Carpathia IV: Episode 253 - Gifts
NCCS Shadowdancer-A
After another viewing of the Aptaras Gigas, Aire saw Admiral Zhang to her quarters for bed. In that time, the shuttle with the first team returned from the planet and word spread quickly about the strange book in sick bay. Tamati and Ramei came to see and it seemed to be drawing a crowd. Not wanting to see a priceless artifact damaged and to keep the medical staff focused on their duties, Aire called Shep to sick bay.
Shep: You wanted to see me, Captain?
Aire: Yes, Shep. I need you and your team to guard the evil book. You can arrange shifts however you like. I'd rather not have the entire crew fondling such an artifact and the medical team needs to get back to doing their job. Feel free to ask Phobos to move it to a better location if necessary. The rule will be look but don't touch.
Shep: Understood, Captain. I'll take first shift and have my team determine the best viewing location. We'll move it when we find one.
Aire: Good. I'll trust you with the details.
Running on over 30 straight hours of no sleep, it was time for Aire to head to his quarters. First, a quick visit to the bridge.
Bridge, NCCS Shadowdancer-A
Aire arrived on the bridge to find Trex in command and Amenaru back to his usual Ops position. As soon as Trex noticed Aire, she stood and offered the chair.
Trex: Welcome back, Captain. Will you be taking command?
Aire: Just a quick pass before I head to my quarters. Trex, how long since you've slept?
Trex: Oh, I'd say going on 22 hours at this point.
Aire: Right. Darius, call Ramei to the bridge. Trex, as soon as he gets here, you go to bed. Amenaru, the bridge is yours. Ramei will be your number one.
Darius: Yes, Captain. Contacting Engineering.
Aire: Amenaru, arrange duty positions as you see fit.
Amenaru: We'll keep her ship shape for you, Captain.
Aire gave Amenaru a smile and a nod and turned swiftly back to the lift. Once inside and with the door shut, he let forth a wide, open-mouthed yawn. It had been building since he decided that it was bedtime and became near unbearable when he got to the bridge. As the lift descended, he staggered slightly, as now the sleep was catching up to him. It was a short ride, just to Deck 4, and when the doors opened, he wobbled to his quarters and collapsed onto the bed.
Ready Room, The Next Day
After a long, deep sleep, Aire felt ready for the next day and, perhaps more importantly, ready to leave Aionaptara's planet. What would become of it later whether the Carpathian government would attempt to colonize it was not his concern. His concern sat before him, Ryuu, now finished with his long, long teleconference with the dragons in his quarters.
Aire: Our team should be returning from the surface soon. We'll meet with Admiral Zhang when she's ready, but I would like to get an idea of what the dragons are thinking now.
Ryuu: I gave them Phobos's recording and I told them my impressions. There is disagreement, to say the least. None of us think that he's fully reformed, but some think he's completely genuine in what he says. Some think he has another motive. Some think it's a bit of both. Some think that regardless of his motivation, he's going to go harass people. I guess the only consensus is that we should all proceed with caution.
Aire: So much for clarity. We've been thinking the same thing.
Ryuu: At least, at his age, he wouldn't be able to do near as much damage as he could in his prime. Not to say that he isn't dangerous.
Aire: Either way, I think we did the right thing. Better to get to know each other. If we had ignored him, that would probably have made him more unpredictable.
Ryuu: That's true. He would have found out that we knew his location eventually.
Interrupting their conversation, Amenaru's voice burst over the speaker.
Amenaru: Captain to the bridge right away.
That did not sound good. Aire and Ryuu stood, both recognizing without any words between them that something serious was happening. Aire strode briskly to his door, straightening his uniform as he went with Ryuu following behind.
As soon as the door opened, the issue was evident. Aionaptara stood at the front of the bridge with something in his hand, long, cylindrical, and white, and he gazed around at the various faces on the bridge. Amenaru stood before the command chair casting quick glances between Aionaptara and Aire at the top of the stairs. Teek, at the helm and closest to Aionaptara, froze like a statue. Aire descended the stairs slowly with both eyes on Aionaptara with each and every step down. Aionaptara spoke, again, as was his custom, without moving his mouth.
Aionaptara: I see thy tales of diverse species true,
In my nine thousand years, ne'er deemed I
Such possibility. The winds of change
Defy our expectations. Light to woe,
And woe to light, doth shift. Perhaps no place
In this vast universe for one so old.
The life of demigod, too long, mayhap
In olden thinking set, finds no fit here.
Aire glanced at the comm console to see that Amenaru called Darius to do another shift.
Aire: Darius, call Admiral Zhang to the bridge by message.
Darius took a moment, but acknowledged with the faintest of murmurs.
Darius: Mmm hmm.
Meanwhile, Aionaptara stepped forward, around the helm console and, ignoring Aire completely, went straight for Amenaru.
Aionaptara: Thou must be Amenaru, I surmise,
The long-eared spinner of the tale so fair,
Of one with wild hair, eyes red, skin of bronze,
I found thy yarn most pleasing, unbeguiled.
Thy true form, though correct, seems pale in light
Of his description, lavish, shining strong.
'Tis how it goes when one is so hallowed,
With effusive affection oft outpoured.
He showed his rabbit, a charming vision,
Might I, then, glimpse thy cat, a feline sprite?
Amenaru sniffled and let himself fall to a seated position on the very end of the command chair.
Amenaru: That's the nicest thing anyone ever said about me.
Aire glanced at Aionaptara, who appeared to be getting impatient. Demigod or no, he knew that wing twitch.
Aire: Ahem, Amenaru. Of course it's up to you if you'd like to change into cat form, but you really should make a decision on that.
Amenaru's ears perked on his head as he looked up, first to Aire and then to Aionaptara, menacingly staring him down.
Amenaru: Oh! Right, yes. Sure, I can do that.
Amenaru stood again, but immediately melted straight into his uniform until it all collapsed to the floor until they were nothing more than a pile of clothes with a lump in the middle. A lump that moved as Amenaru rooted around inside to find an opening. First his tail popped out of the top of his tunic, then his butt, followed by the rest of him.
Amenaru: You know, wriggling my way out of my clothes is part of the fun.
Amenaru hopped into the command chair, technically still where he belonged since Aire hadn't officially taken the bridge from him yet.
Aionaptara: Verily, it seems both hath been ensnared
By charms of bastet, clumsy though she be.
Yet, to win a bastet's heart requires
Great fortitude of character, indeed.
Ere I reveal purpose of my visit,
I must extend my thanks for the gift
Bestowed upon me by fair companion.
Only now did Aire notice that there was a string around Aionaptara's neck wrapping around to something on his back. Aionaptara reached behind him and held a yellow, star-shaped pillow with a smiley face on it.
Aionaptara: He named it Mr. Happy Star Pillow,
A gift I've not received since worshippers
Sent sacrifices to me. 'Tis the first
Gift that hath pleased me so. And now, I wish
To offer in return a gift to thee.
Aionaptara directed his attention to Aire with crinkled nose and furrowed brow, as though he were stifling a gag reflex just from looking at him. He held out the rolled-up papers and passed them. Aire examined the roll for a moment, taking note that the paper seemed like actual paper and not aptaran remains and he could see the faint outlines of blue ink within. The roll was heavy, not only large sheets of paper, but at least 40 or 50 pages. As he started to carefully unfurl the roll, Aionaptara spoke again.
Aionaptara: These papers hold plans for Blood Agony,
The ship that razed the aptarans' abode.
This vessel soon shall sail to visit us,
Its captain, known as "Hand of Lazmaedia,"
A woman vile, near demigod in might.
I doubt this ship possesses strength enough
To vanquish Blood Agony; perchance, if thou
Could muster hundred ships of like degree,
Then might thou stand a chance, however slim.
Aire unrolled the papers even more and it appeared that Aionaptara was telling the truth. Inside were detailed technical schematics and drawings of the Blood Agony, the same one from Amenaru's newspaper in his alternate reality. Though he was cognizant of the idea that Aionaptara might be trying to trick them, the blueprints seemed legitimate. Only problem was that the text was in ancient aptaran, but that could be solved quickly with some dragon help.
Aire: You have our deepest gratitude, Lord Aionaptara. We have many ships, some like this and some more powerful, but more importantly, we have friends and a lot of clever people who can study these and find a weakness.
Aionaptara: Aye, study, but with haste. Blood Agony,
It may arrive tomorrow, or next month,
Or in a year. No man can truly tell.
From tales thou'st told, 'tis clear Lazmaedia
Is aware of our presence, and plots made
In her dark mind. So, swiftly to thy books,
And gather knowledge that may aid our cause.
Aionaptara stepped backwards and, for a moment, Aire thought that he might leave, fade away as Sassinesa often did, but instead he turned his deathly glare to Darius, who nearly fell out of his chair.
Aionaptara: Hail, Nekomi! Pray, what name do you bear?
And have your people healed from ancient wars,
Those battles waged in distant, bygone days?
Darius floundered, his mouth flopping open and closed many times, though no sound came out. One might have thought this was Aionaptara's doing, a prank, perhaps, but he eventually managed to speak.
Darius: I am Darius Bengal, Mr. Aionaptara, sir. Yes, we did recover from our wars, with help from humans and many others.
Aionaptara: 'Tis heartening news, for loss of species kind
No one should bear. Your comrades now return,
Bringing with them a wealth of books, diverse
In subject, from my library's vast store.
Peruse from these tomes as thou dost see fit.
Farewell, until we meet again, farewell.
And finally, Aionaptara, along with Mr. Happy Star Pillow faded away, prompting a mass exhale from the entire bridge crew. Before anyone had a chance to say anything, the lift doors opened and Admiral Zhang hurried out.
Admiral Zhang: I got a message that Aionaptara is here?
Aire: Just missed him, Admiral.
Phobos: Captain, the shuttle is docking now.
Aire: Right. Admiral, we have much to discuss. I propose that we go to the conference room. I can show you the bridge recording, we can talk about these papers, and we can see what our team talked about with Aionaptara.
Admiral Zhang: Lead on, Aire, since you know what's going on.
Aire: Darius, send the away team to the conference room. Ryuu with me. Amenaru, the bridge is yours.
Amenaru: Captain, can I stay like this?
Aire's eyes widened. He'd never considered this before and as tempting as it was to say yes right away, things were a little more sticky with Admiral Zhang right beside him and his eyes drifted in her direction. She quickly took the hint and gave the answer.
Admiral Zhang: Fine for now, but make sure to get a uniform made for him in that size if he wants to do it again.
Aire: I'll get wardrobe on that as soon as we're done in the conference room.
Amenaru: Yay!
Meanwhile, on Aionaptara's planet...
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
Falke2009
