Chapter Summary: Things get a little metaphysical.
Chapter Word Count: 5,013

Note: 1/21/2024 - Oops. This appears to have been a dup of the previous chapter. Now fixed/replaced with the real chapter. Thanks to those who pointed it out.

"Who are they?" Andy say, when Miranda reappeared in the Lucia.

"Survivors of the Blue Clan fleet that attacked the Kraal," Miranda said. "They ended up here after the battle. The cruiser is too damaged to go home, and is apparently locked in stasis and can't be repaired while it is."

"Did they say why it's locked?" Garnes said. "Usually that turns off when the ship is no longer in danger."

"It wasn't clear to me," Miranda said. "Something about the Blue Clan AI taking over the fleet and any ship too damaged to fight was locked in stasis."

"There have been reports that the Blue Clan AI were behaving in an unusual manner," Oz said. "They ignore all attempts to communicate."

"One of the Clan about the smaller ship appears to be one of the Blue Clan Council," Miranda said. "They believe that all of the AI's believe that their entire Council perished in the battle and don't believe she is still alive. She'd rather stay out here. She believes it is safer than trying to deal with the AI."

"So, they are basically hiding here, afraid to go home?" Andy said.

"Yes," Miranda said.

"How did she survive when the rest of their Council was killed?" Romana asked. "That seems suspicious."

"The explanation made no sense, when I asked," Miranda said. "The Blue Clan Council went to watch their fleet battle the Kraal like it was entertainment for a picnic? Or something like that." Miranda shook her head. "The survivor, Devril, wasn't interested and watched from another, safer location. The cruiser was damaged and they put her in an escape pod before going into stasis. The small scout ship picked her up, and they somehow brought the cruiser here on emergency power."

"Cross referencing Blue Clan Council member Devril," Oz said. "Is this the person you spoke with?" A holo of a person appeared above the console.

"A little older, more grey hair, but yes, that is them," Miranda said. "What is their role, they did not say."

"Probably a good idea," Ixchel said. "They didn't know you."

"They are the Blue Clan Architect," Oz said.

"We don't have one of those," Ginny said, staring at the holo. "They'll be useful after we destroy the Kraal but right now? Not much need."

"We will invite them over for a meal," Romana said. "Were they amenable to discussing the Kraal?"

"What little they know, they are willing to share, though they would like some assistance in retrieving the surviving crew from the cruiser," Miranda said.

"I'll pass a message back to Fleet," Garnes said. "The Shadows should have someone who can open it up."

"Like a tin can," Harry said. "They did it with that old clan shuttle. Not a scratch. Too bad it was empty."

"Do we tell them who we really are?" Andy said. "Did you?" She asked Miranda.

"Just that you are Serpent Clan," Miranda said. "Revealing who you are is up to you."

"We'll be docking in an hour," Garnes said. "What of the Poe?"

"Is there room for them? Will Sophia want to meet this Devril? Do we have enough room?"

"For a diplomatic dinner party? We can make room," Garnes said.

"I'll skip it," Dart said. "No need for me to be involved if we aren't going to help them fix up their cruiser."

"We'll be doing the guard thing," Ginny said. "And Dolly, Sophia's bodyguard will want to be here. How many do you need to actually feed?"

"Romana, Ixchel, Sophia, Cassandra, Miranda and myself, and Memo," Andy said. "And the three from Blue Clan? Garnes, will you want to be part of this?"

"Unlike Dart, I can't hide," Garnes said, "since I'm also your Speaker."

"What about Sophia's Pilot and Engineer?" Andy said.

"Polly and Sally? You can ask but I suspect not," Garnes said.

"Okay, so we need to make room for eleven diners and three guards?" Andy said. "Will they all fit in here?"

"We have some tricks we can use to make it feel roomier," Dart said. "Thanks to the wonder of nanites."

"Okay," Andy said. "Didn't realize that. How long will it take to do that?"

"Once we dock? Ten minutes," Dart said. "Twenty to put it back later."

"You can make the living spaces bigger but we can't keep them?" Ginny said. "Why not?"

"It's experimental and takes too much energy to maintain nanite constructed spaces unless we're docked," Dart said. "When we're moving in warp, we need all of our energy for that."

"Okay," Ginny said, sighing. "It would have been great to have more room."

"It's experimental," Garnes said, again. "It really works only when docked."

"I'm not blaming you," Ginny said. "But more room would be nice. Next time we need a bigger ship."

"This is the largest long range scout we have in the Fleet," Garnes said. "Most of them are the size of the Poe."

"No, that would be too cramped. I don't know how Lady Sophia handles it," Ginny said. "I'd go crazy."

"Go crazy?" Harry said, raising an eyebrow.

"More than I am already," Ginny said, grinning at her.

"Where do you need us while you rearrange the deck chairs?" Harry said.

"This isn't the Titanic," Dart said, grumbling. "After we dock, you'll need to stay in your cabins while the reconfiguration happens."

"Don't want us underfoot?" Ginny said. "I'm sure we can find something to do for a few minutes."

"A nap," Harry said. "Haven't had one of those in a while."

"You're no fun," Ginny said, pouting.

"Thirty minutes until docking, please lock down," Garnes said.

Dart dashed to the engine room and everyone else hurried to their acceleration chairs and strapped themselves in.

"Always exciting," Andy whispered to Miranda. "Feels like real space travel now."

"Everyone ready?" Garnes said. "Preparing to come out of warp."

"I have to agree with Ginny," Andy said, standing in the middle of the much larger chamber. "More permanent space would definitely be nice. How does this even work? The outside didn't get any bigger did it?"

"No," Dart said. "It a combination of nanites and quantum mechanics. Some clever Fleet tech noticed that the nanites have special quantum properties that can be used for altering things at a quantum level."

"That was the simple explanation," Garnes said. "The in-depth explanation has been known to make heads explode, figuratively speaking."

"It's like that TARDIS that Time Lady had," Ginny said. "Bigger on the inside. I don't think this is the same technique though," she said. "That TARDIS was huge on the inside. This just appears to double or triple the interior, depending on available energy."

"I'll have to take your word on it," Andy said. "It seems like a miracle to me."

"Space is just tricked into thinking it is being folded," Harry said. "Makes things feel roomier."

"Well, let's hope it never finds out," Andy said. "Miranda, can you tell that something strange is happing?"

"It's basically an artificial plane," Miranda said. "We can't stay in it for a long time."

"Just long enough for a fancy dinner, and post dinner discussions," Dart said. She waved a small object in the air before examining it before stuff it in a pocket. "It's stable at the moment."

"What happens if it fails?" Andy asked.

"An implosion and we all get squished," Garnes said. "Saw it happen once. Fortunately, it was just a stuffed rabbit. But there wasn't much left of it."

"So, don't stay in here long enough for a catastrophe to occur," Andy said. "Good to know."

"We've been lucky so far," Garnes said, looking over the equipment. "It's experimental but we aren't really pushing it beyond its' limits."

"Good to know," Harry said. "Wouldn't want to become the next 'Don't try this at home' candidate. We're enough on the edge as it is."

"You know you love it," Ginny say, looking up from where she'd been talking with Oz. "Experimental tech? If we don't see some in the morning, everything else is boring."

"We'll see how far it goes with that turned off," Harry said, waving at the thing that was supposed to stabilize the quantum effect.

"Don't poke the equipment," Dart said, stepping between Harry and the pile of tech used to generate the effect.

"Have the invitations been sent out?" Andy asked.

"Just a minute ago," Garnes said. "We'll have dinner in three hours. That should give them enough time to freshen up."

"How are you going to handle the actual dinner," Andy asked. "The synthesizer has a tendency to spit out bland versions of what it's asked for."

"We're in luck," Garnes said. "We actually have real food in cold storage, for just such an occasion."

"You have to be careful when thawing that stuff out," Harry said. "It can explode in your face if you aren't careful."

"The Poe has docked," Oz announced over the ship's comm. "Lady Sophia is requesting permission for her party to board."

"Formal," Harry said. "We'll show them in and then we need to get fancy for when the Blue Clan people show up."

"Need to color co-ordinate with Dolly," Ginny added. "Make sure we all look the part."

"We have several hours before Blue Clan shows up," Garnes said.

"Plenty of time to tidy up," Andy said.

Miranda sighed, before concentrating and hiding all signs of a more relaxed atmosphere. "This will take a minute," she said. "They'll expect a formal Serpent clan event."

The room subtlety changed. Signs that it was normally used for something else disappeared. Tools disappeared back into their closets, throughout the Lucia.

"Looks too clean, almost," Andy said. "Way too sparkly."

"This is preferred to the chaos that normally permeates the Lucia," Miranda said. "This is a diplomatic event."

"Very much so," Sophia said, joining them. "These Blues have never met anyone from the Serpent Clan. We need to make a good impression."

"They just escaped from a battle that wiped out most of the Blue Clan Fleet," Ixchel said. "They'll be happy if all we do is feed them."

"We don't really have room for another passenger," Garnes said, as they watched the Blue Clan crew headed back to their small ship.

"It was just a thought," Ginny said. "She was cute, in an older person kind of way."

Miranda just shook her head, agreeing with Garnes. "The Ipkoli will be here in two days," she said. "If she wants to leave she'll have the opportunity."

"Or, that cruiser gets fixed and they head home," Andy said. "She may not think so but the Blue Clan AI will have to listen to her when she shows up."

"Lady Q is going to be disappointed when she gets the report," Harry said. "They don't really know how they escaped the Kraal or much of anything about the battle."

"Battle is like that," Ixchel said. "Things can happen so fast that you miss what happens except for what happens to you."

"We're staying until the Ipkoli arrives?" Romana said.

"We didn't make any promises," Andy said. "But if we leave before she gets here, they'll run. And they aren't really in any shape to survive that."

"The outpost isn't very safe," Garnes said. "What can we do to clean it up and make it safer?"

"Not without at least a full squad of troopers," Ginny said, grimacing. "All you have are Harry and me."

"There's me and Ixchel, and Dolly," Andy said. "We can help."

"Nope," Harry said. "Our job is to keep everyone safe and we can't do that if you are running around, fighting pirates."

"That was almost mature," Ginny said, "but she's right. That isn't your job. This is very different from when we went after Lady P. There was no choice. This time, expedition leader doesn't include getting shot at."

"I agree," Miranda said. "This is not some video game quest or dungeon game. Our goal is to contact the Prophets, not clean out some den of pirates."

Andy sighed, "Okay," she said. "Prophets, not pirates."

"If you want to go pirate hunting, I'm sure we can do it some other time," Ginny said. "Maybe even here."

"When the Ipkoli shows up, the first thing they're going to do is clean it out," Garnes said. "I'll even bet on it."

"No, that's a sure thing," Harry said, shaking her head. "I wouldn't touch that bet."

"For an Architect, Dervil was quite intellectual," Memo said. "The Wind Clan Architect only cares about building things. He would never discuss anything else."

"A Clan Council should represent the entire Clan," Sophia said. "It is surprising that the rest of her Council did something so foolish as trying to get a close up look at a Kraal battle group. She must not be typical of Blue Clan."

"Or the AI's didn't select her so they ended up with someone a lot more flexible than the others," Ixchel said.

"They aren't going to tell us," Andy said. "I'm sure that is a Clan secret."

"We should escort you back to the Poe," Ginny said.

"Unnecessary," Dolly said. "I have it all under control." Pulling Sophia and Cassy to their feet, she ushered them out of the ship's lounge and to the main hatch.

"We're going to take a stroll," Harry said, before she and Ginny followed them out.

"They aren't going to really go for a walk, are they?" Memo said, puzzled.

"They're just going to make sure Sophia, Cassy, and Dolly get back to the Poe safely," Garnes said.

"Which they probably don't need to do, but they are them," Andy said.

"They didn't offer to escort the Blue crew back to their ship," Memo said. "Why not?"

"They would have been offended?" Ixchel said. "They are going to owe the Serpent Clan more than they are comfortable enough for if their cruiser is restored and its crew released from stasis. Escorting them back to their ship would have been too much on top of that."

"Ah, the infamous Blue Clan honor code," Memo said. "We are more practical in the Wind Clan."

"It has its place," Romana said, "but their AI have taken advantage of it. The Council of Clans may need to intervene."

"Hopefully Blue Clan didn't do something to tick off the Council of Clans," Dart said. "We've never found out what our Clan did to earn their disapproval."

"Politics," Andy said. "Probably wouldn't make sense to us."

"And glad to not be involved in it," Ixchel said.

"Ready to depart," Garnes said. "The Poe has already departed and is waiting for us just outside the system."

"The Ipkoli needs our dock, doesn't she," Andy said. "So no waiting around. Did we tell Blue Clan goodbye?"

"Earlier today," Garnes said. "It's out of our hands now."

"So, where to now?" Memo said. "Off to see the Prophets or somewhere else first?"

"We'll have to backtrack a bit," Andy said. "We believe we know where they are now but it's on the other side of Wind Clan territory in a dark zone."

"It's on the old border between Wind and Ice," Garnes said. "The records say it was the home system of an unknown alien race."

"Do we know if there's one of those Ancient Ring Gates in the area?" Andy said.

"There is no record of such," Oz said.

"I'm surprised," Andy said. "Are we sure it was a Winter Folk ship that took them away?"

"No," Memo said. "It was just assumed based on what one of the witnesses said."

"Well, there is the Seer Saito," Miranda said. "She seemed to believe we would encounter the Winter Folk."

"But we already did," Romana said. "Your family," she said, looking at Andy. "Did she say that the Winter Folk would be with the Prophets?"

"No," Miranda said.

"Didn't I need an affinity with either the Prophets or whomever took them for that astral projection thing to work?" Andy said.

"It isn't a science," Miranda said. "It's the most likely explanation but there could be other reasons."

"So, we could encounter a culture we know nothing about?" Andy said.

"It'll be an adventure," Ginny said, sitting in her flight chair.

"Time to go?" Romana said.

"Preparing to depart," Garnes said. "Everyone strap in."

Andy looked around the lounge, "Everyone is strapped in. Whenever you're ready."

The warning gong rang three times, and the Lucia briefly shook and then the silence of space. They waited patiently for Garnes to give them the all clear, by now a well honed habit.

"Time for a nap?" Ginny said, yawning loudly.

"I can go for that," Harry said. "And then we need to check out our hard suits."

"It's a ten day journey from here," Miranda said.

"That's a long way," Ginny said.

"It's the fastest the Poe can travel," Andy said. "We're moving at their max speed."

"Need to get them a faster ship next time," Ginny said.

"If there is a next time, we'll get a larger ship, possibly a cruiser," Andy said.

"And a larger crew? Those tend to have Chiefs and other authorities who have certain ideas about proper behavior," Ginny said, frowning. "I think we'll pass on the next trip."

"We don't know where we'd be going, if anywhere," Andy said. "Could be back to that Ring World or the Amazon planet. But that's for the future. Let's worry about finding the Prophets first."

"How are we going to bring the Prophets back with us?" Harry said. "Will they fit? Maybe in cold storage?"

"They won't be traveling back with us," Garnes said, coming into the lounge. "If they need transportation we'll help arrange it."

"The plan was never actually to bring the Prophets home," Andy added. "We just want to talk with them."

"They may not want to return," Miranda said. "We won't know until we talk with them."

"I wouldn't want to go back," Ginny said.

"It's been several generations since they left," Romana said. "They may have never been to their clan home."

"It depends on how long these Prophets live," Andy said. "Is it possible it's still the original Prophets?"

"Unlikely," Memo said. "Our Council do have long lives, but everyone else? Most don't live more than two hundred cycles and it has been more than five hundred."

"But there is someone alive where we're going," Andy said. "We know that at least. Unless they're ghosts?" She looked at Miranda.

"Ghosts are just untethered souls, these aren't," Miranda said.

"We've been assuming that they were still alive," Andy said. "I don't think a ghost is going to want to hang out there."

"No," Miranda said. "The upper planes are not very friendly to ghosts. It requires too much of their energy, part of their selves, to maintain integrity."

"So, not ghosts," Ginny said. "I was hoping to meet one on this trip."

"You may still," Romana said. "What Miranda is saying is that the Prophets are not ghosts, yet."

"It'd be a bit difficult to talk with them," Miranda said. "They are impressions, not the original beings. But that isn't a worry, fortunately."

"Meeting a ghost might be interesting," Andy said. "As long as they aren't scary ones from some movie."

"We left the Ghostbusters at home," Harry said. "Their proton packs haven't been certified for space travel."

"I won't ask how you know that," Andy said. "I'm sure Dart could come up with something if we needed to go ghost hunting."

"I have plans for proton packs," Dart said over the ship's comm. "There was a seminar last year that I was able to attend.

"The Council owns the original Ghostbuster's Firehouse," Andy said. "It is an interesting building."

"Lady Shadow probably bought it just in case someone accidentally destroyed it," Harry said.

"Essentially," Andy said. "The Black Hats tried to take hostages there, and Lady Q and her team rescued them."

"We missed that," Ginny said. "But the Clan owns a lot of buildings because of Lady Q. It was cheaper to just buy them when she went after drug dealers. At least that's the scuttlebutt."

"I can't say," Andy said. "I was busy with other things."

"There are some interesting rumors about Lady Q's drug dealer hunting days, and those Black Hats," Harry said.

"The Black Hats are still out there," Ginny said. "We ran into a cell in Boston. Helped those cute singing Fox God priestesses take them out."

"You'll have to tell us that story some day," Andy said, "if it isn't a secret. Met them a few years ago. Interesting idea for a cover."

"They are interesting," Oz said.

"You've met them?" Ginny said.

"Participated in a training exercise with them," Oz said.

"That sounds like it could be interesting also," Ginny said.

"You can get up now," Garnes said, over the ships comm. "Should be smooth sailing until we get there."

"We have a sail?" Ginny said. "Can space ships have sails?"

"No, we don't," Dart said. "It's just an old sailing term. If you want to go solar sailing they were talking about starting up a league."

"That could be fun," Andy said. "What do you think Miranda? Think the girls would want to try that?"

"We can discuss it when we get home," Miranda said.

"That isn't a no," Andy said, grinning.

"Doesn't look like much," Andy said, staring at the small cloud covered moon, orbiting around a large gas planet. "Does it even support life?"

"Thin atmosphere," Garnes said, peering at a screen, "but breathable. Like being at a high elevation on Terra."

"Was there any clue where on it they are?" Andy asked Miranda. "How do we find them?"

"There's a large artificial object orbiting it," Garnes said. "That may be the best place to start."

"So, whomever grabbed them way back when wasn't just some wandering pirate," Harry said.

"The moon appears to be protected by a shield," Garnes said, frowning down at her console. "I don't recognize the type."

"I may have seen a mention of something like it before," Ixchel said. "The Goa'uld ran into it. They had no way through it."

"So, something Ancient or Furling?" Miranda said, frowning. "Neither of which belong in this universe."

"So it could be something built by the Star Gate builders?" Andy said. "How can we tell? And wasn't that a long time ago?"

"A hundred thousand cycles, at least," Harry said. "That's what the Shadows concluded about that Gate system."

"Receiving docking information," Garnes said.

"So they know we're here," Andy said. "Can't sneak in and look around."

"Do we know who they are? Or did they just send co-ordinates?" Harry said.

"Just a series of codes," Garnes said. "Nothing about who we're meeting."

"How long?" Andy said. "And check with the Poe to see if they also have docking co-ordinates."

"Four hours at system speeds," Garnes said. "That give you three hours before you need to strap in."

"Hard suits?" Harry said. "Or wait?"

"Well, we come in peace, more or less," Andy said. "Let's keep the hard suits off for now."

"You're the boss," Ginny said.

"Nice of you to notice," Andy said. "We'll need to show them our best peaceful appearance."

"That went smoothly," Andy said, watching Garnes shutting down the Lucia's drives and protective systems.

"They were expecting us," Garnes said. "And they are very aware of our ship capabilities."

"So, it's a good thing the hard suits are stored away," Andy said.

"Yes," Garnes said, grimacing. "We are basically defenseless."

"Your presence is being requested," Oz said. "For a meeting with the Elders?"

"I'm not seeing anything on the comm," Garnes said, puzzled.

"They appear to be using a different form of communication," Miranda said. "Not quite the same methods used by the Ascended."

"Everyone?" Andy said. "Or can Garnes and Dart stay aboard?"

"Everyone, from both the Lucia and Poe," Miranda said, frowning. "By name."

"Well, we can't refuse that," Andy said. "When?"

"In an hour," Oz said. "Or your equivalent."

"Plenty of time," Andy said, turning around to go to the lounge and tell the others.

"We won't need EV suits will we?" Andy asked Garnes.

"No, it may smell odd but it is breathable," Garnes said.

They all gathered at the main hatch.

"Does this make me look fat?" Ginny asked, posing in her uniform.

"No," Harry said. "Does look a little tight in spots."

"Haven't worn this in years," Ginny said.

"Graduation?" Harry said.

"Graduation," Ginny said, nodding.

"You look acceptable," Miranda said. "You all look appropriately dressed for meeting some unknown official. Not too fancy. Not shabby."

"Professional," Andy added. "Shall we go meet these Elders?"

She pressed the main hatch latch. With a faint hiss the hatch moved up and the atmosphere equalized. They cautiously stepped out, Andy in the lead. The others exited in single file. They waited for a minute for the Poe's crew to join them.

There were two beings, of indeterminate gender, waiting for them between the ship and a large opening.

"Welcoming party," Andy said in a low voice. "I wonder why they didn't show up on the view screen."

"They are a form of hologram," Miranda said.

"So, not really here," Ginny said, from where she was trying to cover them.

"No obvious signs of weapons," Harry said in a low voice.

"Would we even recognize them," Dolly said. "All of my instruments came up blank."

"That's not a concern," Romana said, frowning. "They may be holograms but they have a mental presence."

"So they do," Miranda said. "They appear to be the ones we detected on the higher planes."

"Think they noticed us there?" Andy said.

"Possibly," Miranda said.

"So, no reason to wait," Andy said, taking a deep breath. She then strode across the floor, stopping when she reached the two beings holograms. The others were several steps behind.

"Welcome to the Gateway," the one on the left said. "I am K'lli. This is my apprentice. We shall be your guides while you are here."

"I am Andrea Sachs-Priestly," Andy said, and then introduced the others. "We are meeting your Elders?"

"All important visitors do so," K'lli said. "It is merely a formality."

"Lead on," Andy said.

"This way," K'lli said. "The Elders are currently holding court in the Gardens of Atropos. Refreshments will be available afterward."

"Interesting gardens," Miranda said, looking around the large chamber, filled with a large number of plants, both in pots and growing out of the floor.

"It's modeled after a much larger garden below," J'wanni said. "The Elders in residence prefer it to some of the more formal meeting rooms."

"It looks nice," Andy said.

Ahead of them they could see three figures sitting on a raised dais, watching them approach.

K'lli and J'wanni both bowed slightly to the three, when they reached them.

"Elders, here are the travelers who wish to visit the Prophets of Zircon Nine," K'lli said.

"It has been a long time since anyone has come to visit them," The central Elder said in a gravely voice. "We shall make them available. Why have you come all this way to see them? Do not the Wind Clan have Seers? And you others have no need of Prophets."

"One of the Wind Seers said that we should speak wit the prophets," Romana said. "That they would give us valuable information to defeat the Kraal."

"The Kraal cannot be defeated," the Elder to the right said. "They can only be avoided."

"We have no choice, Elder," Ixchel said. "If we do not do something, the Kraal will destroy us."

"That is not true," the remaining Elder said. "You have plenty of ships. You could take your entire clan and flee the Kraal."

"And abandon our homes and the billions of beings in their path?" Romana said. "That is not acceptable to us."

"The Prophets do not have the answers to your problems," the central Elder said. "We will not stop you from speaking with them, but do not expect a miracle."

"We are aware of the possibility," Andy said. "But we must pursue all paths."

"Young Furling, not all paths will take you in an acceptable direction," the Elder to the right said. "But we see you are determined. Go, and seek out the Prophets. K'lli will take you to them."

"Thank you," Andy said, bowing slightly. They then followed K'lli out of the garden to another chamber.

"Refreshments are available," K'lli said. "Please refresh yourselves." They then left the chamber.

"Bugged?" Andy asked Dolly in a low voice.

"Likely," she said. "But not something my equipment can detect. So I wouldn't discuss anything important."

"Got it," Andy said. "So, what do we think about these Elders?"

"Friendly, mostly," Sophia said. "They won't prevent us from meeting the Prophets but they do not have any strong belief in their abilities."

"So, proceed with caution?" Andy said.

Ixchel nodded. "I do not recognize what beings they are, but they were not lying to us."

"Everyone has told us that the Prophets won't be able to answer our questions. Won't give us a way to defeat the Kraal," Romana said. "I suspect that the help we receive will really depend on what we are asking for."

"So, if we know what to ask or how to ask it, we'll get the answers we need," Andy said.

"As we've discussed previously," Miranda said. "Prophets are not the same thing as Seers. They don't deal with seeing the future at the individual level. They see things a lot more broadly. If they have advice about the Kraal it will likely not be how to defeat them as we see it."

K'lli and J'wanni returned several minutes later. "The Prophets shall see you tomorrow," K'lli said. "A shuttle shall take you down to them in the morning."

"Do they require that we bring them anything?" Miranda said.

"Stories of their home would be welcome," J'wanni said, "but otherwise nothing is needed."

"That we can do," Andy said.