114: The Daughters of Ceto – Five
In return for the breakfast the previous day on the Gorgon, said ship's crew was set to arrive on the Pelekys shortly for a breakfast of their own, and her crew was currently in the middle of a discussion that would hold more significance than they would realized at this current juncture in time.
"So yeah, I told my sisters about all that shit," Rhea summed up, glancing over her shoulder at the others while she sautéed a divinely aromatic vegetable medley to go with their meal, "I couldn't not. But I wanted to ask your opinions about telling the rest of their crew. This isn't my secret alone to share, after all."
Pausing from where she was setting the table for their soon to be full mess hall, Elytra said, "I'm all for telling them. This whole thing with the Omega... it's a lot. It sounds fake! There's some kind of apocalyptic force that destroyed the Hyttan out there, and it's coming back, and we're the only ones who can stop it? It sounds like precisely the kind of plot that a melodramatic Kith crew would cook up. Despite everything we've been shown, that this is real and that its coming, it's really hard to believe. So maybe sharing it would make it feel less fictional?"
"I am also in favour of informing the rest of the crew of the Gorgon of our predicament," Pryseia said from where she was whipping together some type of sweet and spicy sauce that was a staple of Deupazing breakfasts, "Telling only some of the Gorgon, rather than all of them, it feels disingenuous. The Kith look after their own, and if we can trust them to have our backs in the fights to come, then we can trust them to hold this secret."
Leaning against one of the extra chairs she'd pulled out to seat their incoming guests, Nevara countered, "Not that I don't trust them - any of them - but I'm not so sure telling any of the Gorgon's crew was ideal. There are so many unknowns in this situation, so many variables we don't even know we should be taking into account, that I can't even speculate if anyone beyond ourselves knowing would be a bane or a boon."
"Yeah, I get that," Malakh said, bringing a platter of fresh fruit to the table, "But like you said, there's a lot of unknowns here, and getting a fresh set of eyes on this problem might tip us off to something we were overlooking."
"Or it could poison our intelligence with useless information," V'tala pointed out as she brought a pitcher of juice and water each to the table, "This isn't a subject anyone but us has any knowledge of."
Spinning her avatar thoughtfully on the nearest screen, Viatrix said, "But they have been successfully fighting back against a powerful enemy force for more than a Human century, so whose to say there isn't any insight they might be able to offer us?"
Bringing her finished sauce to the table, Pryseia turned to Nevara and V'tala and said, "We've five for, and two against. I would prefer it that we were a unified front on this decision, and so if you are certain we should not tell the entirety of the Gorgon's crew, then we won't."
"I am not certain of anything in regards to this situation," Nevara said with a tired sigh, "Whether to tell the crew of the Gorgon or not, whether we have what it takes to fight the Omega or not. But I find myself agreeing with your unease of only telling a part of that other crew, rather than the whole of it. In that regard, I am for letting them in on our whole situation."
V'tala let out a disgruntled hum. "I can agree with that sentiment, if nothing else. If Rhea's already told her sisters, then the rest of their crew may as well learn this truth too."
Transferring her vegetables to a serving dish, Rhea said, "Hey, if this ends up blowing up in our faces, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you were in the right for not letting anyone in on this."
"If this ends up blowing up in our faces, it'll probably result in our deaths." V'tala pointed out.
"Then you get to die knowing you were right?" Rhea offered with a shrug.
"Well, we can worry about that later, Adyt's pinging me for access, and the rest of the Gorgon's entered this docking bay." Viatrix informed them.
"See to her, and I shall welcome her organic crew," Pryseia said, dusting her hands off as she made her way to the door, "We can let them into the truth of our mission after we've shared this hearty meal. It isn't a matter that sits easy on an empty stomach, after all."
Fourteen people made for a boisterous breakfast, but there was a nervous undercurrent to the whole affair that wasn't there the day before, one that was impossible to miss.
"Forgive me if this comes off as rude, but has something befallen you all?" Ravona asked as the meal and conversations wound down, her gaze sweeping across the crew of the Pelekys, "You seem... off."
The crew in question turned to Pryseia, who placed her cutlery across her empty plate before saying, "We have information that, while it isn't pertinent for our upcoming mission against the Thalatte, it does weigh heavy in our thoughts. Due to their bond as sisters, Rhea shared it with her kin, and as their crew, we feel it's only fair to share it with you."
Sara turned to the four sisters, a sly gin on their face as they said, "You scallywags! Well, I suppose I can't fault you for keeping it in the family. Must be something if it's got you this tight lipped about it."
"Oh it's something, alright," Rhea said, standing in order to start clearing the table, "Something that sounds like bullshit, but we've got proof from a very surprising source."
That had Yarvela and Ravona sharing a look, while Sara shook their head and said, "You come across quite a bit of malarkey working for the Kith, so it'll take something extraordinary to flummox the likes of us."
"Well then prepare to be downright flabbergasted," Malakh said as she helped to clear the table, "Because I can guarantee that you've never seen anything like this before."
Squaring away the mess hall didn't take long, the crew of the Pelekys filling in the crew of the Gorgon on some of the bits of information they'd left out the first time they'd shared their histories.
Like the fact that the Hyttan mechs they had in their possession weren't Odazaen at all, but something else, something with an intelligence enough to choose who would pilot them. That these mechs were created as a last ditch effort to stop some kind of godlike entity, only they'd not been completed in time to save the Hyttan from their own destruction, and so had been left to the younger races that would follow. How the entity - the Omega - had somehow made it impossible for the Hyttan to ever be understood by anyone else. And how they'd pieced together this information when they'd all gone into some sort of strange, metaphysical realm in order to save Pryseia and V'tala from an injustice from Usgaisjan antiquity.
"And after that, they downloaded some kind of upgrade into me and the Pelekys, so we're technically both Hyttan tech now?" Viatrix finished off as the group of them neared the demat zone in the Pelekys' armoury, "Also, it fully integrated the Kith broadcasting hardware into the ship and isolated the bomb from it, so we took a little peek, and surprise surprise, it was already Hyttan tech too."
"That's... to be absolutely frank, the most believable part of your entire tale." Sara admitted, looking like their flabber had indeed been gasted, "Given both the complexity and secrecy surrounding the contraption, there was little else it could be."
A moment later, and the twelve organics passed across the threshold to the cargo hold, the two AI slipping in digitally, and all of them stopping short at the sight of the six massive mechs dominating the space.
"They're larger in person than the vids make them seem." Yarvela breathed as they all took them in.
Leading them forward with a grin, Rhea said, "Don't worry, they're friendly."
Once they'd all made it up to the walkway in front of the mechs, the Storlayacas, like they had with the triplets, sent out a burst of welcome to the rest of the Gorgon's crew, who were just as struck by the sensation as the sisters had been.
"Wait," Adyt said, sounding stunned, "I could feel that?! I thought they were supposed to be psychic?!"
"Well, they are machines," Viatrix pointed out, "They haven't seemed to make any distinction between me and the rest of my crew in that regard. They probably have an easier time talking to us than they do to all of them!"
"Incredible," Yarvela breathed, her mandibles flared in wonder, "A primary source. The questions I have..."
Excitement and sorrow were the swirl of emotions that drifted off the Storlayacas at that. All of them could feel the eager urge to share, but the language barrier was something that none of them knew how to surmount.
"Are you able to show them the visions that we were shown?" Pryseia asked the ancient machines, "Of the threat you were created to destroy?"
The presence of the Storlayacas units pulled back, as if conferring with one another, only to swim back a few moments later, a hesitancy to them.
Trepidation. They didn't know if this was a burden others should be subjected to. It felt almost... protective. The disinclination to not share this bad news.
Sara stepped up closer to the railing, clutching it in one clawed hand as they said, "I can appreciate the sentiment to not hang a stark mark over the mantle, but if this is truly as dire as these fine folk have made it out to be, then we would be remiss in turning our gaze from such a threat."
"Agreed," Ravona said, stepping up beside them, her sister at her side, "By the sounds of it, this threat will affect us all, and the Humans have a saying - to be forewarned is to be forearmed."
Another wave of hesitancy rolled off the Storlayacas, but the relented with a sensation almost like a sigh. And after that, the vision came.
It crashed across everyone present, too immense to be targeted to a few individuals. The arrogance of the Hyttan unleashing the Omega from wherever it originated from, and its systematic destruction of their entire species. Their desperate attempts to build the pieces of Storlayacas in secret, and the ultimate futility of that when it came to their own survival. A weapon left behind to those who would follow them, only for the Omega to prevent the instructions of how to use anything Hyttan from being understood by anyone ever again. The two white suns and the plucking black hand searing themselves into the minds of all those present, both digital and organic, leaving everyone reeling at the psychic onslaught.
Leaning with both her hands braced against the railing of the walkway, Selene turned to Rhea and gasped, "Okay, that was a lot worse than I thought it would be."
"And more immersive," Yarvela said, her voice unsteady but her eyes bright with wonder, "Is this how all Hyttan could communicate?"
The feeling that came off the Storlayacas was indecisive. Unsure. How to explain a sensation to someone who has no way of feeling it? The idea of 'yes' but at the same time the inadequacy of it. There was a sea of nuance that they'd never be able to chart, as metaphorically landlocked as they were.
Phoebe shook her head, turning to Pryseia as she said, "I don't know what help we could provide against that. Hell, I don't have any idea how you or these mechs are supposed to fight that thing! But if there's anything that we can do to help, we'll do it. The thought of you facing that alone? I don't like that one bit."
"Here fucking here," Leto said, throwing a glance across the rest of the Gorgon's crew, "Anyone have any objections to that?"
Leaning herself against the far railing, Ravona said, "Yeah, can we hold off on dealing with this thing until after the twenty eighth of Haken? Or the twenty ninth, actually. I have plans for my birthday, and I'd rather not deal with this thing while hungover."
That caught the Storlayacas off guard enough that something that felt like a laugh burst out of them. It felt as unexpected to them as it did to the rest of those gathered there.
"Fantastic to know they've a sense of humour, what?" Sara said with a laugh of their own, and it was all the others could do to agree with them.
The Quanvengier had all the facilities a person could need in order to keep their assorted skills sharp, be they for use on or off the battlefield. And due to the dangerous nature of their profession, there were more than a few combat training grounds scattered throughout the more professional development related decks of the gargantuan ship. Pryseia found V'tala in the first she went to.
This one happened to be a shooting range - live fire - and thanks to the Kith's penchant for pillaging, the range had pretty much every type of firearm that could be found in the galaxy available to practice with.
And judging by the cart loaded with guns beside her station, V'tala was intent on familiarizing herself with every single one of them.
Keeping beyond the lines painted on the ground to denote each shooting lane, Pryseia leaned herself up against the nearest wall and waited until V'tala had finished with her current firearm, activating the safety and returning it to the cart, before she quietly asked, "You fled from the ship before the crew of the Gorgon could bid their goodbyes. Is everything alright?"
V'tala's lips quirked up in the barest fraction of a smile at that, and she caught Pryseia's eye briefly. "Despite your fondness for heavy boots, you have a light step. The Thalatte teach you that?" She asked in response.
Snorting out a breath of a laugh, Pryseia said, "Inadvertently. My first commanding officer abhorred loud noises, and considered anything above the whisper of the wind a corporally punishable offence. When every noisome movement is met with twenty lashes, it conditions one to tread carefully, both literally and metaphorically. A counter question, then. Did your training preclude you from answering questions?"
Selecting a different firearm, this one a sniper rifle of Apiarius design, V'tala replied, "Inadvertently. We were taught never to speak."
Settling the butt of the rifle against her shoulder, V'tala took her first shot, nearly silent beyond the faint whine of the energy bolt leaving the chamber. The beam itself was invisible - this particular rifle had been built to maximize stealth, after all - but the impact on the target at the opposite end of the range was devastating. A hole the size of a dinner plate was gouged into the torso of the target dummy in the distance, and Pryseia barely had a chance to zoom in with her mechanical eye before V'tala, having gotten a feel for the weapon, unloaded the rest of the charge into the dummy, reducing it to rubble in a matter of moments, the sound of debris scattering with each impact the only noise to be heard.
The weapon empty, V'tala flipped the safety back on and returned the weapon to the cart, a partition dropping at the far end of the range to clean up the destroyed target and place a fresh one out before she'd had a chance to pick out her next gun to try. She chose a Human assault rifle this time, a muscle in her jaw ticking as she looked it over, eventually saying, "Combat's one thing, I can deal with strangers in that kind of chaos. And a crowd of them just milling about in a non-combat setting? They're just part of the scenery. But having strangers who... want to get to know me for benign reasons? I don't know how to handle that."
She didn't bother aiming properly this time, just shot from the hip. Despite that, her initial shot still struck the target dead centre, and she quickly fired off the rest of the magazine to reduce this dummy to rubble too.
V'tala stowed this weapon once she was done with it, but instead of pulling another one, she gripped the cart and told Pryseia, "I can feel you. The rest of the crew. Just on the edges of my awareness. It's not quite like how I was constantly aware of where my dryhten was at all times. With her, it felt like she was at the end of a leash pulled taut, a relentless force that demanded all of my attention. With all of you, it's more like knowing where the sun is in relation to me, because I can feel which direction the heat of it is coming from. There's no more expectation there than there is with an actual star, but I at least know where I stand with the rest of you. With anyone else? I've got no idea, and that... makes them feel like a threat."
"Paranoia does have its uses." Pryseia hedged carefully, but V'tala shook her head at that.
"It doesn't in this case. These are Rhea's sisters, the crew they've trusted their lives to, and clearly to great success. But I can feel myself... I don't know... growing threadbare around them? Exhausted. But there's no reason for that. I should be able to get through a friendly interaction without having to recuperate from it."
Smiling fondly at that, Pryseia said, "Try telling Nevara that. She's just as exhausted by engaging with others as you are."
V'tala turned to her sharply, eyebrows drawn, her question apparent even though she didn't say a word. Shrugging slightly, Pryseia answered, regardless, "Dealing with others taxes everyone, some just have greater stores than others when it comes to socialization. In addition, there are those who are especially draining to be around, regardless of the strength of one's social batteries. You yourself have only been free of stasis - free of your dlegh - for a scant few months, where before you'd spent the entirety of your life having nearly everything about you suppressed. You were never given the opportunity to exercise those skills, so you must allow yourself the grace to strengthen them now."
"So what, I'm just supposed to... hang out with strangers?" V'tala demanded, "Until they don't make me feel like I want to crawl out of my own skin?"
"Not quite something so drastic," Pryseia told her kindly, "In any interaction with another, just be mindful of when you reach your threshold for interaction. Allow yourself to stay a minute longer, and then politely excuse yourself."
Frowning like she didn't believe her, V'tala questioned, "And that's it?"
"That's it," Pryseia confirmed, "A little bit of improvement with every interaction will add up eventually. Allow yourself the chance to grow."
V'tala couldn't help the scoff that fell from her lips at that. "I should not need to be coddled into functionality."
"It's hardly coddling," Pryseia scoffed right back, kicking off the wall in order to walk over to her, "You cannot expect to master a skill instantaneously-"
"Yes I should." V'tala snapped, "I was trained to."
"Trained for combat," Pryseia countered, crowding her space, "Trained to defend, trained to kill, trained to obey, mindlessly. And as you yourself said, trained to be silent. They denied you tutelage in the softer skills, and the art of conversation is a different beast than the art of warfare. You can't expect the training of one to be transferable to the training of another."
The weapon cart squeaked under the force of V'tala's grip, her jaw clenching as she stared Pryseia down.
Reaching out a hand to place it over one of V'tala's, Pryseia said, "You are not a flawless machine, downloading programs to implement. You are a being of flesh and blood, and our kind requires practice in order to develop the skills we wish to learn. As skilled as I am, I only have the practice of literal decades to account for that. Do not hold yourself to the standards of people who would create children in order to be slaves. They are beneath you."
"Only because they're dead in the ground." V'tala countered.
"Even before that," Pryseia said in return, "Your integrity elevates you. I know that you would never have grown infants for the express purpose of creating a mindless drone."
V'tala didn't say anything in response to that, just clenched her jaw and stared at Pryseia's hand on hers.
All but feeling the weight of V'tala's stare, Pryseia removed her hand and stood back. "Practice with conversation can come at another time, as I've clearly interrupted you with your practice with these firearms. I shall leave you to it."
Before Pryseia could do more than tip her weight onto her back foot, V'tala cut in, "You can stay. You don't make me feel like peeling the flesh from my bones."
That caught Pryseia off guard, but she shot V'tala a smile as she said, "The feeling is quite mutual. Well then, show me what you've learned of these weapons. I must admit, I only recognize about half of them."