149: The Lovers; Reversed – Two
One of the Pelekys' personnel ramps slid open, Glare waiting at the other end of it, along with five others - the Governors of the Kith of the Void.
"I hear you've met with success," Glare greeted Pryseia with a wave of one of their hands, another motioning out to those gathered with them, "As promised, the Governors."
There was Ura, a pale blue zymeth with pale green eyes, tall and willowy, though they looked more muscular than any zymeth Pryseia had ever seen before. The sleeves of their jacket had been rolled to the elbows, and their forearms were covered in pale white scars, almost lost against their equally light skin, but it spoke to a life lived more hands on than one would expect from the most technologically advanced race in the galaxy. The voice that came to Pryseia's mind when Ura greeted her telepathically reminded her of someone she'd gone to school with, an older student, bit of a class clown, who was frequently in trouble with the faculty. Ura had the same sort of disrespect towards authority, which was an oddity, considering their position as a Governor.
Then there was Habukaz Mestre, a deupazing with horns that curled down to her jaw, her thick hair chopped short and curly, and colourful tattoos that ran up both arms and looped around her neck, though from how they dipped below the collar of her sleeveless shirt, Pryseia was sure that the tattoos went much further than that. They were a colourful concoction of people and symbols that Pryseia couldn't make heads or tails of, standing out vividly against Mestre due to the fact that she was as thoroughly white as V'tala - no doubt another victim of too much time spent in stasis. Despite her more roguish appearance, her manner was more businesslike, the professional courtesy of one CEO greeting another as she introduced herself.
Next was the meleten Grenestan, xir skin mottled with several bright shades of creamy green, while xir hair was a darker, jade shade. Sleevelessness seemed to be a fashion trend among the Governors, Grenestan dressed in a tight black tank top and armoured pants that showed off xir powerful physique. Xe had a no nonsense attitude about xirself, not rude, but not wasting time with frivolous niceties, simply introducing xirself by name and nothing more.
The deorviran Governor Rauthan’galeiksrhosyn was far more sociable, on the other hand, grinning like she was in on a secret as she introduced herself, asking several questions about what they'd all be seeing soon enough, some of the others cutting her off before she could get a full head of steam going. Her mane was short and thick like Malakh's, though a much darker red, almost cresting into brown, her coat only slightly lighter in colour. Sleeveless like the others, Pryseia could see that her coat appeared to be darkest along her back, lightening by several shades as it got to her hands, which were constantly in motion as she spoke, her tail likewise behind her.
Last was the fuglaz Angaz Alnaz, their plumage a striking combination of dark brown and cream stripes. Of the Governors, they seemed the most like they were in charge, easily wrangling the disparate personalities of their cohort and keeping the conversation on track when it started veering off the rails. They had an easy charm to them that had the others paying attention without them overpowering those they were speaking to, their sharp wit becoming more apparent the longer Pryseia spent in their company. Once introductions were made, they steered the topic back to the reason they were all here - the Storlayacas.
Leading them through the halls of the Pelekys, Pryseia told them all, "They are very unlike the Odazaen, as you will soon see, possessed of an intelligence that I have not seen in anything of Hyttan design. As Glare has doubtlessly told you, the purpose they were created for was beyond the scope of what the Hyttan's standard mechs could accomplish."
The transition from the armoury to the cargo hold was instantaneous, and much like what happened with the crew of the Gorgon, the moment the Governors caught sight of the Storlayacas, they were struck dumb in their tracks, caught in awe not just at the size, but the presence of these great machines.
The Storlayacas themselves were careful with their introductions this time around, but even still, the psychic greeting hit Ura unexpectedly hard, and Pryseia had to catch them when they stumbled, though the echo of a laugh was pulled from Pryseia's mind as they straightened.
"I apologize about that," Ura spread their thoughts to catch everyone in the room, organic and inorganic alike, "I wasn't expecting your greeting to be… so encompassing!"
Thankfully, the Storlayacas were able to pass on their vision without issue, the Governors looking as stunned and shaken by it as Pryseia had felt when she'd first received it, which was a comfort, if nothing else. Good to know that the others found it just as dire as she and her crew did.
The first to recover from it, Grenestan shoved xirself away from the railing of the walkway where xe'd braced xirself against, meeting Pryseia's gaze as xe told her, "This has provided some context to a mystery we've been trying to puzzle out for more than a decade, one that I was beginning to expect would never be solved."
Rauthan hummed in agreement. "I had a feeling, going off of what Glare told us, but this confirms it - this is the shadow that's been growing across the galaxy."
Pryseia couldn't stop the look of confusion that spread across her face as the Governors all lit up like they knew what that meant, only Glare seeming as in the dark as she was when they caught her eye. Thankfully, Angaz was quick to fill in the blanks.
"Captain Killzar, you are new enough to our ranks that you wouldn't know this, but Glare, I'm sure you recall the fact that there was an exodus from the Quanvengier more than ten years ago?"
Making a rattling sound in their throat, Glare nodded, saying, "Yeah, a bunch of Kith that had lived and worked here full time just left one day, hopping on the first ships they could find and then flying away into the void. Some fully retired from the Kith, while others have completely cut off contact except for paying their dues. There was a lot of confusion as to why they left."
"They provided a bit more context to the Governors at the time, myself included," Angaz continued, "Often, for the sake of whatever persona they portray on screen, a Kith will incorporate esoteric elements into their character, and given that much of what the audience sees is scripted, having a character on one's crew who has some sort of divination ability can do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to fleshing out said crew's mythology. Even you yourselves have Madame Augury to fulfill this role, do you not? And while the bulk of this foresight is brought about thanks to clever editing, there are Kith who do practice more tangible means of divination - reading cards, casting runes, seeing shapes in tea leaves, that sort of thing. Much of it is suggestion, clever crowd work and psychological subterfuge to get ones audience to fall for whatever ploy is being pulled, and so these Kith will practice their craft, becoming experts in their field. And sometimes that expertise leads to something more…"
Nodding at that, Rauthan continued, "There's a lot about the universe that we don't understand, or don't fully understand. Hyttan technology is just one drop in the vast sea of our own ignorance across a multitude of subjects. And some of these fortune tellers, they managed to tap into something, something that, around a decade ago, had them all running scared. Different means of divination, but they all resulted in the same promise - an ancient darkness was returning, and there would be nothing to stop it. They fled for their survival, some holing up somewhere in the galaxy, while others have decided to risk intergalactic travel, heading as far from the Milky Way as they can get in the time allotted to them, hoping to outrun the thing that they've foreseen."
"A great, black hand reaching out of the stars to pluck out all life in the galaxy," Mestre said, catching Pryseia's eye, "That was the thing they all described, the very same as what we've just been shown here."
The feeling that came off of the Storlayacas at that revelation was one of profound relief. Others had managed to hear the warning that the Hyttan had put out. Not all hope was lost. Even if they failed here, there would still be some life out there that would survive.
Shaking with a silent laugh, Ura's thoughts rippled out to them all, "Hopefully you lot will be able to succeed. I rather like being alive, and would hate to give all this up any time soon. To that end, we will offer what help to you as we can. Now, let us see this device you discovered. I'm curious to see what this latest Hyttan mystery looks like."
It was several hours later that the crew of the Pelekys was reunited, their meeting with the Governors concluded, and their resupply in the process of being loaded onto the ship.
"So yeah, they agreed to help, copied the programming out of the Omega scanner to see if they could get something to figure out how to read the time on their end or replicate the capabilities of the device, and headed off to do whatever it is that a Governor actually does around here." Malakh summarized for the rest of them, "Not sure what actual help they'll be able to provide when the time comes, but its nice to know we're even less alone in this fight than we were."
Shaking her head from her perch next to her on one of the couches in the rec room, Rhea said, "Wild. That fortune teller shit was exactly what Leto was telling us about. Not gonna lie, but these repeated coincidences really do feel like they're adding up to tell us a message."
"People are prone to assigning meaning where there isn't actually any." Nevara pointed out from her seat in the armchair across from her, "I'm not convinced this isn't anything more than that."
Elytra hummed noncommittally where she sat with her head in her hands, half tucked under the low table between the couches. "I'm not sure where I stand on this whole thing. Like you said, it's a lot of coincides piling up, but is it fate or random chance? Bad luck had us all enslaved by something, good luck brought us all together in freedom, even better luck led to Vi's birth, and none of that would have happened if we hadn't crossed paths with the Storlayacas. Who were either built for us, or we were born for them, if what we got out of them is actually what any of that meant. It feels like destiny, but at the same time, it doesn't feel like some higher power is charting our course. But is that just because some force isn't, or because we wouldn't know it if they were because we're not… I don't know, advanced enough to clock it? Missing the thing the Omega took from us so we can't see the strings puppeting us, or some other metaphor that I just don't have the brainpower to try and come up with at the moment."
"Yeah, it's a lot, and every time I think about it, I feel like I end up in an existential spiral." Malakh said, sinking down in her seat enough so she could loop her tail around Elytra's wrist. Elytra shot her a grateful smile at that point of contact.
Slouching down on the couch where she was sat next to V'tala, Pryseia huffed as she crossed her arms over her stomach, staring up at the ceiling as she said, "Pirates and mystics foreseeing the coming of the Omega a decade ago and fleeing from it. When the Governors spoke of this to the Storlayacas, the machines were relieved. Despite the language barrier forced between us by the Omega itself, something of the Hyttan's warning was able to be divined. Perhaps this tangential understand is what we are presuming is destiny? Slake had seemed so certain that fate had been the reason we crossed paths exactly when she needed us, but was her belief genuine, or merely the act of a performer who knows how to get exactly what she wants?"
"But what would have been the point to playing us like that?" V'tala said, less an accusation and more like she was trying to reason the pirate's motivations out for herself, "I looked into it, and a rare piece of Hyttan tech like the Omega scanner would have brought in enough cash to buy everything she and her pirates stole from Chateau Tekhuniz a dozen times over. Aside from having a grudge to settle, there really wasn't any kind of benefit to them swiping those weapons and then giving us the Omega scanner in return. If it were just about the profits, they would have taken the guns and kept the scanner and ran. But they stayed. They contacted us and handed over the scanner without any kind of fuss. Unless she really believes that we're the solution to the Omega problem, this whole deal was a loss for her."
"And we can't exactly ring her up and ask for clarification," Viatrix said from the low table, her avatar idly drifting across the screen of it, "The transponder signal she gave us is no longer sending or receiving, and not in a blocked by subspace kind of way. I think they'd given us the signal to some temporary device, and once the deal was done, that device got destroyed. They really don't wanna be found."
Rhea groaned, scrubbing her hands down her face. "What a fucking piss off. It's like every time we think we've found an answer, a dozen other questions come crawling out of the woodwork! I need a drink."
"Well, we do have a standing invitation with the Gorgon." Nevara reminded her, and Rhea groaned again.
"Shit. I forgot to lead with that," she said, sitting up a little straighter, "Since we're both docked on the Quanvengier at the moment, they wanted to know about having a little get together."
"I think we'd all be in favour of that," Pryseia said, glancing around the room to see everyone's reactions, and no one seemed perturbed by the idea, "Unless there is a performance Vi has her heart set upon, would tonight be amenable to the rest of you?"
"Oh it would absolutely be amenable to me!" Viatrix said, her avatar spinning excitedly in place, "Everything I was eyeing up from the theatre scene is running for the next couple months, so I'm fine with catching a showing whenever! Dinner with family is way more important than that!"
"If that's the case, would you be able to call them up?" Rhea asked, her smile growing painfully fond as she watched Viatrix flicker across the table, "See if they wanna hit up somewhere tonight? The sooner I get some alcohol in me, the better."
It didn't take them very long at all to coordinate their two crews, and it was a little over an hour later that they all met in front of one of the many restaurants that filled this deck of the Quanvengier, hugs being shared before they wended their way inside and shoved together enough tables to seat them all, catching each other up on all they'd gotten up to in their time apart.
"I say, caught a bit of your showing on Trowsorab," Sara grinned over at Pryseia, raising their glass, "A fine victory indeed, and a fitting tribute to our fallen comrade."
Shaking her head, Pryseia told them, "It very nearly ended in disaster. My hubris allowed one of the Thalatte assassins you lot warned us about to get close enough to almost kill me. It's only thanks to Rhea's medical expertise that I still remain among you."
Yarvela nearly choked on her drink at that, as Ravona breathed, "The diplomatic stink that the Necupole kicked up with the Thalatte… that was because of you?!"
"Our patron for the event, Klettur Erkanschlde, is rather enamoured with the Kith," Nevara explained, "She treated us more like guests than hired guns, and pushed this agenda forward personally."
Selene reached across the table to hold Pryseia's hand, telling her, "I'm so glad you're okay. I thought for sure that the Thalatte wouldn't risk this kind of thing within Necupole territory."
Pryseia flipped her hand over so she could squeeze Selene's back, saying, "At least something positive has come of this mishap. From what I hear tell, the Thalatte fleet that had been sent to harass our own has been recalled back to their territories, as economic pressures have made it too costly to have them operating so far afield."
"A small mercy that I wish would have sprung from another source," Phoebe said, "I don't like the thought of you almost being killed."
"You and me both." V'tala said quietly, a solid presence at Pryseia's side. Pryseia gave her a soft smile in return.
Leaning back in her seat, Phoebe added, "Speaking of that Thalatte fleet, their movements are being tracked by Kith intelligence. It seems they've spread themselves thin, trailing along the Meleten border to try and delay their return to Thalatte territory in the hopes of this unrest with the Necupole being settled soon enough to get resupplied so they can take another hunting trip through the core. A Kith raiding fleet is being organized to pick off the stragglers now that they aren't under the Dolabra's protection. We're probably going to join up, if you wanted in on the action? We're heading out around midweek."
"We've nothing planned for the immediate future, our resupply complete, unless anyone has plans that would interfere?" Pryseia shot a look down the table at the rest of her crew, most of whom shrugged or gave some other indication that they were good to go.
"I do have plans for tomorrow night, but beyond that, I'm all yours." V'tala told her, catching her eye, and Pryseia looped her tail around her waist in return.
"OH!" Leto practically shouted, sitting up straighter in her seat, motioning to the pair of them, "Yeah! Bee tee dubs? This is brand new. They just got together."
"Wait, you aren't married?!" Yarvela blurted, looking completely gobsmacked, "You're joking!"
"I'm afraid not," Pryseia said, looking chagrined, "When it comes to matters of the heart, I have proven to be… obtuse."
"If you're obtuse, then so am I," V'tala countered immediately, "It took me forever to sort through my feelings for you."
"But when you arrived at that conclusion, you weren't so foolish as to deny them to yourself." Pryseia said softly, "You were decisive, while I froze."
"You both got there, and that's what matters," Rhea chided from down the table, "I don't wanna hear either of you shit talking yourselves like this, you're both better than that."
Waving a hand to flag down a waiter, Sara said, "Too right! This is something to be celebrated! Wine shall be needed, posthaste!"
Grinning up the table at where V'tala and Pryseia sat, Malakh said, "I raise my hand in favour of that!"