A Day Of Firsts

Posted on Fri Jun 15th, 2018 @ 8:12am by Captain Remas McDonald & Lieutenant Commander Shadi Zatra

3,797 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: S1:3: Myriad Problems
Location: Shuttle Bay
Timeline: MD 1 18.00

"Everyone one ready?"

Remas made a quick visual scan of the assembled greeting party. Senior staff were present as was expected, and whilst none were in the formal attire of their dress uniforms they still looked presentable. Remas had ignored the bait of a coloured scarf, or a ribbon about the arm. He was a Starfleet captain, not a Rish homesteader.

Maybe next first contact? And a casual Friday to follow mayhaps?

"I feel ready," he said as turned to crane his neck up to the shuttle bay control room perched high on one wall. A shadowy figure in the booth nodded as Remas raised a hand, and the great space doors towards the aft slowly slide apart. The vista beyond was stunning, to say the least: the bright golden curve of the Class L moon they orbited filled the lower half, with the rising face of the red and white gas giant primary filling in the background.

"Abborax's shuttle should arrive shortly," Remas said, turning back to his team. "Any questions?"

"Yes," Arivek's voice came from the back of the crowd. Rather than front and center, like the rest of the Senior Staff, he was leaning against the back wall, his face buried in a PADD, much like he always was. "I need to be excused. I have important things to handle. And this is...well, frankly, an utter waste of my time and energy."

"You could use a sonic shower," Shadi said to Ari. "You always smell like an electrical fire."

As she said it, something about Abborax's earlier communication rung a bell in her mind. That the chief engineer was a coward she already knew, so it was no surprise to see him try to run away before the space ghost arrived on his shuttle. But, through accusing slit pupils, Shadi's mind hatched half a thought of suspicion. Perhaps she ought to keep on his scent.

Leaning toward Ari, she dropped her voice to a deep guttural hiss. "I smell you."

Arivek looked up with a disgusted look on his face, "You're creepy, Lieutenant," he said, pushing himself away from the wall and walking to the other side of the group, hoping for some solitude.

"Shadi, do we need to go over the concept of 'personal space' again? I am more than sure Chief Zhuri used the sonic shower," Remas said, not moving his eyes from waiting flight line. "And Ari, you have a team of people more than capable of covering for you for the span of this meeting. Take a moment to enjoy this little facet of history in the making, and remember you're going into the history book's to be among the first Federation officials to meet with a race from beyond our galaxy."

Arivek simply rolled his eyes.

Despite Remas' admonition, Shadi continued sniffing at the air in Ari's direction.

Rena used a couple steps to close the distance between them and muttered in a low voice to Ari, "if I have to be here, so do you." When he had spoken up earlier, she shot him a look that failed to land when his attention was diverted to Shadi.

To say the fact that Remas was nervous was...well obvious. Almost as obvious as joining a mission to leave the Milky Way and meet new people and not expecting to meet new people. Perhaps it had been the gift waiting for him in his office, a little-prerecorded message from the Admiral himself and the hum of the replicator.

The forth pip now on his collar marking him as a full captain felt unusually heavy.

"And Abborax didn't mention anything about greetings? Or special needs?" he said, looking at his two person contact team.

Shadi scratched her scaly chin with an outstretched talon and rolled her eyes up in thought. "Let'sss see... luminous person... collective worlds... shattered proxy... biomechanical construct. Sounds like the space ghost might live inside a giant light bulb!" She turned excited at the conclusion of her deductive reasoning. Light bulbs would be so much easier to destroy than the Malignant Matter from the ark ship. "And he promised me talon sheaths. Perhapsss we can offer him some spare light fixtures, since his might be shattered."

Daani shook her head. “He mentioned that he had to manufacture a biomechanical proxy because his real form is damaging to humanoids but from what he said, the proxy is going to be a tough SOB. I doubt we have anything that can damage it. They don’t like transporters though, a phobia, so at the very least we could bounce it around the ship? Use it’s phobia against it.” She kept her voice low as she spoke, just in case.

“He mentioned that he might bring a couple guests, bringing his party up to three. I do not know what species the guests are, but assume they have no special needs. I asked that specifically.”

"Those are very helpful statements," he said in response to Shadi and Black's comments.

The Myriad shuttle appeared from above, and gracefully followed the line of the Traveller's trailing nacelles until with a gentle pop it passed through the atmosphere curtain and into the bay. At a first glance, the shuttle looked like a thorned barb, narrowed at the bow and flaring out to a trio of spiked like tails at the aft. It was made of the same tan coloured material as the large Spire Ship, the trailing spins glowing with radiated energy from whatever form of propulsion it used.

With a clack of metal striking metal, the shuttle landed before the greeting party side on. It was about the same size as a Type 11 shuttle, if more rakish and ferocious looking. This close to the hull could be seen to be striated like the rings of a tree, marred by scars and the puckered holes of attitude adjustment jets and sensor pits.

And then...nothing else seemed to happen.

"Come on out, space ghost," Shadi said. "Would you like a light bulb?"

Remas was about to say something, with a light clicking sound, could be heard coming from the shuttle.

Abborax had arrived.

A tall slender humanoid figure stood behind the lower drive spine of the shuttle, the entryway inside clearly there. At a glance, he looked almost exactly human. But then a second glance would show the differences clearly. His visible skin was a pearlescent white, glittering a little like fresh snow in the morning. His hair matched the skin tone perfectly, falling down along his back in a cascade of ivory strands that swayed at the small of his back. But the hair did not hide the rising dagger tips of his ears, which rose a good inch above the top of his head.

And his eyes, bright orange. They were such a vivid shade they seemed almost to glow like coals fresh from the fire.

He slowly stepped out from behind the shuttle, his long dark cloak shifting around to reveal long limbs encased in stiff-looking material that shone like a beetles carapace. His boots were pointed, and they clicked against the decking. He reached a long-fingered hand into the depths of his cloak, and pulled out an elegant bottle of a clear substance, and held it out to the captain.

"I offer you the gift of water and an ear, weary traveller," he said in that same accentless Federation standard. Remas seemed slightly taken aback, but slowly raised his hands and took the bottle.

"And...I and mine provide you with the gift of our air and boundless hospitality, guest at our lock," he said with a frown. "It's been a while since I heard the traditional greeting between the Rish. Didn't expect to hear it out here."

"The first rule of any good relationship is to start on the right foot. I took the liberty of sampling your cultural database," he said, holding both white palms up. This close the skin of the Myriad proxy could clearly be seen to be artificial, the scales far too regular in size and shape to anything else. "I merely skimmed it, I did not copy any data or forage further than would be polite."

"Well no harms been done," Remas said with a guarded smile, filing away questions for later. "Might I introduce my senior staff and crew, unless you know more about them than I?"

"Oh, I am sure they know more about themselves than I could learn in a dozen lifetimes," Abborax chuckled, his face breaking into a pleasant smile. "But I always prefer to hear it from their own lips. A pleasure to meet you all."

Shadi blinked her over-sized eyes at the spectacle. Space ghosts weren't supposed to be mesmerizing. But maybe that was the way they enticed the soul.

Quickly she began whispering,
"Mighty Goddess of blood and war
Hear this daughter of Ragolar
Beset upon by a crafty enemy
Raise your claw and deliver me
That I crush his bones and eat his meat."

She quickly crossed herself with the Ragolar ward against famine.

"Health to you," Shadi said ironically to Abborax. Healthy meat tasted better.

"A sordid greeting from one of the Nameless Ones," Abborax chuckled, before enclosing his fist in his other hand and bowing. "May my bones sharpen your teeth, and my flesh hasten the raising of your brood."

Shadi gasped. "Oh, you're good."

"So I am told," he said, turning to look aside at Remas. "Which reminds me, I have an item I wish to trade to Miss Zatra here. I was told that all sales need to be ratified by you first? Is this still the case or might I make private arrangements for small items?"

"I do not see why Chief Zatra needs my say so if something has caught her eye," Remas said giving his assent.

"Most fortuitous," Abborax said, as something scuttled out from under his hair and perched on his shoulder. It was a spider, that much was clear, with a white exoskeleton fuzzed over with a pale powder blue fur. He absently raised one hand up and stroked the spider, clucking his tongue gently. "I did bring a few samples of my wares, small items of trade. Gifts, really. I am sure over the coming days we will have bountiful opportunities to come to a better understanding of how best we can accommodate the other. The Myriad is nothing if not wide-ranging in our interests."

When Rena saw the spider, she instinctively took a step back. Whether it was her own instinct or Kal's, who knows, but being allergic to insect bites made her cautious, especially as a joined Trill. Rena wasn't afraid, however; on the contrary, she was curious about the creature. "If I may ask... what is it?"

Abborax looked puzzled for a moment, before gesturing with the hand the spider was nuzzling.

"This?" he asked, coaxing the blue-furred spider onto his hand and gently extending it out to Rena. "A simple contrivance of my own devising. The Myriad are set out into houses, professions if you will? My own is the House of Moths, and we are among the finest artificers of biological simulacra in the Inner or Outer Spheres and beyond. It is a pet if you will. Its venom is none toxic but does harbour a number of beneficial pharmaceutical properties. Enlivens the senses, armours one from shock or poison. I always sell on a few Warpling Spiders whenever I make port somewhere."

As he spoke the Warpling Spider had ventured out onto the pier of his outstretched fingers, its forelegs scrabbling at the air in a begging gesture to Rena.

"It would seem you have made a friend this day," he chuckled.

Her curiosity overwhelmed her caution as she hesitantly got a little closer to the thing. Stopping by Shadi, she watched the forelegs pawing through the air. "It's actually kind of cute..." She extended a finger toward it to cautiously pet it, only to have the spider use her digit to grasp and cling onto her hand. The squeak from Rena came involuntarily, and she held her hand as far away from her as possible as she watched the spider with wary eyes. "W... will it bite?" she asked, visibly shuddering as the spider's fur tickled the back of her hand and part of her forearm.

Shadi hissed in warning. "On Sauria spiders are not to be trifled with."

"That may well be true, but I assure you things are a little tamer here in the Spheres. If you just support it just a little..." Abborax said, gently reaching out to help Rena's hand form a slight cup shape. "There. Now, where was I? The Myriad have a trading association that stretches across this half of the hemisphere facing the galaxy below us. Within that association, there are a dozen member worlds, all of whom benefit from good relations with us."

Abborax turned and eyed the crowd of welcomer.

"Which of you is your ships Engineer?" he asked, smiling at Remas. "As I have no doubt they are most curious as to the method of my arrival in this system."

Daani had made sure to stay on the opposite side of the group to Ari, not avoiding him as such, but staying out of the way and when he was mentioned, she moved slightly more to the side. Most of her attention though, was not taken up avoiding the engineer but with studying Abborax.

He was a puzzle. The fact that he’d taken the time to learn about some of the crew’s cultures from the database was a nice touch, but not unexpected. Good intel was critical in any situation and she didn’t believe for a moment he’d only nosed around their systems to arm himself with nice manners.

And the construct he wore was certainly very effective, but she wasn’t fooled enough to relax, even if she appeared to be, standing to one side and slightly behind the Captain. An automatic reaction, placing her in a good position should any… unpleasantness break out. Not that she could do anything. She wasn’t armed with anything more dangerous than a datapadd and the hairband around her wrist.

Rena continued to stare at the spider that was currently nestling into the palm of her hand. She was nervous, hoping that it wouldn't bite her despite what their guest claimed. The longer she held it, however, the more comfortable she got with it.

Vic, who had been uncharacteristically quiet the whole time, leaned over to Rena, "You're not going to include these spiders in your medical treatments now are you?" he asked, clearly eyeballing it with fear.

"I assure you they are perfectly safe. Really, Captain Remas, the children of Perambulation play with these spiders in the street. They are cherished pets, signs of favour of the Myriad. I would no more give you a harmful aside than you would grant me the right as a guest under Homesteader law," Abborax chided with a wry smile, still looking over the group with a furrowed to his perfect porcelain brow. "Now, where is that Engineer of yours? I wish to make his acquaintance to best sate his curiosity."

Arivek sighed, finally coming to terms with the fact that he couldn't hide from this situation any longer. "I would hardly say I'm curious," he said from the back of the group as he began to walk forward. "In fact, I couldn't much care less about how you got here."

Jolani sat quietly in the back of the room with her arms crossed. She was uncertain why she was invited into this meeting. She should be on the bridge making sure that Traveller did not fly into a random space storm, planet, or any other trouble that this crew was likely to cause them to encounter. On the other hand, perhaps the Captain wanted her to get a look at this visitor's shuttle and see if the technology was compatible or how it functioned. That might have some interest. Otherwise, she could not care less about the spiders or other discussions. She absentmindedly stretched her right hand behind her right ear and scratched an itch behind the double notched points.

"Really?" Abborax said, homing in on the voice and looking genuinely taken aback at Ari's appearance. "There are entire civilisations that have sold all that they are to possess even the barest hint as to how we alight from star to star."

He held up a hand, turning to smile at Remas.

"Which reminds me, at some point we will have to discuss your mode of transportation and its legal standing in our space," he tutted, turning back to look at Ari more closely. "You would pass by the knowledge of the Myriad out of spite it would seem. Not very hospitable..."

"To repair that damage to our honour, I am confident Chief Zhuri would be more than happy to grant you a tour of the ship," Remas said, eyeing his chief engineer. "Rules of hospitality, and all."

It took everything in Ari's power not to roll his eyes and walk away. But he could see the look on Remas' face. Perhaps now was not the time to push his luck. Suddenly a smile spread over Ari's face, "But of course," he said, his voice sounding genuine and pleasant. "And I would be pleased to hear about your mode of transportation. I just didn't want to seem too..." he thought for a moment. "Didn't want to seem too eager earlier."

Shadi snorted at Ari's sudden change of disposition. The space ghost was a wily one, indeed. She would have to keep her eye on the both of them.

"Would we never assume," Abborax smiled thinly. He turned back to his shuttle and made a flicking gesture with one hand. "Might I present two of my guests? Its quite alright to come down, the natives have been sufficiently mollified."

A muted whisper came from the gangplank of the Myriad vessel. Slowly, almost shyly, a scaly arrow-shaped head peeked out from behind the bulkhead and surveyed the assembled group with a flick of the tongue.

The kindly gesture from Abborax encouraged him to come forth, and so he did. Slithering down one side of the gangplank, then another, the whispers from before spread throughout the docking bay from his leathery underbelly which rubbed against the bulkhead in a tortious, unseemly rhythm.

Shadi felt her jaw unhinged and drop slack against her breastbone. "Oh my Goddess," she whispered. "How glorious..."

"Greetings, Travellers." The triple-meter long leviathan spoke with a resonant harmony from two sets of vocal chords. His coils slithered about everyone's feet, taking in the tactile sense of them as much as his eyes did the visual. "I must say it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. There are many foragers among the Spheres, but so few... Travellers."

His robust gaze fell upon Shadi, for whom he favored an extra tongue flick. "And none so fair."

Turning then to Remas, he folded his coils in a corkscrew in order to meet the captain at eye level. "Thank you for this most auspicious welcome. Better than most, I must say. I look forward to mutual benefits of our meeting, present and future."

He spared yet another look for Shadi as he spoke, though his bow was for Remas.

"A finer scholar of the physical sciences you will not find anywhere in the Spheres," Abborax said with a dash of pride to his voice. "Though I must insist that any exchange of knowledge be ratified by myself, to ensure there is a mutually agreed upon exchange. I am a humble merchant Captain Remas, I must make hay when the stars shine."

"Indeed," Remas nodded, eyeing the shuttle. "And your other guest?"

"They are shier than most. I will attempt later to coax them out. Give them a chance to get used to a new space and people," he held a hand to his chest. "I hope you do not see it as a slight against your standing as Host? I most heartily assure you against such notions."

"None taken," Remas smiled. "As I said before, Chief Zhuri will provide you with a tour of the Traveller's unrestricted sections. Chief Renyold's will also provide an escort to yourself and...I'm sorry Sir, I did not catch a name?"

Remas regarded the serpentine individual and then allowed his eyes to flicker to Shadi. There was an all to familiar look in those large eyes, the same sort of look she'd had when she'd thrown herself at someone. Oh for I am just a Captain, and not a ships Counselling Department.

The coiled one looked upon Remas with a glimmer in his eye. "It is ineffable to your tongue. I am told a passable cognate would be Nathrachsgiathaich, but that seems equally cumbersome in comparison to your Federation Standard dialect."

After a moment, the large serpent-man twitched in sudden realization. "Oh, you meant my given name." He blinked repeatedly, then raised several coils in the air to hide his face in embarrassment. "Forgive my lapse in understanding. I am called Mazarin."

Jolani sat quietly in the back of the room with her arms crossed. She was uncertain why she was invited into this meeting. She should be on the bridge making sure that Traveller did not fly into a random space storm, planet, or any other trouble that this crew was likely to cause them to encounter. On the other hand, perhaps the Captain wanted her to get a look at this visitor's shuttle and see if the technology was compatible or how it functioned. That might have some interest. Otherwise, she could not care less about the spiders or other discussions. She absentmindedly stretched her right hand behind her right ear and scratched an itch behind the double-notched points.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance Mazarin," Remas said with a smile, and then gestured to the main doors out of the shuttle bay. "I'm sure we have much to offer. Now Chief Zhrui and Abborax have a tour to manage, I'm sure my Operations and Science Chief's can keep you distracted as well."

"Of that, I have no doubt," Abborax said, already leading Ari to the main doors to the shuttle bay, eager it seemed to start the tour. "Just remember my warning Captain, no exchange of any meaningful intelligence. I have your word as a Captain of the adar'Rishal that you will hold to this agreement?"

"You have my word."

"Splendid!" he cooed. "Now, Chief Zhrui, lead on. I stand ready to be utterly fascinated."

 

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