Did you think we were touring a museum? You were looking at the instruments like they were exhibits.
The third place I mistook for a museum, then.
Why is gravity reversed in there?What's with the water flowing around the pillars?What's that space that warped my fingers?
Skadi
There are some things even I can't explain.
Skadi
Technology has advanced a lot in five years.
Wait, that tower...
There's a launchpad at the heart of the city?
Specter
Good eye, Doctor, that's a beacon launcher. One with plenty of history.
Skadi
You know about it, Shark?
Specter
My parents took me around the home territories when I was little. There are similar structures in many cities.
I thought Ægir children were raised collectively.
Skadi
I was, but Shark has a special relationship with her biological parents.
Specter
They're more like friends than parents.
Specter
They reached a consensus with the Institute of Incubation to bring me along whenever they worked on a new dome project.
Specter
I spent most my time in the Institute of Incubation, but I was able to see the cities, learn, and even work alongside them.
So, what's this beacon launcher for?
Specter
Exactly what it sounds like: it launches beacons to mark the Waterway.
Those are some huge beacons.How big is this Waterway anyway?
Specter
Ægir had almost mastered the oceans around 300 years ago, efficiently using natural energy in its various forms and recording every seafloor trench in our navigational charts.
Specter
Then we cast our sights on another ocean, one brimming with stars.
Specter
Our fleets and even our cities were meant to cross that boundary that should never have existed, and light the fires of civilization beyond the barrier.
Beyond the barrier...
Kal'tsit
The Preserver was right, Doctor. Kristen's achievement is not beyond Ægir's reach.
Kal'tsit
The sea and the sky are closer than we thought.
Specter
People back then tried plenty of things: surveying and deciphering the electron clouds, developing new technologies and materials, exploring forms of life that can adapt to space...
Specter
This beacon launcher is a product of that era.
Specter
It was intended to capture even the faintest signals from the stars, and plant beacons that would never fade from our star charts.
Specter
Nanomachine swarms would form networks between the beacons, allowing us to traverse vast distances in an instant... or so we dreamed.
Skadi
You never told me any of this before.
Specter
Lucid moments were hard to come by on land.
Specter
But yesterday, I dreamt once again of walking from the Sophontheatrum straight into that epoch.
Specter
Then, I saw Laurentina dance.
Specter
She leaped from the waves to the stars, stirring up star dust that trailed the hems of her dress. From afar, the voice of the Master of All Creation answered her in song.
Specter
The universe and imagination know no bounds, and Laurentina's dances will never cease.
Specter closes her eyes, as though sinking back into the dream.
Skadi
Mm...
Specter
What is it?
Skadi
Just trying to picture it.
It's a beautiful dream, Laurentina.Perhaps that day will really come, Laurentina.
Specter
Before pushing open the door to the stars, they wanted to prepare themselves for any threats beyond the barrier... That is, until the Seaborn appeared and interrupted the dream.
Specter
We poured all our efforts into studying them, setting aside all else: art, science, and previous visions for the future...
Specter
The Seaborn fundamentally changed Ægir.
What did you do before becoming a Hunter, Skadi?
Skadi
Me?
Skadi
I was the best technician at the Institute of Facility Management. I could keep an entire city's underwater lighting array running on my own.
Skadi
The Institute of Development Planning's career proposal was pretty much what I was thinking, so I accepted.
Skadi
Working by yourself can be lonely, but it's not such a bad thing playing with the giant fins in the reefs, or lighting up the ocean while daydreaming.
What did you do before becoming a Hunter, Specter?
Specter
I was just an apprentice sculptor.
Specter
The Institute of Development Planning provides tailored career proposals for each citizen, which are usually in line with our wishes.
Specter
I suppose I would have gone into dome design, sculpting, or dance.
Specter
Say, Kal'tsit and Doctor, we've shared a lot of info during our time together, but we've never talked about our old lives.
Because they've changed.
Specter
I guess you're right. Sorry for bringing up something so heavy on a tour.
Specter
We have all the waves in the world hanging above our heads. Would you care to share a dance before dealing with all this bother, Doctor?
The Consul's Pensivarium sits high in the city. The seawater hangs just above their heads.
The transparent dome serves as a gentle mirror, warding off the deep and foreboding void while granting the Ægir the solace of introspection.
Beneath the dome, the entire city is bathed in a blue hue. The beacon launchpad stands tall at its center, while ships glide in and out of the distant docks like schools of fins.
Clementia
The sea itself has no color, only darkness. Milliarium stands in its murky depths like the vigilant eye of civilization, solitary and luminous.
Clementia
We once had many such cities. One by one, the stars in the sea went out, becoming sustenance for the Seaborn.
Clementia
All that's left on the seafloor are their colorful, eerie nests.
Gladiia
I won't deny that the Abyssal Hunter project was a failed gambit. The death of the Firstborn did not stop their evolution.
Gladiia
So I want to know what solution Ægir has come up with next. What you have come up with.
Gladiia
What is this Waterway Program?
Clementia
Gladiia, I didn't mean...
Clementia
I'm simply part of an even bigger gambit, one with even higher stakes.
Clementia
The weapon classification scheme remains nothing more than a strict control over weapon usage to delay the evolution of the Seaborn.
Clementia
This time, however, we have taken into account every weapon at our disposal or under development.
Clementia
A mix of conventional ballistics and Class I weapons initially proved highly effective. The Seaborn were unable to comprehend why they were being burned by the seawater around them.
Clementia
But it took them only a year to adapt. 11 months in, we accelerated the adoption of Class II weapons, which operated on completely different principles.
Clementia
Et cetera, et cetera.
Gladiia
Until their evolution outpaced the ability of the Academy of Technology to innovate.
Clementia
Yes. At day's end, all we're doing is merely buying time. Ægir has committed vast resources to study the Seaborn. To eradicate them at their origin, we must first comprehend them at their source.
Clementia
The information you've brought back is highly valuable, and Breogan's discovery on land corroborates the Academy of Science's research.
Gladiia
The Seaborn and the Feranmuts share the same genesis.
Gladiia
Is Ægir coming ashore to seek memories even more ancient?
Clementia
Not just that. The Seaborn share a common genesis with the Feranmuts, but much about them is very different. Unnatural, one might say.
Clementia
Their recent activity demonstrates a clear sense of purpose. They have quickly abandoned their reliance on the sea and begun to migrate towards land en masse.
Clementia
Left unchecked, it is not out of the question that all of Terra could become infested with Seaborn.
Gladiia
We already saw hints of that in Iberia.
Clementia
Thus, for Ægir, the land is both a source of answers and a solemn responsibility.
Clementia
Horatia has issued new war orders on behalf of the Institute of Development Planning, and Milliarium has come bearing new Class IV weapons from the Academy of Technology.
Clementia
They are a form of biological weapon, very different from all previous ones. Designed to induce death in nearby Seaborn nests and newborns, while driving away adults from the area.
Clementia
We have successfully located most of the nests in the target region. The ones near Iberia are the only ones yet unmarked.
Clementia
Once the beacons have been placed and the weapons activated, we will finally have cleared an entire region of Seaborn, and established a route back to Ægir's home territories.
Consul Horatia would not have permitted the possibility of failure. Yet all I see is a city under siege, teetering on the brink.
Clementia
Yes, she did tell me herself that 'the Waterway Program will not fail.'
Clementia
I do not know how many other possibilities she considered, and I hope I never do. For me, this city has always been the entirety of the Waterway Program.
Clementia
But that is no longer true. The changes in the past month necessitate a review of our plans.
Clementia
The Seaborn have rapidly adapted to our new weapons, even evolving measures to protect their kindred from Class III.
Clementia
But a successful extermination operation should have left no opportunity for them to communicate with other individuals. They seem to have obtained their inspiration elsewhere.
Gladiia
Almost every mutation of the Seaborn against humanity has been abetted by the twisted efforts of corrupted Ægir.
Gladiia
Yet, the Seaborn lack true intelligence. We could toss all our prototype weapons into their nest, and they wouldn't dismantle or study them.
Gladiia
The Church of the Deep may be able to train them to attack an army or a city, but bringing about rapid biological changes is another matter entirely.
Clementia
Unless they're not being influenced by the Church of the Deep, but by another Firstborn.
Gladiia
I see you've read my belated report.
Gladiia
Indeed. Ulpianus claims that the one we eliminated was not the only one.
Clementia
The Abyssal Hunters were the first and last Ægir to enter the Firstborn's lair.
Clementia
Even now, the Seaborn defend the ruins with a frenzied fury. We have not found a way to get through.
Clementia
Amongst the Hunters, Ulpianus spent the longest time there, enough for him to witness the 'truth.'
Gladiia
You're still deliberating on whether to believe him.
Clementia
Yes. It could be the key to solving the mystery of the Seaborn. Or the path that leads us to destruction.
Clementia
Could a Hunter survive for months on Seaborn remains and remain lucid? Would a lucid hunter willingly stay with them, rather than returning to civilization?
Clementia
There are too many unanswered questions about Ulpianus and that fateful operation.
Clementia
And so, I regret to inform you that Ægir has no choice but to welcome its Hunters home with a tribunal.
I thought we had designated this area for investigation.
Secunda
Madam Irene? From Iberia?
Irene
May I ask to whom I am speaking?
Secunda
Secunda, Praefecta of the Sea Patrol. I regret not being able to greet you personally upon your arrival yesterday.
Secunda
The Sea Patrol is currently investigating the disappearance of a citizen. We have not requested assistance from Iberia, and respectfully request that you exit this area as soon as possible.
Irene
I would like to assist as myself, not as an envoy.
Secunda
Your offer is appreciated, but unnecessary.
Irene
I want to—
Secunda
Any news from the other teams?
Sea Patroller
One moment, getting the video feed now.
Irene
Ma'am—
Sea Patroller
No unusual movements at the port.
Secunda
Tsk.
Secunda
Alert the other teams to monitor the closed civilian gates and keep a close watch on the circulation system around town.
Sea Patroller
Roger.
Irene
You're okay with talking about this in front of me?
Secunda
This is part of our regular duties. There's no need for confidentiality.
Irene
But you had your Little Handies clear the place out.
Secunda
Only to prevent unnecessary harm to civilians.
Secunda
If you insist on staying, you'll be responsible for your own safety.
Irene
I'll—
Secunda
The missing civilian is Tullia, a scientist from the Waterway Program, responsible for recording and calibrating data on Seaborn nests.
Secunda
She went AWOL 30 hours ago and hasn't been seen since.
Irene
Could it be... the Church of the Deep?
Secunda
That's what we intend to find out.
Secunda
Her disappearance has not affected the overall progress of the project. As important as recording and calibrating the nest data is, her role was by no means irreplaceable.
Secunda
If the Church's goal was to assassinate someone to disrupt our plans, they would not have picked an ordinary data scientist.
Secunda
Unless—
Secunda
She learned something she wasn't supposed to.
Secunda
I need to inspect her home.
Secunda
You're sharp, Madam Irene, but I would recommend against coming with us.
Irene
I'm simply investigating our common enemy in my own way.
