serpent Council. The exact issue has never been revealed."
"It had something to do with Mother becoming paranoid," Dart said. "She thought the other Council member were trying to kill her."
"Were they?" Memo asked, wide eyed.
"Possibly. She was very unstable following the death of her heart," Garnes said, "Or so Romana says."
"And the Red Pirates showed up and took advantage of the chaos," Dart said. "Mother was injured, and Romana tried to negotiated with the pirates."
"Red pirates aren't known for negotiating," Memo said.
"She was young," Garnes said. "It didn't go well. The Red Pirates captured the Council and tortured them. And Romana was put into a stasis pod."
"So she's over a thousand cycles old?" Memo said.
"Temporally," Dart said.
"What happened with the pirates? And the Clan?" Memo said.
"Pirates aren't the most stable of organizations," Garnes said. "That branch self destructed eventually, and what was left of the Clan went into hiding."
"But you aren't in hiding now," Memo said. "And you have better tech than I've seen any other clan use."
"The Galactics decided they wanted a Clan in our sector to deal with the Kraal, so they found Clan descendants to make a new Serpent Clan council. That's our current Council. We've been slowly building up to our former strength. We dug up Romana and discovered she was to be our new Mother."
"And the protectorate?" Memo asked.
"Politics," Dart said. "If we survive the Kraal, we'll be free of the Galactics interference."
"And if the Council of Clans agrees," Garnes said. "If we defeat the Kraal they won't have any choice but reinstate us."
"If they don't, we'll just ignore them," Dart said. "They really can't stop us. They've been stagnating for the last thousand cycles, since the last Kraal incursion, but we're fresh and have powerful leaders. And ships."
"We aren't doing too badly," Garnes said, poking Dart. "Fresh ideas and people do make a difference."
"What of Ixchel? What is her place in this?" Memo asked.
"Our sector is full of inter-dimensional gaps," Garnes said. "Leading to other places, some similar, some not. I don't know the whole story, but Ixchel is from one of those other places. Her Clan were conquered but she survived as a prisoner. Lady A was looking for Lady P, who'd been missing for some years, and stumbled upon Ixchel after finding Lady P, and they brought her back. She feels guilty for what happened with her Serpent Clan, though no one else does."
"The two of them feel guilty about things that happened hundreds of cycles ago," Dart said. "Our Lady Shadow saw potential and put them to work together. We haven't seen them in action yet but there are rumors."
"All four of them make a formidable team," Garnes said. "We're just the support crew."
"It's sure to be exciting," Dart said. "You haven't joined a boring quest."