You asked me why the first 'language' I shared with you after our thoughts resonated was 'death'...
Hierda
I really don't know either.
Aboard this strange, colossal vessel called 'Rhodes Island,' the Cautus can barely feel the passage of time.
It makes her uneasy. Ever since the day she became Infected, time has meant everything to her.
Time will bring her death—and perhaps, liberation.
However, the beings who dwell in this strange place—yet deny they are gods—seem utterly indifferent to it.
Hierda
Maybe it's because I've never been afraid of dying. Death is nothing more than a passage to a new environment.
Raydistorter
(Rim Billitonian) Pessimist.
Raydistorter
That's how they would describe you in your own language, yes?
Hierda
A pessimist? I don't think so.
The Cautus blurts it out, and regrets it—just a little. She had agreed with many of the clergy's arguments back during those debates… but now that she's here, does she still need to think in those terms?
Does she really care about everything she experienced before the collapse?
After all, even time has forsaken her now.
Hierda
I once worked in a mine that seemed to be endless. To maintain efficiency, the overseer would kill or drive off any bothersome Originium slugs.
Raydistorter
Originium slugs? A mine?
Hierda
Yes. Those Originium slugs are even weaker than me, and the mines... the mines were once my home.
Hierda
But the overseer didn't expect that the kindest worker in the mine was secretly feeding and caring for the Originium slugs they were trying to drive away—which only drew more of them into the mine.
Hierda
Eventually, the slugs disrupted the mine's foundation, leading to a collapse.
Raydistorter
But you survived?
Hierda
The slugs' secretions fed me.
Hierda
In such a harsh environment, many of them lived short lives, yet new ones kept being born. They gave me strength—
Raydistorter
Miners, Originium slugs, and yourself—but your story ignores the 'death of Terra,' Hierda.
Raydistorter
You do not treasure your 'Terra'.
Hierda
That's not true at all! In our language, 'Terra Bless Us' is a phrase that invokes something almost divine—
Raydistorter
Hmm... you still have a very limited definition of 'life'.
Hierda
I don't understand. You've shown me so many individuals, each starkly distinct from the next… You all feel love and hate just as we do—and yet, are still vastly different from each other.
Hierda
'Salvaging death from the grave'—you all live united by a purpose that I can't understand.
But why have I come here?
The Cautus ponders this question, but her intuition tells her the answer lies with the person who just extended a hand to her.
She looks out the porthole at the top of the cabin into the cold, silent, endless expanse of space. The light from the distant, giant sphere once again passes over the dead planet, piercing the Cautus's eyes.
However, despite her blurry vision, she spots a small silhouette within the light.
Hierda
There is... someone out there, in deep space?
Hierda
Is that the one I'm looking for?
Someone out in the depths of space seems to hear the Cautus's voice—a shadow within the light stirs ever so slightly.
Did I doze off again? Maybe I'm just really exhausted.
Warfarin
Don't try and speak now. Your throat is badly injured.
Warfarin
You feel like you went to sleep?
Chloe
Yes, and I had a long dream.
Warfarin
You didn't feel any other discomfort?
Chloe
Erm... no. Did something happen just now, Dr. Warfarin?
Warfarin
Nothing major. Did you dream about anything... special?
Chloe
Anything special? That's hard to say.
Chloe
In my dreams there were balls of mud spinning around each other on black velvet...
Chloe
They are now big, now small. One moment they were smaller than children's marbles, the next larger than the whole of Victoria.
Chloe
Someone picked them up and flung them back out. They started smashing into each other and bursting like fireworks, but the whole time, I didn't hear a sound.
Warfarin
Anything else...?
Chloe
I also saw threads—stretching from one ball of mud to another, each one made of light. And on every thread, there were people—running outward, racing along the light.
Chloe
I followed them. I ran to a white patch of earth. It was completely empty...
Chloe
Save for a single stone tablet standing there.
Warfarin
Stone tablet? What was written on it?
Chloe
Nothing, Dr. Warfarin, and that's when I woke up.
Warfarin
What a strange dream, but then again, you remember it quite clearly, which means your brain's memory module is still functioning properly.
Warfarin
The more clearly you remember your dream, the closer you were to waking up when you dreamed it. As I see it, the fact that you were able to remember your dream is a very good thing.
Chloe
Say, I haven't seen Dr. Touch today...
Warfarin
She has other matters to attend to. She told me to give this to you. Look.
Chloe
Huh? The spring, the gears... the hands... all the parts that make up a clock!
Warfarin
She said it would help relieve your stress.
Chloe
Dr. Warfarin, is Rhodes Island in some kind of trouble again?
Possible enemy signal detection capability. Shutting down drone transmission temporarily.
Mechanist
Logos, I'm counting on you for the drone's live feed.
Logos
I'm ready.
Logos
'Circuits.' Etched into Originium through spoken words—drawn by hand to reveal what the swarm perceives.
Logos's bone pen hovers in the air, automatically transcribing the images recorded by the drone.
Mechanist
Twelve flexible vehicles buried in the sand. Thirty-one armed militants.
Mechanist
The five sniper's nests have already been marked. There seems to be a signal isolation device in the tent, which the scanner cannot penetrate.
Mechanist
All are carrying unidentified weapons. Threat level unknown. Further on-site confirmation required—
Mechanist
Raidian, you're up next. I'm starting the drone recall procedure.
Communicator
In position!
Communicator
Wait a second. Can you see me?
The bone pen taps lightly—its strokes weaving together the rough outline of a human form.
Raidian gives a tentative wave to the two people watching the feed, and even in floating text, her smile comes through clearly.
Mechanist
We are standing by, ready to assist you.
Communicator
It's no problem. In ninety seconds, your drone and I will leave together.
On screen, Raidian walks into the signal-blocking tent as if no one else is there—and the transmission cuts out.
Communicator
Bzzzz—
Mechanist
Logos?
Logos
We're ready to launch a full assault at any time—the incantations have already drifted on the wind to the edge of their camp.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds.
Thirty seconds...
Communicator
Bzzzt—Done! All intel's been transcribed. I'll be back in a sec!
Communicator
It didn't create even a single stir—I overwrote the visual signals received by each target's brain.
Communicator
Chances are, all they saw was a mischievous little sandbeast slipping into the tent to escape the wind and sand.
Raidian
Mechanist, how goes it? Did you discover anything while parsing the intel reports?
Mechanist
All weapons have had their origins erased and have been modified to suit their operators.
Mechanist
But I'm familiar with how to operate it. Doctor discussed its rather rare design with me just recently.
Mechanist
They are from Ægir.
Raidian
Ægir? But the people who are going to interface with us, aren't they also...?
Logos
Regardless, the threat has been cleared.
Logos
We must not yield to such a threat and allow it to interfere with our equipment transfer—nor can we create any disruption that could alert the personnel involved.
Logos
The matter is of great importance and needs to be resolved quietly.
A last-minute change in plans right before departure; I'm just worried that...
I believe in you.
Misery, Stormeye, Sharp and such have other plans.
Pith
Do we need to inform the rest of our colleagues via PRTS?
No. That's not necessary.
If everything goes well, I was worrying over nothing.If anything goes wrong, resolve the issue as quickly as possible and then return to defend the ship.
