Carpathia IV: Episode 21 - The Vashta
Space, Centaurus Void, NCCS Shadowdancer
With the secondary shields up and all personnel in place, there was nothing to do but wait and wonder what was going to happen next. All ears were attuned to Nalma's voice, impatiently awaiting any updates. They were all disappointing, with banal announcements of the ever decreasing time to intercept and confirmations that the situation had not changed. The other ship was still not presenting an overtly defensive posture, perhaps mimicking the Shadowdancer's status. Aire drummed his fingers on his armrest as he played out a variety of tactical situations in his head, and the longer the wait drew on, the more outlandish his imagination became. One scenario involved a race of bugs that would immediately swarm the ship and devour all its inhabitants.
Finally, the announcement everyone was waiting for came from Nalma.
Nalma: I have a visual.
Adell, seeming as impatient as everyone else, wasted no time acknowledging Nalma.
Adell: Put it on viewer.
Nalma: Yes, Captain.
The image that appeared on the screen did nothing to allay any fears on the bridge.
Adell: Look familiar at all, Ryuu?
Ryuu tapped his snout only for a moment before responding.
Ryuu: Not at all. Before we met you, it had been thousands of years since we met other species, so a lot could have changed in that time.
Aire focused on the approaching ship with trepidation, considering what new precautions should be taken.
Aire: How long back is the Sentinel?
Nalma took a moment to calculate Aire's request while Adell looked on, wondering what Aire might be thinking.
Nalma: About three hours if we maintain this speed and come to a halt at the anticipated intercept coordinates.
With little time to explain, Aire decided that a little initiative was necessary. Though he worried that he might get into some trouble for overstepping, the looming threat worried him more.
Aire: Teek, slow to Q4. Kit, contact the Sentinel and ask them to increase speed if they can.
As Teek and Kit gave their acknowledgements, Adell raised an eyebrow and gave Aire not a menacing glare, but definitely a look that required him to explain himself.
Aire: Captain, there is a human expression I've heard, "Don't judge a book by its cover." I always thought that expression was kind of silly. That's the point of a book cover, a way to quickly judge the contents of a book. I'm looking at that ship now and it's difficult to imagine that it wasn't built to intimidate. I suggest that we try to stall as much as possible until the Sentinel can join us. Two against one would help if it becomes necessary.
To Aire's relief, Adell did not seem put out by the protocol breach.
Adell: Fair enough, I suppose. To that end, depending on how the initial contact goes, I'm considering inviting them for a face-to-face meeting aboard our ship. That would consume a considerable amount of time.
Aire reached up and rubbed the tip of his ear. He didn't like this idea, though it would accomplish the objective of stalling.
Aire: Risky. It might work, though. Still, regardless of whether or not we meet in person, we should be careful of how much about ourselves we reveal.
Adell: Agreed. We'll keep as much as we can to polite niceties. Bugs, how long to intercept?
Nalma: At current speed, about ten minutes.
Adell: All stop. That should buy us a little time.
Teek: All stop, yes Captain.
Adell: Kit, send out friendship messages, all known languages and frequencies.
Kit: Sending out friendship messages.
Adell returned to his chair while Aire stepped over to the tactical console to have a look at the data that Nalma was seeing.
Aire: Still no weapons charged as far as we can tell.
Adell: Let's hope it stays that way.
A beep came from Kit's console.
Kit: Receiving response. They are requesting visual communication.
Adell stood and straightened his uniform while the others looked up at the viewer in anticipation of his next command.
Adell: On viewer.
Kit: Yes, Captain.
Everyone gaped at the image on the screen in awe. In this case, it turned out that Aire was wrong, as the cover hardly matched the book at all. What they saw on the screen wasn't anything that resembled a bridge. The floors appeared to be made of some sort of marble with delicately-carved columns rising high to the pyramid-shaped ceiling. On the back wall was a thin, flat waterfall sliding down a stone face, feeding a pool surrounding a tiered pedestal in the center. On top of that pedestal was an elegant chaise, upon which sat an ornately and scantily-dressed elf woman with a grim expression on her face.
Aire was glad that he was by the tactical console, putting him out of view of the elf woman where she could not see his gaping mouth. The elf woman did not speak, but simply glared at them through the viewer and even Adell seemed to be flustered for a moment before composing himself to greet the stranger.
Adell: Greetings! I am Captain Adell Amaranth of the Carpathian starship Shadowdancer.
The elf woman did not respond at first, but tilted her head slightly as though figuring out what to make of Adell.
Elf Woman: I am Ksenva of the Lazmal clan. You appear somewhat vashtari, but your ears say otherwise.
It was at least a small relief to finally know that she could hear what they were saying.
Adell: Actually, I am human and we come from a planet far from here. It is our mission to learn about new spec...
Ksenva pursed her lips as she raised her hand and interrupted Adell.
Ksenva: I do not have time for needless banter, round ears. We seek one of our vessels that was lost somewhere in this area.
The day Aire had dreamed of all his life, to meet fellow elves and perhaps learn where his kind originally came from, started to come crashing down. Maybe, perhaps... hopefully... this rude, unpleasant elf was just a stuffy, grumpy general and not representative of the rest of them. Having finally recovered, Aire slowly stepped away from the tactical console and into Ksenva's view so that he could get a better look.
Ksenva: We would like to know if you've seen another ship...
Ksenva's eyes caught sight of Aire and she froze in mid-sentence, her glare now firmly affixed upon him.
Ksenva: You are vashtari.
Aire gave a hesitant nod.
Aire: Yes. I am Commander Aire Valro, first officer of the Shadowdancer.
This information must have gotten Ksenva's attention indeed because, for the first time since she appeared on the viewer, one of her facial features besides her mouth moved as one eyebrow rose slightly above the other.
Ksenva: Interesting that one such as yourself could rise to such a lofty position.
It was an obvious dig at Aire, but why, they did not know. Adell cast a furtive glance at Aire. Knowing that Adell sought his approval to invite Ksenva for a face-to-face meeting, Aire hesitated for a moment and then gave an almost imperceptible nod in return.
Adell: Would you be interested in meeting in person? That might help us get to know each other better.
As with most of the interaction with Ksenva thus far, there was a pause before she spoke. Clearly, Aire thought, this was a person who preferred to think before acting. Now he wondered what, if anything, might cause her to behave rashly. She might be dangerous if pushed that far.
Ksenva: I cannot permit you aboard my ship, but if you have a clean room, I shall consider coming to yours.
Aire pondered what Ksenva's definition of clean might be. She could have meant a lack of dirt or germs. More insidiously, Aire considered that this could have been an expression of racial bias. If Adell were also worried about these possibilities, he did not betray any hint of it.
Adell: We have a small conference room next to the shuttle bay. It's part of our decontamination zone for missions. We could use that if you find it suitable.
Aire waited nervously for Ksenva's response. If she was, in fact, referring to germs when she said "clean," then this should be a sufficient solution. If not...
Ksenva stood and took two steps down from her pedestal, filling the viewer with her face.
Ksenva: That will be acceptable. Prepare to receive me shortly. I have business to attend to and will not dally.
With that, the communication abruptly ceased. With little idea of how long they had to prepare, Aire assumed it best to move quickly.
Aire: Okay, let's get cracking. Teren, let's have heavy security around the shuttle bay. Kit, contact the catering department and tell them to prepare beverages. Nalma, keep a close eye on the tactical situation. The captain and I will consult and apprise everyone of any changes.
After a chorus of acknowledgements from the crew, everyone got busy while Adell quizzed Ryuu on what just happened.
Adell: What do you think, Ryuu?
Ryuu: I would have thought the elves would be more advanced by now. They seem to be pretty close to you at the moment.
Adell: I know it's difficult to judge from meeting just one person, but what about her disposition?
Ryuu shrugged.
Ryuu: You're right. It is hard to say. She might just be a grumpy general sort of person. We might know a bit more when we meet but we should be very careful. I don't like this at all. Something has significantly slowed down their pace of development, and that is rarely a good thing.
With that, Adell beckoned Aire and Ryuu to join him in his ready room where they could strategize further before the upcoming meeting.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
Jenova87
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
All city pictures from SimCity 4
