Once (m)ore around the sun (continued): CommanderOri & Naisiskhrae.

[Naisiskhrae]

(Originally posted by CommandorOri)

For the past several hundred years the system humans label GL-63 had been an entirely uninteresting place to be. Two dead planets and three asteroid belts made up the entirely of the system, surrounding an utterly drab white dwarf that barely keeps them warm enough to not freeze. At least, it was uninteresting until an anomoly popped up at the edge of the system. Crackling with energy a wormhole rips its way into existence and rapidly grows larger, far surpassing most natural phenomenon in moments. Not long after it forms a ship slides from the wormhole, sleek and agile despite it's 1.2 kilometer length as it comes around to get its bearings before heading off towards the outermost asteroid belt.

Sitting in hir chair on the bridge, Zhar smiles slightly at the readings and the gentle bustle of the other members of the crew as they help the ship down from slipspace. "Slipspace jump complete, captian." Glancing down at the panel on the side of hir chair, Zhar nods at the holographic form of the ship's intelligence, standing up and walking to the large holographic display in the center. "That issss good. Take usss to thisss sssection and begin collecting material for the fabricator, please."

---

Several hours later Zhar is awoken by an insistent beeping coming from hir console, opening one eye to look it over and see a message from one of hir crew waiting for hir. Pressing the button, shi can only raise an eyebrow as Alshka, the biotechnician on the ship, explains that they had found an odd sort of life boat mixed in with the asteroids and stellar detritus they had been collecting. The weirdest part was that it wasn't made from metal or crystal like shi would have expected, but some form of organic material that had been hardened to the point it could survive in deep space. That last part alone made hir curious enough to want to look into it, responsibilities as captian beside the point.

It didn't take long for the violet furred kin to reach the medical section the pod had been moved too, pushing the door open and nodding in greeting to Alshka as shi walks up to the pod and looks down at it. "Any progresss, sssissster?" Nodding in response, Alshka steps up to it and pries at the lid for a moment before dropping back as it pops open without warning. Glancing at each other, both of them step forwards and peer inside curiously, Zhar speaking in the trade language for this part of the galaxy as she does so. "Hello? Are you alive, dear?"

[Naisiskhrae]

The first 'jump' was bad enough, but, they experienced several more. Was it because they were a universe contained in a quantum cyst in another universe that created a bunch of anomalies in the area or a really crappy Phlex drive (they suspected the later since the 'ship' was slapped together for only one purpose - to carry them through the barrier surrounding this universe and nothing else). Truthfully, they just wanted to stop, as, it was giving both of them a serious headache.

Soon their wish were granted, only to be replaced by being bounced around in an asteroid field. If they knew about Pinball machines, they would have compared this to what a pinball must feel like after bouncing around the pins and paddles. All that was missing were the bings, bongs and flashing lights (although, every so often, she got a 'tilt' from a really hard hit). Etlaayz was happy to be strapped in the harness and surprised the canister was holding up as well as it did, considering all the bashing it was taking. Eventually, even that stopped.

When Locaszaii' captured them and encased them in the canister, it when from bad to worst. The first thing he did was to imprison them in her body. She could not move or, more importantly, convert to him. But, the effect was weakening, with, all the bashing around helping as well. She could feel the shell beginning to crack. Trying to move, she worked at the cracks making them larger. Until - SNAP - she was free. She laid there exhausted, building up the strength to make the transition. The transition was slow, much slower than normal simply because, neither had the energy nor strength for it. But, eventually, it was complete. Where a fifteen foot long crystal lizard/dragon had been, now was a five foot humanoid. Since the straps were designed for her, he was able to wriggle his way out of the harness.

But fate was not done with them yet. He felt a sudden shift. Something had grabbed hold of them. Looking out the portal, he could see what it was. They, along with other debris, were being drawn into the maw of a very large ship.

"Oh COME ON! Really? Multiple jumps, being bounced around in a asteroid field and now THIS?!" Since they were free of the harness, she could have reverted back to her form and escaped the death trap, but, she did not have the strength. All they could do was lay there and wait. He closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable.

It did not come. Something seemed to have grab them and pull them aside. When he opened his eyes, he could see, through a small window, they were moving down some corridors and through doors. Then, nothing, no movement, no sounds, nothing. He laid there, still exhausted from the transformation, when Etlaays commented, 'we might as well take a look' Reaching up he pulled the release lever that popped open the lid.

It was not long until two furry faces peered over the edge into the canister, one purple the other smoke colored. From the looks of them, they were of the same species. They, also, resembled some of his kind, without the Cytrilium bodies. The purple one spoke something in another language. He was not surprised, he could not under stand her (or so he suspected). He doubted anyone here could speak Takzii' in any dialect. They seemed not to be hostile. Maybe, fate had given them a break.

He smiled weakly and replied "Um - Ki'e's?" (Takzii' for 'Um - Hello?')

[Naisiskhrae]

(Originally posted by CommandorOri)

Of all the things that could have been in the pod they picked up, a blue skinned humanoid was not what either of the two sires were expecting to find. Certainly not one as short as he is, both of them easily standing a foot taller than the strange person as he is, knowing nothing about his companion at the moment.

Blinking at him as he speaks, Zhar cant help but mumble "Key? under hir breath as she looks at him, casting her companion a glance. <"Doesssn't ssspeak english, I guess."> <"Yesss, ssshi figured that out hirssself."> Unlike the english they had been speaking earlier, their own language is an extremely smooth language, like a river of speech lacking most of the hard consonant. Turning hir attention back to their guest, Zhar reaches a hand into the pod and speaks in a soothing tone, knowing he wouldn't be able to understand hir but not wanting him to freak out and do something unnecessary. <"Easssy dear. Can they stand?">

As Zhar speaks Alshka takes a couple steps back, not wanting to crowd the odd person in the wooden pod and narrows hir eyes at it in confusion. Everything shi could see was telling hir that there was only one person in the pod, but shi was picking up on both his emotions and a sort of fragmented echo. Reaching over with hir tail shi grabs a scanner, directing it at the person infront of hir curiously. Shi had already checked to make sure neither of them would harm the other due to some quirk of biochemistry. It was fortunate for them both that a Kin's mettalic biochemistry and a human's organic chemistry interacted mostly passively, but it didn't explain the echo shi was feeling and shi was curious enough about that to try and find the cause. That and the fact that he looked like hell, Alshka wanting to make sure he was uninjured.

[Naisiskhrae]

Mikal watched them trying to learn as much as he (actually, they) could. They seemed highly intelligent and, from their actions, quite curious. Both were very good traits, especially in those that were your unexpected hosts. They, also, detected, at least, two different languages, which meant, this universe had more than one major species. Still, he would like to contact one of his own. Etlaayz picked up on his thoughts, 'not yet. It will take a while to for me to recover enough to reconnect to the Nexus.'

They had several forms of greetings, with the handclasp being one of them. So, when she offered her's, he smiled, sat up, pushing aside the straps, and clasped her's with his own. It felt a little different than those of the humanoids of his world, other than the fur.

Still, uncertain of what she said, he touched his chest he responded "Mikal Zares."

Since, they did not know (or, he hoped, they did not know) about Etlaayz, he decided not to mention her.

That all changed when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, the smoke colored one pick up something and pointed at him. He, quickly, released the other's hand ducked behind the side. Being Locaszaii''s son, he knew about treachery. Still this did not feel like that. Peering over the edge, he watches the other looking at the device. That is when reason took over, they were just as curious about him as she was of them. That was, most likely a scanning device of some sort. He sat up blushing (although, nobody would have noticed, since, his blood is a light cream colored), rolling his eyes while shaking his head at his reaction (or, over-reaction) to it.

[Naisiskhrae]

(Originally posted by CommandorOri)

Starting to gently pull to help him out of the pod as shi had been intending, Zhar pauses when he says something else. The words didn't mean anything to hir, but from the way he was indicating himself shi could only assume that it was supposed to be his name. Tapping hir own chest with hir free hand shi says <"Zhar">before pointing over to Alshka, who waves with hir free hand. <"Alssshka.">

When he lets go of her hand and dives back into the pod, both of them stare for a second before Zhar leans forwards, looking over the edge at him and with an air of concern around hir, literally. Holding the device a little askew, Alshka is also looking at the pod in concern, taking a step forwards and wondering if he had been hurt. Shi didn't feel any real pain from him, mostly just what shi would categorize as exhaustion. When he sits back up Alshka catches onto what was going on and gives a small laugh, stepping forwards and showing him the scanning device. <"It isss jussst a ssscanner dear."> It's a fairly simple one despite the odd construction materials, and while the writing is in their language the pictograph of him is fairly clear, with a small pointer going to Etlaayz's core noted on it.

As Alshka is showing off hir toy, Zhar is examining Mikal's back and thinking. That had been a bit of an extreme reaction to a scanner, and the fact that they didn't speak the same language made it hard to explain what was going on. There was a way around that, but shi wasn't sure if he would respond very well to it. Still, it's not like shi really had that much of a choice. Reaching out, Zhar places a hand on his shoulder and carefully touches him telepathically, not wanting to scare him. "Zhar doessss not usssually do ssso without permisssion dear, and doesss not wisssh to upssset him, but if he will allow them to they can ssspeak telepathically. A way to avoid misssunderssstandingsss, yesss?"

[Naisiskhrae]

After recovering from his embarrassment, they did have a breakthrough in communications. He, now, had some names for them, or, so he hoped. From his best guess, the purple one was named Zhar, while the smoke colored one was named Alssshka. The beauty with names is, no matter what language you speak, your name remains the same. Of course, a name could mean something in their language, a risk they had to take. Alssshka showed them the device she had been using and, probably, told him what it was. But, without an understanding of their language, he could not be sure.. Upon seeing the display, Etlaays felt a little 'exposed'. Mikal just smiled '<Mikal>Now you know what I felt like.' He was quite intrigued by the device and wondered how it worked, especially, since it could detect Etlaayz. This inability to communicate wads becoming a major problem. There were so much he wanted to know

'<Etlaayz>We could include one of them in our net.' '<Mikal>Is that possible? They are not Kavnaii, we have no idea how their brain or mind works. It could be very dangerous to both her and us.' '<Etlaayz>It is a risk, considering I will have to inject part of myself into one of them.' '<Mikal>How about others on our network? Will they be able to precieve her? It is bad enough...'

But before he could compleat his though, another mind entered into the conversation. '<Zhar>Zhar doessss not usssually do ssso without permisssion dear, and doesss not wisssh to upssset him, but if he will allow them to they can ssspeak telepathically. A way to avoid misssunderssstandingsss, yesss?'

Both were surprised by the other. Etlaayz, immediately, shielded Mikal from the intruder both, concerned and ticked at the intrusion. She (or technically chii (also pronounced shi)) soon realized, Zhar was, also, trying to find a solution to the problem. Mikal, also, became aware, someone was touching his shoulder .Chii analyzed the link discovering it was similar to theirs, although, it had its differences. The energy it used seemed to be monopolar while theirs were bipolar, which could cause problems. It, also, seemed to be point-to-point in nature.

'<Etlaayx>Interesting. We were discussing the same problem. Although, yours is less invasive, we might have a method that would be more permanent. I would inject a piece of myself into you, linking us together. As we communicate, I will be building a permanent copy of the understanding of your language in us. After which, we would not need the link anymore.'

[Naisiskhrae]

(Originally posted by CommandorOri)

Giving a soft sigh Zhar just watches him as he argues internally with his passenger, honestly not that surprised by their reaction. Truth be told most races would actually have had a more violent reaction to unexpected telepathy, a fact that saddened hir but was just taken as a fact of life by hir race at this point. Still, simply blocking hir out was hardly the worst thing he could have done, Zhar waiting patiently and watching his expression. What she hadn't expected was the second voice in his head, hir ears flicking straight up in surprise. It explained the echo from him at least.

Etlaayz's suggestion doesn't go down as well as they might have hoped for, Zhar jerking back from him when they make it and causing Alshka to step forwards in surprise and concern before Zhar waves hir off. Among the reasons that worried hir were concern for the other, hir biology radically different from theirs at a molecular level, and the fact that shi knew quite a bit of sensitive information that was not hir choice to share, even if having his.... parasite? Symbiote? Passenger? riding along with hir was an option. It doesn't take hir a moment to regain hir composure though, brushing at the front of hir dress like shi had been intending to do that all along. "Zhar isss.... sssorry dear, but that isss not an option. ssshi cannot allow another creature to access sssome of what ssshi knowsss." Across from them Alshka nods, eavesdropping on their conversation this time. "Ssshi doesssn't think it would be that easssy even if they could let them, their biology isss quite different from yoursss."

Patting him on the shoulder again, Zhar steps back so shi isn't crowding him and gestures for him to step out of the pod, musing as shi does so. "Ssshi wouldn't worry about it too much though. If he continues to ssspeak out loud while they are ssspeaking to him telepathically, they will pick up hisss language relatively quickly. And they can ssstil ssspeak to him asss long asss they know where he isss."

[Naisiskhrae]

Mikal just gave everyone a blank stare since his mind was behind Etlaayz's shield, although, he did bink once before the shield was removed. Most of what Zhar did was missed by Etlaayz, but, she did notice the quick backing up which made her wonder
--------
'<Mikal>Why the shield?' '<Etlaayz>You are an Archive!' Mikal gave her a flat stare (which did not reflect in his face). '<Mikal>Yes I am an Archive, but, even if she did find where I hid it, it still would not do them any good, since it is encrypted and I do not have the keys. Etlaays blinked once as she had forgotten that detail (the 'blink'). '<Mikal>I do not think the mind shield is necessary, but, thank you for your concern.' Etlaayz muttered 'I did not want it falling into the wrong hands or minds' Chii removed the mind shield.
--------
A smile suddenly appeared on his face after the shield was removed. '<Mikal>Since you were, probably, listening in, I was about to say, before I was interrupted, "It is bad enough we would have to violate her sanctity to make the link, I would not want to inundate her with all the others of our network."'

Etlaayz was still pondering the reaction of Zhar and the comments both had made. It was evident, shi misunderstood her. '<Etlaayz>I did not mean you personally. Anyone that had the knowledge of ether one of those languages would do. I would have been very careful knowing how fragile organic's can be. Since I exists at the quantum level, I do not have any real molecules or atoms for that matter.' Etlaayz mentally shrugged, '<Etlaayz>We could teach you verbal Takzii' in a few hours since it is the simplest of the three. Take Ki'e's, a simple greeting, is broken down to Ki', you subjective, E's, acknowledged or seen. The most comprehensive of the three, is sign Takzii'.'

All this time Mikal had been wanting a pair of pants, at the very least. As he headed to exit the canister, he saw, tossed down in the corner, something that brought joy to his face - his backpack. He snatched it up as he headed over the edge, making sure he did not bump into Zhar in the process. He did notice, both of his crystal rapiers were missing, but that was unimportant now - he had pants! Soon he was clothed in his light blue T-shirt, blue jeans and short black leather boots. He checked the contents of the back to find it was all there. Strapping it on, his stomach growled some reminding him, he has not eaten in, at least, three days. '<Mikal>Um - do you have any food?'

[Naisiskhrae]

(Originally posted by CommandorOri)

Nodding gently as they explain what they had meant and Mikal speaks, Zhar still doesn't look exactly convinced by their suggestion. That doesss make sssenssse dear, but ssshi ssstill mussst decline. Ssshi doesss not know enough about them to allow sssomething like that for one of hir crew members." Behind them Alshka has looked back down at hir scanner, messing with it for a moment before making an 'oh' noise. His passenger not actually being physical matter explained the weird anomaly shi was finding in his body, and why hir scanner was confused by it.

Thinking for a moment Zhar gives a small shrug at their explanation of the languages, understanding their meaning well enough. "That would work dear, but ssshi doesssn't think it isss needed. Hir ssspeciesss issss telepathic, and all of hir sssissstersss will be able to communicate jussst fine with them until they pick up the ssspoken language. They do have more important quessstionsss to asssk them, after all. It isss probably alssso worth mentioning, if they are concerned about it, that neither hir nor hir sssissstersss can actually see anything in their mind without their permisssion. Jussst communicate and empathy, unlesss they let them." Taking a step back as shi speaks, Zhar lets him climb out of the pod and dress himself, watching with amusement. Shi had always found it amusing that other species were so worried about covering themselves up, but it did make sense.

Exchanging a glace, the two sires communicate between themselves telepathically for a moment before Zhar nods, turning hir attention back to Mikal. "Yesss dear, their ssship actually producesss a wide variety of edible thingsss within it'sss gardensss. Sissstersss do not eat meat though, ssshi hopesss that isss alright." Walking over to the door Zhar waves for him to follow hir, the portal sliding open as shi nears it. Behind them Alshka has busied hirself what a holographic panel, calling the drones to come move the large pod out of hir medical bay.

----

It didn't take them long to reach one of their dining rooms, the trip there only taking a few minutes. As they are walking he would likly be able to get a good impression of just how big the ship is, the corridors of this main thoroughfare easily twelve feet tall and at least as many wide, with smaller tunnels running off every so often on the left and large bay windows to their right, giving them a good view of the asteroid field they are above as the ship continues to restock it's fabrication systems. Strangly though, the ship seems rather light on population, other members of their species popping up sporadically but for the most part it was rather empty. The dining room is equally large, though rather more populated than the hallway had been with a dozen or so of the aliens inside, most of which look over curiously and wave their hands or tails at them in greeting before going back to their food. Heading over to the service station, Zhar pulls back the door covering it and reaches in, pulling a bundle of fruits out that are similar to large grapes except bright green in color. "They do have visssitorsss from time to time, and from what hir sssissster tellsss hir mossst of the food they have ssshould be sssafe for him to eat, though maybe not nutritious if he isss eating the thingsss from their homeworld. Thessse ssshould be, though. As shi speaks shi gestures at the cabinet, a variety of colorful fruits inside.

[Naisiskhrae]

Etlaayz just sighed. Chii could understand the other not wanting a foreign entity running around inside hir. But, there was the problem of them communicating with others, unless, everyone here were telepathic. They would have to find another way to learn a common language. Chii was not worried anyone would get at anything important and, if they tried, chii could close them off.

Mikal was revealed thay had some sort of food since he used up all the food bars they had on the way to Lochasaii's lair. Now, he had to figure out a way to feed Etlaayz. He had the crystal, so, generating her 'food' not a problem. All they needed was a light source and some place to contain the Dark created. Dark can be quite dangerous if not properly contained in their world. He had no idea what it would do in this one.

Exiting the room they were in, he realized how big the ship was, but, what struck him the most, was, just, how big the universe was. He walked over to the big window and stared out, dumbfoundly, at its sheer vastness. All he could say was "shivail!" He was told it was larger than anything they could imagine. He knew it was big from the glimpses he had through the port window. But, he was not prepared for this. One could cross their universe in a hand full of cycles. But, this one - they could easily get lost out there. He returned to follow Zhar, so overwhelmed by what he saw, he never noticed the lack of occupants in the hall.

Soon they reached the dining room, by that time he had recovered some from the shock. As a few waved at them, he, sheepishly, wahed back, not knowing what else to do. She led him over to a station of some sort. Opening it revealed an assortment of what looked like fruits. She handed him a bunch of bright green fruit. Although, she had commented they do get an occasional guest and these were safe, he wanted to check for himself. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out what looked like a dark wooden book about an inch thick with some sort of hinge on one end and a clasp at the other (his laptop). laying it on a nearby table, he popped the clasp and flipped it open making a twelve inch square with a satiny black surface and one small gray corner. Touching the gray corner, the whole surface turned that gray projecting a holographic cube with floating icons. Touching one of the icons, the rest vanished leaving a dark blue surface. Taking one of the grapes he placed it on the surface. Blue lights danced over the grape's surface before a cylinder of 'words' popped up around the grape. By the colors of the words, he could tell there was nothing harmful in them. He took the grape and popped it into hie mouth the closed the book. It had a sweet, but, tangy taste.

After eating a few more, he smiled at Zhar. '<Mikal>Thank you. Usually I am better prepared, but, I was caught by my enemy.' After few moments of though he asked, '<Mikal>Could I scan you?'

[Naisiskhrae]

(Originally posted by CommandorOri)

For hir part, Zhar had not expected the view from the window to be what wowed their guest. Stopping next to him shi clasps hir hands behind hir back and stares out the window with him, amused at the wonderment he was feeling. To hir, the asteroid belt wasn't anything that impressive, just a bunch of rocks stretching out as far as the eye could see. Still, even if not impressive, shi had to admit that it was a pretty view, with the stars twinkling in the background that you would never see on a world with an atmosphere. His word didn't mean much to hir, but shi got the gist of it just from watching him. "If he thinksss thisss isss an impresssive view, dear, perhapsss he would like them to ssstop at a nebula or sssomething? Now that, isss a pretty thing to look at."

Watching curiously as he pulls the thing out of his backpack, Zhar tilts hir head slightly and makes a curious noise. It looked like a chunk of tree to hir, and it wasn't until he flipped it open and turned it on that shi realized it was some sort of computer, and a scanning system from the way he put the fruit into it. Apparently Alshka had been correct in hir assessment zhar watching him eat the fruit with amusement as shi pulls another bundle out of the cooler and munches on the fruits hirself. His comment about an enemy does make hir wonder some, though shi didn't sense any hostility from him at the moment. "An enemy, dear? Would he mind elaborating on that?" They had people take advantage of their hospitality before, and usually the best sign of that was if someone tried to lie to them when asked about how they had gotten into their current situation.

His other request surprises hir, Zhar examining his book computer for a moment before giving him a small smile. "Shi doesss not think ssshi will fit on hisss little book, dear. But ssshi doesssn't sssee a problem with him ssscanning hir if he can, and ssshi appreciatesss him asssking firssst."

Crossing hir arms slightly, Zhar stands where she is relatively still, not sure if his device would be put off by movement or not as shi watches him fiddle with it. At their base kin are made up of a complex metallic molecule that approximates how carbon or silicon would function in most species bodies, but at two and a half times the density of carbon means that even one about his size would weigh a good five hundred pounds and Zhar is quite a bit more than that. Their organs and the like a fairly comparable to that of humans, excluding the difference in body shape and a six chambered heart to deal with the extra flow of blood required by hir three meter long tail. Shi is also a hermaphrodite, possessing functional male and female reproductive structures. There is also a type of free ranging crystal present in hir blood, but any attempts to scan more than the presence of the microscopic crystals just comes back inconclusive due to interference they are producing.

[Naisiskhrae]

Now, it was Mikal's turn to be puzzled. He repeated the word, "nebla?" as best he could, having no idea what it meant. Although, from her (he has not fathomed that she is a shi yet) use of the word, it sounded both impressive and pretty. Still, unless someone told him, he would not know what he was looking at. '<Mikal>it is so - big! Our universe could be crossed from one side to the other in about five cycles. But, this one... One could get lost out there. I doubt if there is enough heat or air to survive.'

Her request for more on his 'enemy' surprised him. He could not fathom why anybody would be interested in his enemies, but, he could not see any harm in it. '<Mikal>Lochasaii needed a test subject to see what happens when one of us crosses the barrier around my universe. So he let it leak there was something big happening deep in the outer asteroid field, knowing I would come to investigate. He caught me and encased me in that box. And, here I am.' If she wanted more, he would oblige, but, that was a summery.

Her comment caused him to laugh. '<Mikal>That is not necessary. It has a long range scan as well.'

After some fiddling with the notebook computer she was the only one in the display. He tapped the image causing the computer to start the scan. Then he waited - and waited - and waited. He was beginning to wonder why it was taking so long. He soon had an answer when a bubble popped up above her image asking for a dark energy scan. He blinked wondering why that was necessary and glad she could not read Takzii'. Punching the 'no' glyph, it was not long until a cylinder of data formed around her. What interest him was gender - it said she was both male and female. Punching the gender glyph the it showed an image of the reproductive system. Revealing she did have both of them.

'<Etlaayz>Oh! She is a Shi.' 'Shi?' 'Sort of like me, except for the hosting ability.' Mikal never really understood what 'chii' was, although, chii had explained it many times. He was quite content being a he. All these odd genders confused him, now, there was another. He looked at the list of different systems. All were gray, with unknown items in them. Bringing one up, he was surprised to see they were metal based life forms. "shivail!" 'I hope you are the exception to the rule. Although - if we had this available to us, it could solve several design problems.' He opened up other items and studied them scribbling down notes. That included hir blood, showing the crystals. He was like a kid in a toy shop. Looking up he realized how this might look to hir. He smiled sheepishly as he shut down the system and closed his book. '<Mikal>Um - sorry. But, it it not often I see an metallic lifeform.'

[Naisiskhrae]

(Originally posted by CommandorOri)

Blinking at him in surprise, Zhar gives him a curious look when he mentions how long it would take to get from one side of his to the other. That didn't fit with any portion of the universe shi was aware of, though shi supposed it was possible he had been in some sort of pocket dimension before he arrived into this place. Reaching up to scratch at hir whiskers in throught, Zhar looks over to him as something occurs to hir. "When he sssaysss 'cycle', how isss he defining that dear? Hir people ussse cycle to measssure time asss well, but it isss a generalization basssed on their ssspeciesss average fertility period. Five of their cyclesss isss enough for mossst short-lived ssspeciesss to be born, have daughters, live, and die, sssometimesss over multiple generationsss. Asss for sssurvival.... That isss true and not true." Gently patting him on the shoulder, Zhar gestures around them at the ship. "Hir ssship can sssussstain them for a long, long time with only occasssional refilling of the fabricatorsss like they are doing now. It isss very easssy to get lossst if you don't know where you are though."

Nodding as he explains what he had meant be enemy, Zhar frowns slightly but doesn't seem to be upset by what he has to say. Shi didn't feel any lie from him as he explains it, but that meant that he might have other enemies that could follow him out here. Still, it was enough for the moment, and shi didn't think it was worth worrying about until something actually happened.

Smiling back at him as he laughs Zhar keeps as still as shi can after he starts it, but does eventually start to fidget as time wears on. Shi hadn't expected it to take as long as it was, though considering all of the interference hir body and the nanocrystals inside put off it wasn't that much of a surprise. Still, when the data pops up Shi looks over it curiously, not familiar with the language but able to recognize the descriptive images well enough. His interest seems to amuse hir, Zhar smiling at what Etlaayz has to say. "Ssshi doesss not know about 'like them' dear, but ssshi isss a ssssire, yesss. Ssshi knowsss it isss hard to tell jussst by looking at hir, that isss a ssside effect of hir ssspeciesss developing on a world hisss people would charitably consssider an arctic wasssteland. Conssservesss body heat to have things not hanging around in cold when not needed. Isss the sssame for malesss of hir ssspeciesss."

Letting him examine the data for a few more minutes as he goes over it excitedly, Zhar nods at his comment about hir being mettalic. "It isss not often Anyone ssseesss one, dear. Hir people have not found another naturally occuring one yet, and they have been acrosss ssseveral galaxiesss ssso far." As shi speaks something seems to click in the back of hir mind, Zhar staring at him for a few seconds. "Thisss might be odd quessstion dear, but doesss hisss.... companion? require sssussstinance? Ssshi isss not familiar with bonded creaturesss like them."

[Naisiskhrae]

When shi asked about what he meant by a cycle he pondered it some before sending it to his subconscience. Although he had a few options, none of them were all that good. Unlike human brains a Takzii' brain is divided into quadrants with a foreground/background or conscience/subconscious levels allowing him to process more information quickly. He transferred all shi told him about hir perception of a cycle to his subconscious, hoping to find a common grounds to help in the explanation, and left it at that.

But her comment about getting lost, caused him to smile, '<Mikal> from what I have seen, I heartily agree!'

'<Etlaayz>I can see that as a good thing. Since my kind does not have a physical form, we do not have any true genders either. We reproduce by a fusion/fission process. There are donors, similar to males, receptors, similar to females, translators, they take a genetic matrix and modify in someway before sending it on and a host, they serve as an incubator as the final matrix establishes itself, without adding to the matrix. There are several variation of the four. Although I have been all four plus a few of the variations, I prefer being a host and, thus, a chii. As you can see, reproduction among our kind can be quite interesting, as I suspect, it can be with your kind. My host has the basic male and female relationship.'

Mikal was still pondering how to answer what a cycle was, but, without a reference here, at least, one that Zhar knew, it would be difficult at best. 'A cycle is the time it takes oru world to make one rotation around our star. Actually, we have tow ways of measuring time, rises and cycles. A rise is how long it takes for our star to rotate on its axis. There are 3500 rises for a cycle. I do have a map of our universe, but, without a reference you can understand, it would not help much. He sighed, I should have made a scan of what I saw out your window, but, was so awed by what I saw, I did not think of it.

Opening his computer book, he accessed the map section. To his surprize, he found a new map there. Opening it up, he recognized it as being what he saw out the window. Puzzled by where it could have came from, he access its parameters. It definitely was Takzii', so, it was not from this ship. The time stamp revealed it was sent before they were caught by this ship. The only reasonable solution was Lochasaii had installed a long range scanner and a powerful transmitter and, most likely, a mass store. Which, made sense the more he thought about it. Not only did Lochasaii wan to know if they could survive the crossing, he, also, wanted to know what was on the other side. He wondered just how many of these things had he sent out. Well, this is not one he was going to use.

'<Mikal>I would recommend destroying that canister as soon as possible. I would not want Lochasaii to get a hold of it.'

He activated the map of his universe and overlaid over the other. It was not much to look at, a small star about one half the size of the white dwarf with two rays coming out opposite sides, one white and one black. Several rings of asteroids between the star and a two AU rock Dyson's Sphere (which he left as only a ring). Finally, a ring of asteroids out to the edge of his universe.

With a shrug, '<Mikal>My universe, at least, it was until Lochasaii destroyed it.'

Etlaayz smiled internally, '<Etlaayz>I Do, although, not as often as he does.' Mikal rolled his eyes and gave a flat stare at hir remark. '<Etlaayz>From the looks of it, there should be a good source of Light here, but, Dark - um - anti-light, might be a problem. You did bring your Leridium with you?' '<Mikal>of course' '<Etlaayz>Good. All we need now is a place to contain it. Dark can be very dangerous it our world, I am not sure what it can do in yours. I, also, need to come to the surface, which, might take a while.'

[Naisiskhrae]

(Originally posted by CommandorOri)

Smiling back at him, Zhar makes an amused humming noise at his response. "The universe is vast beyond measure, that's one reason hir sisters build such large vessels dear. They like the space and some of the systems, like the gardens, take quite a bit of it. Hir ship doesn't have weapon systems, but has a full set of scientific suites."

As Etlaayz explains how their reproduction Zhar continues to work her way through the food on offer, not having had a chance to eat anything since shi woke up. "That sounds very complicated dear, but is interesting. Shi does not think shi has met a species that worked that way yet, which is good. Half the reason hir people travel is to discover new people and things. Though, hir reproduction isn't nearly that complicated. Sires can simply reproduce with anyone other of their species. It is a survival trait, considering how slowly hir people have children compared to most species. And while often physically compatible with other species, Genetically and biologically hir people are simply too different."

Watching him examine the map, Zhar cant help but notice when he pulls up the scan his computer had made of the system they are in at the moment. If their systems are compatible or at the very least he can create a scannable hologram, they should be able to get a reference point for understanding each other's scales better. Shi's about to say so when he says something about the pod, looking at him curiously. "The pod, dear?" looking away from him and staring off into space for a moment, "Alshka says that they are scanning the pod at the moment, but will keep an eye on it till they are done. They'll have to put into the fabricator once scanned, will break it down into component particles. Not much use to anyone after that."

Looking back to the map again, Zhar frowns slightly. "Destroyed, dear? That's terrible... Still, perhaps they can compare maps and get a better idea of what scales they are talkin about, so they can understand each other better? Hir ship's astrometrics lab is nearby, it should be able to run comparatives off of the maps they have there. "

"anti.... anti-light?" That didn't make any sense to hir, Zhar listening to them speak with confusion clear on hir face. "Zhar knows hir telepathy gives concepts as well as words in the mind, but shi doesn't have a reference for that concept. Do they mean anti-matter, or something similar? They can contain that without an issue. Not in the astrometrics lab, but it will be large enough for them to change forms as it is one of the larger scientific labs.. They've seen the hallways, similarly sized so should be large enough, yes? . . . Actually, not sure what they mean by light either, now that shi thinks about it. Do they mean electrical power? Solar energy? Electricity is not an issue it is everywhere, including hir wave. They can get closer to the sun if they need that as well."