Part of you wanted nothing less than to remain here, to talk with these relative children of a society that had dominated the stars for a time which exceeded the age of your own civilization by orders of magnitude. But discovery like that was a path that you knew you'd struggle to step back from, once you began. From a question of how they felt would come more, a search and struggle for understanding that could all too easily sabotage the identities Kicha had provided for you. You couldn't be sure of what that would do to her, the Hearthguard, or what she was trying to do within the chambers of Shiplord government. But you were sure that it wouldn't do anything good.
That thought sparked another, making you pale beneath the integrated nanotech of your Masque. You knew what you'd taken from this, how it had added more fuel to the hope that kept pushing you forward. But that was you, and you weren't the only human here, or the most likely to have an extreme reaction to what Kicha had just defied the Shiplord Authority to do. That dubious honour went to Kalilah, no matter the progress the elder Potential had made in the months since Third Sol. And you'd left her with Mary.
:And Lea,: Sidra pointed out, their tone surprisingly calm. Perhaps because the Unisons could sense each other more easily. :She's not you, Mandy, no one could be. But she's still a Mender, and I'm not sensing any unusual energy spikes from Asi.:
:That…that helps,: you admitted. Kalilah's Unison had taken his name from his wielder's culture, the personification of the first weapon of their broad mythos, and had found ways to live up to the example of his namesake in a way few of his kind could match. Kalilah could still do incredible damage without him, but she'd not start something on a Shiplord world of any type without his help.
:Good,: your own Unison replied gratefully. :But I can still feel how worried you are. I think that makes your choice simple, no?:
:I suppose it does,: you agreed wryly. The easy admission felt light somehow, like sunlight through a clouded sky. :Thanks, Sidra.:
:Always.:
That word resonated as you made your excuses and said your goodbyes. Vega and Mir understood of course, how could they not? But you felt like you should be polite to the Shipteens. They hadn't needed to be so welcoming and had told you a great deal. Little of it was what Marcus would've called directly actionable, but there was more to understanding a species than knowing where to hit to hurt them.
Of everyone you'd met since beginning this mission, they were the brightest threads of hope for a future that didn't end in genocide. They didn't know that, couldn't know that, and so were a little confused by how deeply you thanked them.
"It was only a link," Krea protested, though the set of her veil oozed contentment. "I'm sure anyone would've offered."
"Perhaps," you smiled, trusting Sidra to translate the expression. "But you were the ones who did."
And you left it at that. They'd just have to be confused for now. One day, you hoped, you'd be able to properly explain what they'd done. For now, you wanted to check on your friends, and share Kicha's broadcast if they'd somehow missed it.
You took a calmer route back, however, feeling little need to match the blistering pace Vega had set to bring you here. If there was a problem, they'd reach out, or Sidra would warn you. Until then, you could see a little of the Forum as you descended.
Vega had cut a path through display room after display room in a straight-line path to the Shipteens. You took a gentler route back, through arching galleries filled with artefacts and immersive displays, each of them a fragment of the ancient federation's history. Vibrant murals depicted scenes from the heyday of Teel'sanha civilisation, littered with intricate carvings and inscriptions telling stories of unity, exploration and cultural exchange between the diverse species that made up the Peoples.
For part of your route, one side of the gallery opened into a vast hall that stretched up past your floor to an arching ceiling. Below you could see the breathtaking central exhibit – a meticulously recreated cityscape of the Peoples. Miniature buildings of a hundred different architectural styles, all designed to accommodate any variation of the unique needs of the People's populations, nestled amidst lush greenery and flowing waterways. It looked rather like the one outside when you looked closer, but not quite. Nevertheless the detail of the model was astounding, with everything from the minutiae of daily life to grand celebrations captured in frozen moments.
Shiplords moved respectfully around the exhibit, and Sidra's senses let you see where they were accessing datafeeds built into the static model, turning it into a diorama of living memories. To the sides, smaller displays showcased ways that the People had found to live together, important festivals, even faiths born of the melting pot of dozens of races.
You took note of the location, knowing there'd be some among your party who'd find the place fascinating if they had the time, but followed the curving gallery down through a gentle descent leading out into a wider, single-floored hall. Virtual displays filled the chamber in a shimmering array of designs, with a few physical models set against the walls. And every single one of them was a starship, or a piece of one.
You paused at a few of the displays, examining the virtual models in a way that was entirely not playing. You wanted to see how detailed they truly were, with the answer being nearly total, to your considerable surprise. It would be difficult to completely replicate a ship from these files, but a determined individual could come very close.
It was hard not to feel envious of what you saw, and though you fought it, melancholy. The Teel and their partners had built all this, had been able to build all this, in a peace that had died over a thousand millennia ago. What might you have made, given the chance?
:What might we still make,: Sidra pointed out. :We're not done yet.:
:No,: you agreed, moving to a different display. This one a detailed examination of multispecies design philosophies. :But it's hard to imagine any of the Group of Six creating so freely even if we win. And that's sad, Sidra.:
:We'll just have to teach them then,: your Unison replied. :And-:
Whatever they'd meant to say died as you skimmed the description of one of the physical wall displays, a model with the vast, sweeping lines of a Teel'sanha hybrid craft: one designed with both civilian and military purposes in mind. Less important for the moment, though, than what the description opened with.
Begun half a century before the War of the Sphere, the Farthest Stars project was one that personified the curiosity of more than a dozen member races of the Peoples. The project was begun in the aftermath of several experiments conducted at the Galactic Rim (documented in Gallery 172C) and continued for nearly two thousand cycles. Before you now rests the fullness of their work, designed to chart the most distant stars.
:Checking.: Sidra sent, preempting your sudden request to make sure your translation software was still functioning properly. You took a step closer to the display as they did, not wishing to stand out among the gently moving figures of Shiplords all around you. :All green. It says what it says.:
:They didn't lack ambition, did they?" You breathed, tracing a holographic scale set before the model with an extended finger. If it was telling the truth, and everything else so far seemed legitimate, the true dimensions of the craft had been better suited to a continent. And yet that made sense, given where they'd wanted to send it. :Distant stars, hell. They wanted to go and explore Andromeda.:
:I wonder if they succeeded,: Sidra mused. It was an interesting question, you could accept that. Just - :Not right now, I know,: your Unison accepted. :But when this is done, we should check.:
:Add it to the list, then. Along with why they wanted to build it so big.: There wasn't, quite, a thread of hopeless amusement in the words, but you couldn't deny that you were curious. And not just about if they'd actually built the damn thing. But you still had people to check on.
:How much were you able to scrape?: you asked, slipping out one of the doors into a downwards sloping ramp. :I saw the virtual access points.:
:Enough to make a great distraction for Mary, or Jane's intel section,: Sidra replied. :The security here was built to preserve data integrity specifically for the purpose of sharing. So long as I'm not trying to remove or overwrite anything, it doesn't really care.:
:And if you did?: You asked. The walkway was lined with vivid paintings, many in colours human eyes couldn't see. Each painting was a collaborative work, reflections of the diversity of culture and experience that had epitomised the Teel'sanaha nation.
:The caretaker AI for the planet would flick me off of the network like a bug,: Sidra replied. Here and there knots of Shiplords gathered in alcoves clearly designed to allow better viewing, and you wondered what they felt. Their own nation had rejected this way of existence hundreds of thousands of years ago, but there was little of the rejection you might have expected.
Instead…most of them simply looked sad.
:Maybe don't do that, then,: you advised knowingly. Sidra's response was an entirely wordless expression of exasperation and amusement that splashed across your mind like a balloon filled with icewater.
:I'll consider it.:
The corridor came to an end, opening into the wider vaults of the ground floor. This one was far quieter than any of the others you'd seen, with relatively few Shiplords currently present. Columns stretched up towards where they anchored an enormous window of stained glass, cutting the light apart to flood the room in gentle shades. Plinths of polished white stone rose here and there, granting the place an odd harmony as light danced and reflected on their surfaces. There were shapes on their surfaces, images of a history a hundred thousand years long, made real by light and crystal and stone.
:Oh my-:
To Feel The Memories: 91
It hit you all at once as you stepped into the place, a blow so unexpected and true that it sent you stumbling. Your eyes flickered from place to place, trying to drink in everything as you forced yourself to stabilise. The columns around you were adorned with script in dozens of tongues, yet you didn't need Sidra to translate any of it. You knew what they'd be, you could feel them. The words of leaders, philosophers, scientists and artists of the Teel'sanha Peoples, immortalised in a hall of shifting light.
The place was a memorial of the most deceptive kind, one that exalted the past that had been against the future that would be lesser for the loss. And that was the only reason that the weight of a hundred thousand years of history didn't smash you flat.
:Careful, Mandy,: Sidra warned. You fought to gather yourself back under control, pull back from the memories all around you. Here in this place of serene contemplation and memory, you found yourself connecting to the memory of species more than a million years gone at a level not even Vega's foray into the spiritual nexus of the First Sorrow had matched.
And Remain Untouched: 32
It was as hard as anything you'd done in your life to pull back from the feeling of the hall, above all for how familiar it felt. Unity, cooperation and shared purpose had stood at the heart of the Teel's dream, and the Peoples had embodied them in ways that were painfully similar to your experience of humanity. Which was what made it so difficult for you to stop. It felt familiar.
:I wish we'd met them,: you murmured. Your Masque absorbed your weeping effortlessly, but didn't stop you from feeling the trace of tears. It could have, but Sidra could recognise how you needed that, and your Unison had never been one to deny you your reality. Comfort you in it, or one of a hundred other shaping actions, of course. But never deny.
:So do I,: they sent, :and we're not the only ones.: They tugged at your head through the Masque, turning it until your gaze found three figures cloaked in nanotech nearby. But they didn't stare, or stand like you expected Shiplords would. Sidra's words resonated for a moment, as one of the figures stepped towards you, flickering motions of concern. And you recognised the identity flags a moment before you stepped back.
:Amanda? Are you alright?: Mary's worried voice flooded into the link. You struggled not to laugh, knowing that if you started, the tears would come in force.
:I came to ask you that,: you sent, weeping laughter dancing at the edge of the words. Mary took another step and slid the arm Masque into your own, grasping for the fingers of a hand buried beneath.
:Oh Mandy,: she sighed. :Why wouldn't we be alright?:
:But,: you stuttered, confusion sweeping over the pain and laughter. :Didn't you see the broadcast? What Kicha said to the Authority?:
:We did,: Lea said, entering the conversation. Your fellow Restorer's tone was compassionate, and very calm. :We have our opinions, but there's little we can do with them right now. And we came here to try and explore.:
:I…I see,: you agreed, not entirely sure if you actually did. :So everything's okay? For now, at least.:
:Yes.: Lea.
:We're not glass.: Kalilah.
:Of course.: Mary.
You slumped a little, tension you'd not realised having been there bleeding away. They were alright. Maybe they wouldn't be once you returned to the ship, but for now, yes. That was enough.
:What did you find with Vega?: Mary asked, following up on her reply.
You were considering a reply when Lea added a question of her own. :And is there anywhere you'd like to go next? We found a map.: She flicked a file across the link, which bloomed into a well marked map of the Open Forum. It was much larger than you'd thought.
Where would you like to go now?
[] Stay here, to examine and feel this memorial more deeply.
[] Back the way you came, to
- [] the Star Gallery, where the starcraft designs of the Peoples were displayed.
- [] a Living City, that showed all the ways in which the Teel'sanha overcame their differences in living.
[] Somewhere new?
-[] The Farthest Stars exhibit mentioned Gallery 172C and experiments at the Galactic Rim. What did they mean?
-[] Write-in? The Open Forum is a collection of the sum total of Teel'sanha knowledge. You could find almost anything about them here.
