Song of the Void

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”So the repairs are finally complete? We can return to my galaxy now?" Yrala asked showing signs of palpable relief. She didn't actually think that she was stranded in this strange galaxy far away from home, but it was a fact that her return depended entirely on the whims of Selendil. She wasn't worried, not really, but being so far from home for so long had been building up stress without her even being fully aware of it. She noticed the tension in her shoulders flowing away, which confused her a little bit. As a soldier, she had thought she’d be used to being away from home for long periods of time, but being in a totally new environment without any way to get home had still caught up with her.

“Yes. Selendil mentioned that we’d be leaving as soon as the last checks are done.” Xiaoli replied while putting away her training gear. “We still can’t fire the main weapon apparently until they do some extra work, but beyond that we should be fine.”

Their fixer Huang had recently acquired a fair amount of exercise equipment when several crew members had requested a training room to use as a sort of gym from Selendil. Despite the fact that the nanites kept them in almost perfect condition, they could still train in order to direct the way their bodies developed as the nanites allowed that sort of freedom, and exercise was a good way to relieve stress anyway. As the Dhar Keeper was an energy being and didn’t require physical training in quite the same way, the concept had not occurred to her before. With the nano-fabricators being too busy with the repairs, Huang had been the one to acquire the equipment while Selendil had arranged the space.

"That means that we're going to have fewer people than when we returned," Lilly commented. It had been a rather large surprise for the others to see her in the new training area as she didn't even bother to walk around, opting to use the old hover pillow instead. "Kurnau and Hazeem haven’t returned yet as they’ve chosen to stay behind and help in the battle against the Shaer. I really thought Kurnau at least would’ve realized that they’d be much more help if they stuck around with us to learn more from Selendil.”

“I don’t disagree, but I understand their decision. I was tempted to stay as well.” Xiaoli grimaced. “With the Cybran migration, we’ve put ourselves on the path of the Shaer advance. It’s hard to leave your people to fend for themselves when you know you could help and even make a difference if you stayed. Leaving the galaxy when there’s a danger hanging over your people’s heads is difficult. Still, I've thrown my lot with you sorry bunch of people, so I'll stick around. I've also seen rapid development in my power, and I've sent several useful technologies back home, so I know I'll be helping by going with the ship as well. Even with all that, it’s hard to appreciate the future benefits when your people are in danger now.”

“Maybe that’s why I don’t feel the desire to stay in this galaxy to help.” Lilly mused. “I know I wouldn’t be able to do anything if I stayed, but I might accomplish something if I go with you.”

Xiaoli focused on her thoughts for a moment before something occurred to her. “Hey Lilly, let me ask you a question.”

The Mrrroww winced visibly at the mention of her name. “Just ask. What is it?”

“Well, it’s about that.” Xiaoli nodded towards her. “You really seem to dislike your name. Though it seems to have become much better lately…”

“It has become better lately because I make my displeasure so obvious and the people on the ship are smart enough to pick up such obvious clues. They don’t really use my name unless it’s an official situation or if they want to tease me specifically. Or, you know, to single me out from a crowd. That’s part of why I make such an exaggerated reaction.”

“Huh. I think you might be on to something. Anyway, my question was, why don’t you change the name if you dislike it so much?” Xiaoli finally got to the point.

“I’ve considered it, but even if I dislike the name, I have respect for the ones that gave it to me. Somehow it feels like I'd be disrespecting them if I changed my name." Lilly explained. "Besides, most of the Mrrroww that have been on this ship have been from the different clans and their naming conventions are also different, so I haven't faced the kind of mocking I hear elsewhere."

The door to the dressing room opened as they were speaking and Nox’s biological body walked inside. “Hey there.” She greeted them in a chipper voice that didn't quite suit the mood.

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re going to train? What’s the point when you can just have your body modified any way you want?” Lilly asked with a stupefied expression.

"Actually, there are some good reasons. I think she’s here for the same reason I am. Mainly it’s to get used to the performance of the artificial parts of your body so that you don’t have to wonder about such things in the heat of things. You also need to know how your enhancements jive with your biological parts so there won’t be any problems later on.” Xiaoli pointed out, reminding them that a large portion of her body was cybernetically enhanced.

“Oh yeah, I keep forgetting. Your enhancements are so realistic.” Lilly said in admiration, looking hard at Xiaoli, trying to guess where the enhancements ended and Xiaoli’s real body started.

“Xiaoli is somewhat correct, but I also like to experience all these new things. I’ve heard gym training mentioned many times in the past, both as a source of frustration and as something people enjoy, so I wanted to check things out for myself. It’s just one of those things I wanted to try.” Nox explained and started pulling out her own training gear.

“I’ll have to warn you though, Amaterasu is in there and she’s having a competition with Ka’eo and Ka’aukai. She kept insisting that the genetic improvements of her people combined with her physical enhancements from being a psion will be able to bridge the gap between the racial advantages the Dashane possess. Things were getting a bit heated back there before we left.” Xiaoli laughed as she zipped her bag closed.

“Ooh, I think I might want to take part in this competition!” Nox declared and started changing faster.

“That reminds me, you didn’t really put in all that much effort so I can’t tell. How do the Eriads compare to other races when it comes to physique? I know you’re strong, but you’re not exactly the average Eriad either.” Lilly asked and looked towards Yrala.

“Eh, depends on what you compare to. I haven’t myself really tested against the average beings in this galaxy. In my galaxy, there are only two races that can compete with us in…well, anything.” Yrala stated without false modesty. “Don’t make the mistake of comparing Nox to an average Eriad either. We might look similar, but I heard about some of the improvements she made.” She looked rather pointedly at Nox.

“Mmhmm, we've all noted some of those improvements." Xiaoli also laughed as she was about to go through the door. Then she seemed to remember something and turned back around. "Oh right, Nox. Maybe you can answer something for me. We all realized that the Shaer might have decided against attacking this part of the galaxy thanks to Selendil’s presence, but it’s been weeks. I would’ve expected them to react in some way by now. Maybe not an attack but something. A negotiation, a probe to test the limits. Anything.”

Nox laughed in a rather gleeful voice. “Yeah, about that. It seems the Shaer have recently found some trouble when it comes to fighting the races they've already attacked. Apparently, it's not going as well as they expected. They don't really want to start new trouble at the moment.”

“You know something, don’t you? Spill it out!” Lilly demanded.

“Let’s just say that the Shinzen that came back from the Cortoid galaxy with us brought a few ideas with them. Apparently, they've turned out to be much more effective as opponents than anyone expected." Nox revealed part of the truth. Selendil and she had not spoken about their interference to anyone except Amaterasu. Most of the credit went to the Shinzen anyway. The only reason they had told Amaterasu was just so at least one person from this galaxy was aware of what was going on, and she was the first officer after all. She was then free to do what she wanted with the information.

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Amaterasu frowned at her bag as if it had personally offended her. She didn't like losing. She especially hated losing when the matchup wasn't fair and she had the ability to win. The competition with the two Dashane had already gone badly, but Nox had just appeared and blown away all three of them. And the AI had the moxie to actually pretend like she didn’t even know how the equipment worked while doing it. That part was fine. Annoying, but fine. Even if Nox’s body was biological, it was far from natural. Losing to her was not a shock and Amaterasu had been prepared to back out as soon as Nox had appeared. The two foolish Dashane had stuck around to get humiliated more thoroughly.

No, what annoyed her was the loss to Ka'eo and Ka'aukai. She was quite sure that she was perfectly capable of beating the two of them with even the slightest assistance from using her psionic powers, but that would've been cheating. After all, it required no strength to levitate the weights with her mind. The problem was that the two Dashane were nulls. Selendil had explained before that the Dashane ability to disable psionic abilities was in itself a psionic ability, and the Dashane were naturally directing all their extra power to make themselves stronger and faster in addition to nullifying the powers of others. Most psions used most of their power to hone their specific abilities instead, even if they were a bit stronger physically. Selendil had been teaching the Dashane as well, and they had grown visibly stronger over time.

As such, the match was not fair. The two Dashane were essentially using their powers where she wasn’t. But she wasn’t a sore loser. Even if she hated losing, she didn't blame her opponents for having the ability to beat her. No, she hated herself for misjudging the situation. She had made the challenge based on faulty assumptions. The results were a bit embarrassing but nothing more. However, if she made such misjudgments in a more dangerous situation the consequences would be a lot worse.

As she walked back towards the transports that ran through the center of the ship, she noted Nox’s mechanical body fiddling with a control panel. It was kind of interesting that the movements of that body were much more mechanical and artificial seeming than the movements of her biological body. It was like Nox was doing it on purpose. Amaterasu was well aware that the mechanical body was capable of moving just as smoothly as the other body, as she had seen Nox do it.

“I see your other body is back again Nox," Amaterasu commented as she stepped closer to the enclosed transport platforms that would carry her to her destination.

“I actually returned almost a week ago. I’ve just been helping with the repairs outside the ship. This body is perfectly capable of working in the vacuum after all, so it made some parts of the repairs easier.” Nox explained. Her entire mannerism was different when not using the biological body. Even her speech was much more to the point. The mechanical body was often warped to Yrala’s home galaxy in case their presence was needed as per the agreement. Nox was pretty much the only one capable of communicating over the vast distances, as she could be in two places at once. Haven could do it too, but only if he had something to connect to in the other galaxy.

“Ah, that explains it.” Amaterasu nodded. The ship wasn’t big enough to miss someone for so many days, especially someone as distinct as Nox. “How’s the situation with the Shinzen at the moment? Are you aware?”

"Selendil has mostly handled that part as she's the one the Shinzen like to communicate with, but to my knowledge, the Shinzen are pushing the Shaer back for the time being. They caught the Shaer by surprise so the enemy reinforcements have not arrived in full strength yet. On the other hand, the Shinzen haven’t really fully gotten their new ship production working yet either. The new ships are a bit slower to produce than their old ones after all. It’s going to be interesting to see how things develop. If the Shaer focus enough forces against the Shinzen they might be able to crush them, but the longer the battle goes on, the better the chances the Shinzen have.” Nox added a bit of her own speculations.

“What about the Queens that came with us from the other galaxy? Will they be coming along with us to Yrala’s galaxy, or will they stay here? They would be separated from the hive mind again if they came.” Amaterasu pointed out.

"Apparently it's going to be about half and half. Half of them will stick around while half will be coming along. They would've left more behind but apparently, the hive mind works better with enough Queens present to maintain it. The last time they separated, they learned a lot, so they're rather eager to come along. The reason half of them will stay is so that they can help with the war effort and so that they can be replaced with a newer generation Queens once we return.” Nox explained.

“That…I still don’t quite get their thinking. In some ways, they seem to lack individuality almost completely.” Amaterasu shook her head in resignation.

"Well, they're actually much more individualistic than many other hive species. They just lack ego. Selendil once explained the details to me, but matters of the soul are a bit beyond what I'm comfortable with. It works for them, and that's good enough for me. How about you? The others were talking a bit about the difficulty of leaving the galaxy again with the threat of the Shaer hanging over their races. What's your take on it?" Nox suddenly asked.

“They talked to you about it?” Amaterasu asked a bit surprised.

Nox laughed. “No, but you’re forgetting something. I hear and see everything that happens on the ship. I usually give you the privacy of what I call ‘not really paying attention’ when you’re doing something private, but you are still effectively inside what I consider to be one of my bodies. Even though I am not the ship, the ship is me.”

“Everything?” Amaterasu asked a bit panicked, knowing the answer. She had just forgotten. Mostly because she had wanted to forget.

“Everything. Seriously though, I really try quite hard not to pay attention while you masturb…” Nox’s words were cut off by Amaterasu’s high-pitched voice.

“We’re not talking about that! You asked about how I felt about leaving the galaxy again?” She changed the subject in a hurry. “I suppose it’s less relevant for me than the others. The Shaer are quite far from my home. I also have faith that Selendil will have intervened long before the fighting reaches the Illum. In some ways, she already has. Besides, I have some backup plans that I can use to convince her if it comes to that.”

“What kind of plans?” Nox asked a little suspiciously.

“Nothing you need to worry about. Simple trades. Something where we would both gain. Now excuse me while I go to my room and try to get rid of the feeling of being peeped on again.” Amaterasu stepped on the transport platform. There was a reason she used the word ‘again’. Everyone had been told about the fact that Nox could see everything they did when they came aboard, but they had gradually gotten used to it. Partially because they all forgot as Nox never mentioned it. Now Amaterasu had to forget again, though it would be a bit harder this time.

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The communication alert went off almost as soon as their ship appeared above the frigid homeworld of the Eriad, Dalzamar. Pharaa’s face soon greeted them as the signal was patched through. “Selendil, excellent timing as usual. We just got news of a problem that could use your help. It should also go a long way to arranging permission to visit the system you wanted to see that is in the territory of one of the Prime species.”

“We’ve barely come back and you’re already trying to arrange work for us?” Selendil asked, not entirely sure how to feel about it.

“Not for the ship or your crew. Just for you personally this time.” Pharaa replied shamelessly.

“Who needs to be killed?” Selendil asked, now a bit curious.

“No one. At least no one yet. This isn’t a combat mission. Or at least it shouldn’t be. It’s an investigative one, and you’re the closest thing to a neutral party with the required skills that we have.” Pharaa countered.

“Ok, you’ve got my attention. What’s this about?” Selendil’s curiosity had been aroused.

“Well, you remember the recent troubles you and my daughter got mixed up in, right? The rebel attack force that appeared seemingly without any notice and the surprisingly slow reinforcements had you suggesting that someone within CAS was dealing with the rebels. Well, as it turns out, you weren't the only ones to find the whole thing quite suspicious. We also encouraged investigations, but we didn't really expect anything to turn up. Imagine our surprise when the investigations did actually uncover evidence that one of the Prime species has been aiding the rebels all this time. The species in question is, of course, denying their involvement, and I'm actually inclined to believe them for certain reasons. The problem is that the evidence isn’t something that can just be dismissed. Now all this could be resolved with a psion performing some truth-scans on certain people, but it’s hard to find neutral parties in this mess. We all have too many vested interests, so our psions will not be accepted.” Pharaa explained.

“I think I can see where this is going. They’ve picked me as that neutral party.” Selendil realized.

“Well, you’re not exactly neutral either, but you’re as close to one as we can get. You’ve been invited to the CAS capital world of Zakynthos as a result. Ah, and you probably don’t want to drag your ship and most of your crew into it just in case things get complicated.” Pharaa told them with a grin that seemed to promise future trouble.